Organic chemist shows path for the spontaneous appearance of RNA. •  Astronauts replace camera in Hubble space telescope. See the complete Hubble gallery.
Check out the story of your stuff.
The business of green
Lets hear it for the bees.
Which is greener, stainless or plastic?
Soon we may be able to edit our memories.
A safe, legal performance-enhancing drug.
High school student finds artificial sweeteners may have environmental impact.
Electrical arc has new role in manufacture of graphene. •  Was 2008 the great disruption?
Some students expect to be rewarded for effort. (Would you fly with a pilot who earned a license based on effort, not skill?)
What makes science different. •  A new form of boron . •  Bolivia may have a lock on the production of batteries . The inauguration seen via social photograph . •  Check out the lightness illusion New products trigger nanophobia .
Bhutan, a small Himalayan country, has a different measure of prosperity .
One analyst's take on what went wrong in the economy.
The Nobel Prize for Chemistry was awarded to three scientists who created a way to make molecules glow green.
•  Study claims math-ability is cultural, not biological. Read it (pdf).
The glove provides a quick, drug-free, relief from muscle fatigue.
Chemistry news from the 2008 ACS convention.
Evolutionary biologists bring extinct deadly viruses back to life.
The nature of glass remains in dispute.
Living green versus Planet Green . •  Plants found to have a secret social life .
Take those photos knowing the photographer's rights .
No sex, please, we’re bdelloid rotifers .
Climate change hits southern Europe . •  Dark energy propels the expansion of our universe.
Put a little science in your life. Synsepalum dulcificum, or miracle fruit , contains a protein that binds taste buds and makes acidic foods taste sweet. •  A rational energy plan would put a floor on gas prices.
Some carbon nanotubes may pose asbestos-like health risks . •  The walrus is smart, friendly and playful. How wise is a gas-tax holiday? •  HP's memristor is a new memory design.
Iran reveals how they separate ²³⁵U from ²³⁸U . Harvard psychologist studies what really makes us happy . Recent DNA analysis confirms that birds descended from certain dinosaurs . Solar thermal power plants omit batteries by storing thermal energy in salt.
An estimated 30 million people participated in Saturday's Earth Hour •  Scientists confirm runners high caused by endorphins.
Arlington National Cemetery , Memorial Day weekend, 2007.
The new Encyclopedia of Life aims to cover all 1.8 million known species. •  French chemists have created a self-healing rubber by replacing large molecules with small molecules held together with H-bonds.
Moko, a New Zealand dolphin, rescued two beached whales by guiding them out to sea.
The USGS reports on emerging contaminants while test results show San Francisco has the best tap water .
Occasionally mrgaston.com's host machine changes, resulting in an IP address change. If this happens, and your mrgaston bookmark doesn't work, type "mrgaston.com " into your browser and then update the bookmark.
Hydroelectric power without dams. See OpenHydro's tidal system and GCK's helical turbine. •  Glutamate is the focus of new research on the treatment of schizophrenia . Muscle fatigure, wrongly attributed to lactic acid buildup, now thought caused by muscles that leak calcium .
Soon you may climb like Spiderman with UC Berkeley's gecko adhesive or get your genome sequenced for $1k from a Bay-area company.
Research a candidate's voting records at votesmart.org and get campaign finance data at opensecrets.org . Are SUVs safer than cars ? While waiting for climate change to change your mood (Wired), is the evidence exaggerated (NYT)? Carbon tax? Carbon cap? Now comes carbon cap and dividend which would rebate to all citizens the proceeds from carbon-permit auctions. Caleb Crain ponders what happens should people stop reading .

PEW research says many ignore their digital footprints. The NYTimes warns doing this could come back to haunt you. PopSci and the Guardian report that San Jose-based Nanosolar may soon offer solar energy at near-coal prices. Tropical Disease in Italy Could tropical diseases be coming our way? Science cafes combine science with socializing. Coming: sudden oak death, Jan 8 at Café Scientifique in Menlo Park.

Wikipedia has a very readable summary of the history of chemistry . Both Honda and GM are testing hydrogen powered autos.
Are we approaching a shortage in internet capacity ?

Plastic-making insects + nanotechnology equals strong yet biodegradable plastics. Read summary or the Cornell U. paper .

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Girls Sweep Science
4 Dec
In the Siemens Math, Science, and Technology Competition for High School Students, girls swept the individual and team categories, winning as much as $100,000 in scholarships.

