Final Written Test

Last updated 5-3-09

Final Exam: CHM107: Written Part

Aqua Soft Web Site	As a consumer, you always have to be on guard for bogus products, and believe me there are thousands of them. Here are some clues that something is wrong: A. The use of technobabble (technical descriptions that are meaningless and have no basis in real science). So if you read it and it doesn't make sense. It's not your fault. It's because they are using technobabble which is nonsensical. B. Fantastic claims C. Scare tactics #1. Visit this site (click link under image) and look over their different Web pages and report 5 examples of "technobabble", 5 examples of "fantastic claims" and 3 examples of "scare tactics."
	#2. (Art of Hiding). Here is an ice cream that is pushing its Carb Smart ingredients. With 5 grams of sugar, it's about 1/4 of the normal ice cream bar. So a person would be carb smart but how many bars would put a person over the limit of saturated fat?.
	(Art of Hiding). In this product, it appears that there's nothing in it because everything is zero. Products can show no fat (0%) if there's less than 0.50 grams per serving. Here the serving size is only 0.25 grams, so there can never be 0.50 grams of fat. That also explains why everything is zero. The actual ingredient is mostly soybean oil. Oils in general are 9 calories per gram. (#3) If you use 5 sprays to butter your baked potato, how many calories of fat did you add?
	#4. On the TV show, "Bullsh*t," with magicians Penn & Teller, they invented different exotic names for bottled water containers. The waiter presented these bottles to customers as if they were really from different countries. Many bought them and they praised the different tastes. All bottles were filled from the same water from a garden hose at the back of the restaurant. What type of trick was used to get such positive feedback from customers?
	An early problem for the early humans was the extreme competition for food. It was hard getting food, keeping food, and not becoming food ourselves. Stone tool technology was the answer. The stones that were well suited for making into weapons or tools have a property called cryptocrystalline which allows it to be broken like glass. #5: What does cryptocrystalline mean?
	During times of plenty, there is no need to store food or water, but during a shortage, having stored quantities of food and water would be critical. Baskets had it use, but baskets couldn't keep pests out of the food. Baskets also were not waterproof. A container that could hold liquids or solids was needed. #6: Clay that is "fired" was the solution. What happens when clay is fired?
	The problems of killing large game and storing food in a weather and pest proof container were solved; however, the food itself could spoil because of microbes in the food. There needed to be ways of extending the storage life of foods. #7: Name three ways that chemistry solved the problem of preservation.
	#8: (Building Blocks) The red surface of Mars comes from iron (III) oxide [Fe₂O₃]. On Earth we mine iron ores to get iron. In the movie, Total Recall, what were they trying to get out of the iron oxide?
	#9a: What is the common ingredient in sandpaper, rubies, and sapphires? #9b: What element is responsible for making rubies red?
	#10: According to this graphic shown in the Organic Building Block tutorial, what elements make up fats and oils (lipids)?
(Misconception of Air) In 1650 Otto Guericke invented a vacuum pump. To demonstrate the power of air pressure, he pumped the air out of a 12 inch radius sphere made from two halves. There was nothing holding the halves together except air. In one demonstration, Otto used a total of 30 horses which tried to pull the sphere apart but couldn't. (#11) If 30 horses could not get the two halves apart, how did he ever get the two halves apart?

