General safety rules
Do not allow chemicals to come into contact with the eyes or mouth.
Keep young children, animals and those not wearing eye protection away from the experimental area.
Store this experimental set out of reach of children under 12 years of age.
Clean all equipment after use.
Make sure that all containers are fully closed and properly stored after use.
Ensure that all empty containers are disposed of properly.
Do not use any equipment which has not been supplied with the set or recommended in the instructions for use.
Do not replace foodstuffs in original container. Dispose of immediately.
General first aid information
In case of eye contact: Wash out eye with plenty of water, holding eye open if necessary. Seek immediate medical advice.
If swallowed: Wash out mouth with water, drink some fresh water. Do not induce vomiting. Seek immediate medical advice.
In case of inhalation: Remove person to fresh air.
In case of skin contact and burns: Wash affected area with plenty of water for at least 10 minutes.
In case of doubt, seek medical advice without delay. Take the chemical and its container with you.
In case of injury always seek medical advice.
Advice for supervising adults
The incorrect use of chemicals can cause injury and damage to health. Only carry out those experiments which are listed in the instructions.
This experimental set is for use only by children over 12 years.
Because children's abilities vary so much, even within age groups, supervising adults should exercise discretion as to which experiments are suitable and safe for them. The instructions should enable supervisors to assess any experiment to establish its suitability for a particular child.
The supervising adult should discuss the warnings and safety information with the child or children before commencing the experiments. Particular attention should be paid to the safe handling of acids, alkalis and flammable liquids.
The area surrounding the experiment should be kept clear of any obstructions and away from the storage of food. It should be well lit and ventilated and close to a water supply. A solid table with a heat resistant top should be provided
Substances in non-reclosable packaging should be used up (completely) during the course of one experiment, i.e. after opening the package.
Other experiments
Sulfur Melt
Soap motion
Zinc-carbon battery
Scientific description
The small display case from this set contains samples of charcoal , graphite , and diamond . Believe it or not, they all consist of exactly the same chemical element—Carbon , denoted as "C." But why on earth do they look so different if they are made of the same thing? It all boils down to the way their atoms are arranged!
In charcoal , carbon atoms are arranged in no particular order and form a porous structure. This makes it so fragile that it easily crumbles into dust. However, this structure allows impurities to adhere to it easily, making it an excellent adsorbent and leading to its use in water filters.
Meanwhile, the carbon atoms in graphite form honeycomb-shaped layers that easily separate from each other. This allows it to leave traces on paper, making it useful in pencils. Also, this peculiar structure makes graphite, in contrast to other forms of carbon, a good conductor of electricity.
Finally, in diamond , all the atoms form a dense, consistent structure, which gives it a characteristic brilliance and outstanding strength. That's why diamonds are used not only in jewelry, but also as abrasives for cutting hard materials.
Does carbon exist in other forms?
Of course! Carbon is the record holder among the elements in the number of structures its atoms can form. These structures are called allotropic modifications.
In fact, carbon atoms are almost like the Legos of nature: a plethora of structures can be formed from carbon atoms alone. Scientists are constantly discovering new ones, each with its own unique and interesting properties. Among them are such bizarre structures as fullerenes and carbon nanotubes. Molecules of fullerene С60 look like soccer balls, and a nanotube is a honeycomb-shaped layer of carbon rolled up into a hollow tube.
Carbon nanotubes can make space elevators possible!
Sci-fi books and films often explore the idea of ​​a space elevator – a futuristic device that can send people and cargo from Earth into space inside capsules that slide up along a giant cable. The future is closer than it seems! Scientists believe that carbon nanotubes can make the creation of the space elevator possible!
The cable of such an elevator needs to be incredibly strong and extremely light so as not to break under its own weight. Currently, carbon nanotubes are the only material that are suited to this task. Only short fragments of nanotubes are available now, but scientists predict that we will be able to create sufficiently long nanotubes by 2030. Who knows – maybe the space elevator really isn't a fantasy, but only a matter of time
Organic chemistry — the chemistry of carbon
Due to its ability to arrange in different ways, carbon forms a whole class of compounds known as organic compounds and a whole branch of chemistry called organic chemistry. Their names are derived from the fact that many of these substances are the building blocks of living organisms. Basically, proteins, fats, and carbohydrates are composed of chains and rings of carbon atoms bonded to atoms of other elements, most commonly hydrogen H, oxygen O, or nitrogen N. Did you know that carbon – the same element that diamonds are made of – is one of the main constituent elements of our body?
What is the difference between an atom and a chemical element?
If we compare atoms to Legos, then elements are the different types of these "Legos" that exist in nature. They differ from one another in size and in how they bond to each other. Some substances are made of atoms of the same element, while others consist of atoms of different elements. For instance, graphite is made exclusively of carbon C atoms, while sucrose, which you know as ordinary table sugar, consists of carbon C, hydrogen H, and oxygen O.
In order to keep all the existing chemical elements straight, scientists use a special "catalog" of them known as the Periodic Table of Elements, where they are arranged according to their properties.
That's interesting!
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