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2007 Chemistry Nobel
16 Oct
The 2007 Nobel Prize in chemistry went to a German scientist who studied chemical reactions on solid surfaces.

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2007 Physics Nobel
16 Oct
The 2007 Nobel Prize in physics went to French and German scientists who's work on magnetic storage made devices such as the iPod possible.

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Westmont Space Elevator
11 Oct
A team of Westmont students is competing in the Space Elevator Challenge, to be held Oct 19-21 in Salt Lake City.

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Read Label Before Use
1 Oct
A Panamanian man read a toothpaste label and set off a world-wide scandal.

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Morality and Evolution
18 Sep
Could morality have an evolutionary basis?

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The Matrix
15 Aug
A philosopher discusses the probability of living in a computer simulation.

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Water, friend or foe?
13 Aug
Marketers have long spread its positive buzz, but too much dihydrogen monoxide can be dangerous to your health.

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Truffle Oil
17 May
The organic compound 2,4-dithiapentane, when mixed with oil, costs about $1/ounce. It is often used as a substitute for real truffles, which can cost as much as $60/ounce.

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Poisoned Medicines
6 May
The organic compound glycerol, HOCH₂CH(OH)CH₂OH, a common ingredient in medicines, was replaced with the cheaper diethylene glycol, HOCH₂CH₂OCH₂CH₂OH, a poison.

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Pet Food Risks
2 May
What risks are there to eating food laden with melamine, a simple organic molecule linked to recent pet deaths.

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Dogs Wag Left/Right
24 Apr
Brain asymmetry is revealed in the direction a dog wags its tail.

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Molecular Chicken Wire
10 Apr
Graphene, a one-atom-thick sheet of carbon, is the latest craze in materials science.

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Sweetner vs. Sweetner
6 Apr
Equal and Splenda argue over their relationships to sugar.

Happy Vacation!

Wed June 12
To graduates, congratulations! And to all, I hope you have a great summer.

Challenges for New Graduates

Wed June 10
Looking for a career? Consider the 14 "grand challenges" established by the National Academy of Sciences:

1. Make solar energy economical
2. Provide energy from fusion
3. Develop carbon sequestration methods
4. Manage the nitrogen cycle
5. Provide access to clean water
6. Restore and improve urban infrastructure
7. Advance health informatics
8. Engineer better medicines
9. Reverse-engineer the brain
10. Prevent nuclear terror
11. Secure cyberspace
12. Enhance virtual reality
13. Advance personalized learning
14. Engineer the tools of scientific discovery

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Final Exam Schedule

Mon June 8
Finals are on the following schedule. Note finals begin at 8:00 AM! Please remember to return your textbook.

Tuesday 6/9/09
   P1 8:00 AM - 10:00 AM
   P2 10:20 AO - 12:20 AM

Wednesday 6/10/09
   P3 8:00 AM - 10:00 AM
   P5 10:20 AO - 12:20 AM

Thursday 6/11/09
   P6 8:00 AM - 10:00 AM
   P7 10:20 AO - 12:20 AM

50% off Sale: Westmont Water Bottles

Wed May 20
I have a few green Westmont water bottles left, originally $10, now on sale for $5.

Crash Test Report

Mon, May 18 2009
You must submit computer-generated reports (but not handwritten reports) to turnitin.com and attach the turnitin report to you paper copy.
Period 1: class id is 2543695, password "chemistry"
Period 2: class id is 2543696, password "chemistry"

Chemistry STAR is May 6

Fri, May 1 2009
All science classes will be giving STAR exams on Wednesday and Thursday, May 6 and 7. If you are a senior, please bring something to read to class that day.

10 Steps to Improve Your Grade

Mon, Mar 30, 2009

1. Ask questions when you don’t understand
2. Make a note to yourself about something you don’t understand so you can ask your teacher later
3. Study! Don’t just look at your paper. Try something different such as:
• Make review questions for yourself/friends
• Make flashcards and use them for definitions and spelling
• Teach someone else about the material
• Rewrite your notes
• Form a study group in the library, at home, at a café
• Practice on the internet (Google the topic, such as "molarity problems")
4. Do 100% of your homework
5. Correct your mistakes
6. Come to tutorial anytime for any reason—not just right before a test or when you miss class.
7. Listen to your teacher and your classmates and pay attention
8. Successful people replace "should have," "would have," and "will" with "did"
9. Ask yourself: am I doing any of the things above? If so, write them down.
10. List two things I am going to do to improve my grade