	Every once in awhile we hear about a child being injured or drowned by the "suction" from the bottom drain of swimming pool or spa. The recirculation pump is very powerful but the real force that holds down the child is not the pump but air pressure. Remember there is no such thing as suction. Looking at the bruise, let's say the drain opening was 11 inches in diameter. Air pressure is 15 pounds per square inch and water at 2 feet deep adds about 1 pound per square inch. So that's a total of 16 lbs per square inch. (#12) How much pressure (over that 11 inch opening) was pressing down on the child from the combine pressure of air and water? (Hint: Find formula for area of a circle).
	We want a multitude of products that are cheap and readily available. The solution was mass production. #13: Unfortunately, when mass production goes wrong, it can mean a big recall of the defective product. Read this article on the largest recall of beef. What part of this article worries you the most? http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/18/business/18recall.html
	In the past dangerous gases such as ammonia and sulfur dioxide were used as a refrigerant in refrigeration. We wanted a refrigerant gas that was safe to use. Freon was the answer. Unfortunately, the freons harmed the ozone layer. The R12 freon was used in cars until 1994. It was replaced with R134a. #14: What element in R12 was harming the ozone layer?
	Coal is burned to generate energy, but's burning coal causes pollution. The formula on the right is typical of coal. #15: What element in coal will create the pollutant, sulfur dioxide?
This address is to a site that will let you look at the ground level ozone levels in different states. Click on Arizona. http://cfpub.epa.gov/airnow/index.cfm?action=airnow.archives&regionid=1
	When you get to the this page, click the Pollutant: Ozone. Change the Map Area to Phoenix Change month to July, the year to 2006, and date to 17. Click off the Map Type: Current Hour AQI, and make sure the 8-hour AQI Loop is checked. After those are set, click the "Display Maps Below" button If you scroll down, you will see an animated map. I've also included it here in the next panel below.
	You should see this animation, which shows the ozone levels throughout the day of July 17, 2006. #16: What time of the day were the ozone levels the highest? #17: Why are they high that time of day?
	The heat from the sun strikes the Earth but most of it gets bounced back to space. Without a way to intercept this energy, the Earth would freeze. #18: Name 3 greenhouse gases that come out of a car's exhaust.
	One apartment owner placed these solar panels on the side of his apartment to provide extra electricity. He said these panels produce 75 watts of electricity each. #19: During the day, the solar panels can run a computer and the LCD monitor. Unfortunately, you are not at home during the day time, so what do you need to take advantage of the solar panels power and use that power at night?
Evaluation of a dietary (nutritional) supplement: Use Google or some search engine and do a search for "essential sugars". Be sure to put quotes " " around "essential sugars". That narrows the search for those words together and not simply "essential" or "sugar". #20: Report how many hits was reported. Notice that many mention "8 essential sugars" and the word glyconutrients. If you read any of these pages, most will brag about the benefits of these essential sugars (also called glyconutrients). #21: Go to our government's website for health issues. http://www.nih.gov. Click on the Heading, "INSTITUTES". A new page appears with a list of the "27 Institutes and Centers that makeup NIH. Scroll down and check out the names of the different institutes. Scroll back to the top and use the search box and type in "essential sugars" (be sure to put quotes around "essential sugars" otherwise you find articles just about "sugars" and "essential" but not just "essential sugars"). How many articles were found in the databases of 27 health institutes? (if none, report none) #22: What does NIH's number of articles on "essential sugars" tell you about essential sugars? #23: Go to the website (below) of the multi-billion dollar manufacturer of the "8 essential sugars". You may need to choose "United States" and then click Continue button. Click "Products" at the top of the Mannatech home page. Click the link titled "Learn More About Our Optimal Health Products" and on the page that comes up, the paragraph under "Optimal Health" ends with "...these individual products work together to support optimal immune system function as well as proper organ function."* Notice the asterisk "". Scroll down and notice that many of the descriptions end with an asterisk (). Another asterisk is at the bottom of the page. What does it say? http://www.mannatech.com/ The statement at the bottom is a disclaimer which keeps them from being regulated like medicines. In other words they can make wild claims, but the disclaimer really means they don't have to back them up. #24: Click on the word "Product Catalog" at the left of the screen. Then click on the "View All Mannatech Products" link. See if you can find "Ambrotose Complex 100 grams" (1/20 of a pound). What is its retail price? #25: Click on the "+" sign at the left of the "Ambrotose Complex" name. The first sentence says, "Ambrotose® complex is formulated to support effective cell-to-cell communication and wellness."* Why did they add the asterisk? #26: Now click at the top of the screen on the link that says, "Opportunity" This is the page where they want you to be a seller of these products. Remember all the hits you got when you did a search for "essential sugars" in Google or a search engine? Why do you think you found so many? #27: Visit the American Cancer Society's Web page that addresses "glyconutrients". http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_5_3x_Glyconutrients.asp?sitearea=ETO The idea of buying Ambrotose Complex is to get the 8 "essential" sugars. However, the OVERVIEW section in this article says your body can make these sugars. 27a) What are the 8 essential sugars? 27b) It's true that these sugars are needed by the body, and that fact is stated repeatedly on the Mannatech website. Without even looking, do you think that Mannatech also mentions the fact that the body produces all of these sugars? #28a): Read down to the section "Are there any possible problems or complications?" Since Ambrotose and other products at Mannatech are considered dietary supplements, do they have to prove their products are safe? #28b) Do they have to prove their products are effective? (Note: the little asterisk and disclaimer at the bottom of their pages lets legally do what they do. They also depend buyers having that "Audience at a Magic Show Mentality" that I talked about) #29: Finally, what does your research into glyconutrients tell you about consumers in general?
	The previous group of problems focused on the gullibility of people. Skepticism and knowledge are the best defenses against poor choices. Citizens of all societies need to be more skeptical and have good research skills. Go to this site: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/consumer.shtm On the left are a list of Consumer Categories. Check out these categories: Automobiles, Energy & Environment, Health, and Shopping for Products & Services.
	#30: For Automobiles, look at the Maintenance subcategory and report a few things that you learned from these two articles: "Gas-Saving" Products: Fact or Fuelishness? and The Low-Down on High Octane Gasoline
	#31: For the Health category, under the Devices, Procedures, and Treatment subcategory read the Indoor Tanning article. List 5 of the false claims made by tanning salons.
	#32: In the same category as in #31, read the article, 'Miracle' Health Claims: Add a Dose of Skepticism. In this article's section titled, *How to Spot False Claims*, you will notice it is similar to the tips I give in the Oral Final Study Guide. List four of these ways of spotting a false claim.
	#33: In the 50's the Micronite filter was promoted as reducing the tar and nicotine being inhaled. That was true, but Micronite filters were made from asbestos; so smokers inhaled asbestos, which was more dangerous than tar or nicotine. 15 billion of these cigarettes were sold. 4 billion even after they confirmed the smokers were getting dangerous asbestos into their lungs. What is asbestos and what is the danger of having asbestos in your lungs?
Congratulations on getting through the written final. Send your answers to chm107cgc@chemistryland.com if from CGCC or to chm107pc@chemistryland.com if from PC.

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Since May 8, 2004

"Gas-Saving" Products: Fact or Fuelishness?

and

The Low-Down on High Octane Gasoline