In Your Room

3 Classifying Matter According to Its State Solid, Liquid, 

Think about the differences between different kinds of matter. Air is different from water, and water is different from wood. One of our first tasks as we learn about matter is to identify the similarities and differences among different kinds of matter. Flow are sugar and salt similar Flow are air and water different Why are they different Why is a mixture of sugar and water similar to a mixture of salt and water but different from a mixture of sand and water As students of chemistry, we are particularly interested in the similarities and differences between various kinds of matter and how these reflect the similarities and differences between their component atoms and molecules. We strive to understand the connection between the macroscopic world and the molecular one. 

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Now you keep the tank in your room to help visualize intersections of 3-D objects with 2-D worlds. You reach into the water and withdraw a ball. Here s what a sphere looks like to an inhabitant of Flatland. The surface of the water is a metaphor for Flatland. You push the ball down so that it just touches the water at a point. You push further and the point turns into a circle. The circle enlarges until it reaches a maximum size and then shrinks back down to a point as you push the sphere under the water. The point disappears. 

It is possible that- you may be permitted to work at the kitchen table when this is not in use. But it is far better if you have a place, where you will not be disturbed and where you can store your equipment — a corner in your room, or in the basement or the garage. 

Do not allow open containers of chemicals in your room. 

Do not immediately put plants from garden centers in your room. First rinse them thoroughly and let them off-gas in a different room. Commercial flowers and plants are sprayed with chemical substances that could incite a negative reaction. 

If you re going to pace yourself, you need to keep track of the time—and what if there is no clock in your room or if the only clock is out of your line of vision It s a good idea to bring a simple, non-digital watch to the test. Don t use a watch alarm or else your watch will endup on the proctor s desk. 

How much money will you have saved by the 15th of the month The 20th of the month The 30th Would you be able to store that number of pennies in your room Can you find a shortcut to calculate the total amount of money saved this way ... 

Suppose your dorm room is 11 ft wide by 12 ft long by 8.5 ft high and has an air conditioner that exchanges air at a rate of 1200 L/min. How long would it take the air conditioner to exchange the air in your room once ... 

Once your picture has dried completely, you can hang it up in your room or in a special place where everyone can admire your growing Family Tree. 

When the mercury heights are stable and you are certain that there are no leaks, immerse the filter flask in your room temperature water bath. Clamp the flask so that it is under water as far as possible. Allow a few minutes for air remaining in the flask to reach thermal equilibrium with the water bath. Then measure the temperature and the mercury heights, and record this data with their estimated errors in TABLE 11.1. 

The melting of ice at room temperature is another change that naturally proceeds from order to disorder. You should have no trouble identifying this tendency on a personal scale. It seems to take no effort to create a random mixture of possessions in your room, but it certainly takes energy to put them hack in order. 

Keep the temperature in your room between 65-68 degrees F. 

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed a safety standard for microparticulates in air for particles up to 2.5 p-m in diameter, the maximum allowable amount is 50. pg/m. If your 10.0 ft X 8.25 ft X 12.5 ft dorm room just meets the EPA standard, how many of these particles are in your room ... 

Wear your name tag—it is meant to help you and others communicate. Thoughtful conference organizers use large type for the entire name of a person or, more often, the first name. Don t leave the name tag in your room, pocket, or purse. Put it on— preferably on the right side where people can easily see it as they shake hands with you. 

Take a supply of business cards, not to see how many you can give away, but to make sure that you have them when you need them. They should be on your person at all times, not in your room, out in your car, or over there on the other side of the room in your briefcase. Ideally, you have current, attractive cards (as opposed to dog-eared cards with handwritten information) that include an address, a telephone number, an e-mail address, and a website. 

Keep in touch with your office and, as appropriate, clients, owners, customers and others whom you serve. After all, people are covering for you while you are away, just as you would do for them. Today s electronic communication tools facilitate such contacts. But, don t over do it. The people back home don t expect you to be there and at the conference at the same time. If you are going to spend hours on your cell phone or at your notebook computer in your room, you might as well have stayed at the office. Selective, effective communication with the office and other locations requires discipline. 

Rotate If several of the windows in your room have the same dimensions and have identical curtains, swap them out. Conditions are different from window to window. Or keep several sets of curtains available in your linen closet for any given window. Rotating will not only make your favorites last longer, but it s also a great way to refresh the room s look from season to season. 

Say you just inherited the desk that was in your room as a middle schooler—complete with scars, pencil tracks, and chipped varnish. Before you can allow the desk to leave the garage, you simply have to refinish the surface. The process of refinishing wooden furniture involves removing the old finish, sanding the wood to a near-pristine state, and then protecting it with a new finish—in this case, that would be varnish, though you can see a complete list of wood finish options on page 281. 

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