Gas Laws Exam

Tue, Mar 23, 2009
There is a big gas laws exam next class (gas laws summary). Review your notes, the textbook, and the worksheet problems. The exam is largely mathematical, but you are also responsible for concepts and nomenclature. Concepts include:
- Kinetic molecular theory
- Pressure (definition, units)
- Ideal gas law
- Combined gas law (plus its variants, Boyle's, Charles' and Gay-Lussac)
- Convert between units
- STP
- Stoichiometry and gas law problems

Your homework packet, due on the day of the exam, should contain:
 • video guide (pdf)
 • combined gas laws worksheet (pdf)
 • ideal gas law worksheet (pdf)
 • completed lab (pdf)

Unit Exam Reactions and Stoichiometry

Tue, Feb 24, 2009
Note the new date. The first unit exam of the semester -- next Wednesday, March 4 -- will cover textbook chapters 11 and 12. For a detailed review see the the study guide (pdf). Your homework packet, due on the day of the exam, should contain:
 • balancing equations (pdf)
 • net ionic equations (pdf)
 • stoichiometry problems (pdf)
 • limiting reagents (answers) (pdf)

AP Exam Fees

Fri, Feb 13, 2009
Just a reminder that AP exam fees for all AP courses are due Friday, February 27.

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Final Exam

Sun, Jan 17, 2009
Finals begin Tuesday, Jan 20, at 8 AM. To help you review see the review questions and the review guide.

Lab Report and TurnItIn

Wed Nov 19, 2008
Use this lab rubric (pdf) as a guide in writing your lab report. Then submit your paper to turnitin using one of these class IDs:
Period 1: class id 2543695, password "chemistry"
Period 2: class id 2543696, password "chemistry"

Exam 3 (Names, Formulas, Bonding) Test Corrections

Thu Dec 11, 2008
If you are not happy with your exam grade (see AERIES) you may correct your exam errors and earn back up to 50% of lost points. This offer is good for one week only: Mon-Fri, Dec 15-19, during tutorial and after school.

Exam 2 Test Corrections

Fri 31 Oct, 2008
If you are not happy with your exam grade (see AERIES) you may correct your exam errors and earn back up to 50% of lost points. This offer is good through Friday, November 7, during tutorial and after school.

6 Weeks Progress Report News

Sun 5 Oct, 2008
Because the measurements test corrections are not completely graded, the "grading completed" flag has been temporarily cleared. And, the extra credit metrics stories have not yet been entered into AERIES.

Electron Configuration Simulations

Thurs 25 Sep, 2008
Check out Dave's Whizzy Periodic Table and this java applet for simulated electron configurations. Also check out the tutorials offered by W.W. Norton.

Welcome to Chemistry

Mon 25 Aug, 2008
To familiarize yourself with the upcoming semester, please review the green sheet, which will be handed out the first week of classes. You may also download it by selecting the link on the left side of this page.

The green sheet distributed in class today has an error. The grading weights should be as follows:
   Attendance and behavior 10%
   Class notes and class work 20%
   Exams 35%
   Homework quizzes 15%
   Labs and projects 20%

To view the course calendar, select the link on the left side of this page. The calendar will be updated regularly to include all class work and assignments.

Follow the Grading link on the left for a description of lab procedures (Grading > Lab Procedures) and lab report expectations (Grading > Lab Reports).


Please report any broken links that you find in this site.

Top 10 Reasons to Take Chemistry!

Mon 25 Aug, 2008

10. It's fun to say "Erlenmeyer"
9. If your parents ground you, dissolve their car!
8. Mr. Gaston's Vindaloo Recipe :-)
7. Colleges like it more than "Basket weaving 101"
6. It makes you look smart, like what's his name, that physics dude in the wheelchair
5. Find out what's in your school lunch
4. You don't have to mess with dead things like in Biology.
3. Goggles, Goggles, Goggles!
2. You don't have to get all sweaty like you do in P.E.
1. Many major corporations are now asking applicants to balance equations

File Formats

Mon 25 Aug, 2008
I typically post worksheets and other supplemental documents in Adobe (.pdf) format. If you cannot read Adobe files please download the latest (free) Adobe reader.

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