Modern Marvels:CARBON

Pre-Video Quiz

  1. The sixth most abundant element in the universe is ______, whose atomic number is the same as its abundance.
  2. Diamond, one of the hardest known substances, is an allotrope of ______.
  3. Although it is often called lead, the black material used in pencils is really ______, another allotrope of carbon.
  4. Carbon-14, a radioactive ______of the element is used to determine the age of formerly living things through a process called radiocarbon dating.
  5. Animals produce ______gas as a product of the process of respiration.
  6. Plants use ______gas from the atmosphere in the process of photosynthesis.
  7. Coal is the number one emitter of ______, the global warming gas.
  8. Activated charcoal, a very porous form of ______, is used in air purifiers, gas masks, and water filters.
  9. Because carbon has ______valence electrons, it can form ______single bonds with hydrogen, producing ______gas with a ______structure.
  10. Carbon atoms can link up to form chains, C3H8, propane, is used to heat gas grills, C4H10, butane, is found in lighters, and C8H8, ______, is the main component of gasoline.

Modern Marvels:CARBON

CHAMP CARS AND RACING

  1. Champ car racing is one of the most technologically advanced sports in the world today. The body of a champ car is made up of ______, an extremely strong and light material.
  2. Champ cars are made to break apart in the event of an accident. The body was designed to ______the energy, preventing it from being transferred to the driver.

MANUFACTURING CARBON FIBERS

  1. The Zoltek Corporation manufactures the carbon fibers used in champ cars, space shuttles, and airplanes. The initial oxidation process stabilizes a synthetic petroleum derived fabric, called polyacrylonitrile, or PAN, which is ______% carbon.
  2. As PAN is drawn into the oven, it begins to cook and change ______.
  3. The slow cooking process drives off other components, leaving behind more carbon atoms, resulting in a ______color.
  4. During the slow burn, ______from the air bonds with the carbon atoms and transforms the linear chain to a stronger ladder-like formation.
  5. At this point, the PAN now contains ______% carbon and can be used as a ______on an airliner.
  6. To reach the intended goal of 100% carbon, more heat is needed. The high temperature furnaces, will burn off the remaining ______and ______, leaving behind a full carbon fiber.
  7. The high temperature furnaces heat the fibers in the absence of ______, so they will not burn.
  8. As a result, a ______structure of carbon atoms is formed. The carbonization process produces a fabric that is ______% carbon.

CARBON: THE ELMENT OF LIFE

  1. Carbon is the most abundant element in the universe that forms ______.
  2. There are ______million known carbon compounds.
  3. The most stable carbon to carbon bond is found in ______, resulting in extreme hardness.

COAL DANGER

  1. In the United States, ______of the country’s electricity is produced from the burning of coal.
  2. However, the environment has paid a hefty price. The burning of coal produces more ______per unit energy than any other fuel.
  3. Coal is the number one emitter of the global warming gas, ______.
  4. In North Dakota, they have developed coal gasification, which attempts to reduce CO2 emission. This method delivers carbon dioxide gas into ______rock formations, which traps the CO2 permanently.

GRAPHITE

  1. By simply changing the structure of the C atoms, one can take the hardest know material, diamond, and turn it into the softest mineral on the planet, ______.
  2. The ______intermolecular forces in graphite allow the sheets to slide over one another.
  3. Graphite comes from the Greek work graphein, which means “to ______.”
  4. The General Pencil Company uses a graphite/clay mixture to make different “types” of graphite. For a softer and darker mark, they increase the % ______in the mixture. For a harder and lighter mark, they increase the % ______in the mixture.
  5. True or False: At one time pencils contained lead. ______
  6. The HB scale is always printed on a completed pencil in the manufacturing plant. What does HB stand for? ______

CARBON: LIFE SAVER?

  1. The Calgon Manufacturing Company makes a product that has probably saved your life. It is used in gas masks, poison antidotes, air purifiers, and water filters. It is called ______.
  2. It is one of the most absorbent materials known to man and is used in water treatment facilities to absorb dangerous ______from the water supply.
  3. This substance can remove color, and other impurities because of its ______structure.
  4. Activated charcoal is the main ingredient in the popular ______. Activated charcoal is derived from ______shells.
  5. It tackles the bacteria that causes smelly feet by releasing the activated charcoal when one ______. The porous material traps the odor causing molecules!
  6. During World War II, Japanese control of the coconut supply in the Pacific forced American activated carbon makers to switch to ______.

CARBON NANOTUBES

  1. The “Space Elevator” is a cable ______miles long made of carbon nanotubes.
  2. Carbon nanotubes are tough and 100 times stronger than ______, at 1/6 the weight.
  3. A carbon nanotube is made of nanometer sized particles of ______.
  4. Besides the hopeful space elevator, carbon nanotubes will be used to extend the ______life of handheld devices, as ______in smaller, more powerful computers, and as a super strong biocompatible material in ______joints!

CARBON: THE MODERN MARVEL

  1. Carbon is one of the lightest, ______, hardest, ______, most absorbent, most ______, most dangerous, and most ______things on the planet!