Concretions are rounded rocks embedded in layers of stone in sedimentary rocks, often they are harder than the surrounding stone, and whether out of the host rock; http://www.rocksforkids.com/R&M/concretions.html#Septarian_Nodules.  They are a hard mass of sedimentary rocked compacted tightly at one time, by way of the precipitation of mineral cement, that has grown spaces between the sediment grains – outward in 7 directions.  The sedimentary rock nodules are kind of mineralized calcified encased “mud”, made up of calcite and ironstone.  There are 2 basic stages of development that are shown in the photos here:(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concretion; Moeraki Boulders; Septarian Nodule; photos drawn March 17, 2014 ) caused by networks of cracks in which the minerals, usually calcite (CaCo3 – Calcium Carbonite – in the Periodic Table, Calcium, Carbon and Oxygen) been deposited into the solution before hardening.  Prior to the depositing of minerals, the cavities are filled with ironstone; (Melody, EARTH-LOVE Publishing House; Love is In The Earth – Kaleidoscope pictorial, 1998; pp. 282-283).

On a metaphysical level, these beauties are said to filter dreams and keep only good ones around a person, such as is with dream catchers, and thus good to keep near a sleep space.   Also used to facilitate neuro-linguistic programming, instilling patience, endurance and tolerance to a person; freedom of body movement supporting the body’s self-healing abilities.  (Melody; 1998). Melody, a most fantastic source in the world of minerals and crystals, says it can be placed in the centre of Medicine Circles, facilitating Connection and Harmony.

Questions to ask Learners in your Classroom:  What causes minerals to migrate to a centre and become harder?  What are their true origins?  Can you find septarian nodules in your backyard?  Or are they only in one part area of the Earth?

For Fun Learning and Teaching activities and games, feel free to visit here:

http://www.science-lessons.ca/games/mammals.html

http://www.science-lessons.ca/games/space.html

http://www.science-lessons.ca/games/weather8.htm

http://www.literature-enrichment.com/

Interesting links from the Victoria Lapidiary Rock Show we visited:

Victoria Lapidiary and Mineral Society: http://www.islandnet.com/~vlms/.

Fossil Grotto: http://www.caves.org/grotto/ccg/um/2012_03_um.pdf.

Stone Haven Gems: http://www.stonehavengems.com/septarian-nodule-pebble/.

Making your own Orgonite Muffins are Easy to Make at in-class or at home, Materials needed are:

Beezwax or EcoEpoxy Resin

Large Stir Spoon

Small crystals, even the smallest is great

2 kinds of scrap metals such as copper shavings (look around in your Mom and Dad’s garage or ask your teacher or local welder for some scraps)

a bit of paper and tape

Muffin Pan

For more instructions, visit here:  http://beeswax-orgone.com/make-an-orgone/; and here:  http://www.orgonite.info/how-to-make-orgonite-hhgs.html.

Orgonite Generators are said to turn negative energy into positive energy, purify the atmosphere, detoxify water, ends drought, help plants grow better, repel pests, require less water, Inspire a pleasant demeanor and balanced, happier moods, and help awaken your innate senses.  We first made one with paper and a bit of goldleaf, our compass, ruler and marker – drawing on the paper, a geometric flower of life, adding positive words.  We felt it generating positive energy and so thought it was an orgonite generator.  To truly test our generator we would have to first make a blank one with the gold, one with the flower of life, one with tiny words on it, and one without, and test each one in the garden to see if it attracts life, or if the flowers around it perk up!  Then, to document all of that!  But then, we read that Reich’s devices were said to “generate” only when in a container.  Otherwise they only “accumulated” the energy – hence, we believe what we made is an orgone accumulator (adding together inorganic and organic materials). Besides not being contained in a container with beeswax or EcoEpoxy, ours only had one kind of metal, and had no crystals.  So our next step is to make the Eco-Epoxy muffins!

Here is a photo of one of Reich’s generators designed to do cloudbusting and make rainfall.  (Photo: Extracted January 28, 2014 from: www. Wikipedia. Org / wiki / orgone.)  People who make homemade orgonite generators have we believe, good intentions – putting positive feelings into our environments.  Though, unfortunately, most generators have been made with epoxy fiberglass resin, that is reportedly not very good at all for the environment, in general.  Thus, our personal concern is whether crystals “like” being encapsulated in epoxy (as it is also apparent that crystals are living and have feelings!  Our sense is they would not like being encapsulated in a non-eco-friendly substance.  So…..we searched and found alternatives that are earth-friendly.  3 Eco-alternatives:

1. Beeswax.  Yellow Gold in color. http://beeswax-orgone.com/make-an-orgone/.

2. EcoEpoxy.  Clear in color and others.  http://www.earthsafefinishes.com/EcoEpoxy.html.

3. Ecopoxy.   Amber in color. http://ecopoxysystemscanada.com/.

http://www.westwindhardwood.com/products/ecopoxy/intro.php.

Our friend who makes generators at home, says, if you are wondering if an orgone device works or not try testing it on something that can re-act to your orgone device like a plant or lizard or other animal.  Testing may take minutes, hours, days or a week for optimal results.  Try taking digital pictures of the subject being tested to document it.  He says his generators makes his plants grow faster and greener and attracts interesting wildlife like frogs and lizards.  He also writes words on his like Love Peace Harmony Compassion Forgiveness Happiness and Oneness.

And we like this person’s Kirlian photos (infrared photo-technology), also forwarded to us by our friend Kevin.  Way cool.   http://www.orgoniseafrica.com/blog/improving-orgonite.  Are we, as human beings, orgonite generator? If we have contained within our bodies, more than one metal, organic and inorganic material, would we not also orgonite generators?  We would say yes, to an extent, though we do not contain non-carbon based crystals.  Crystals, are a different kind of life form on Planet Earth.    What about if wear a crystal, then?  Hmmmmm.  Good Science Questions.  Be sure and clean and care for your crystal, if you choose to wear one.  We believe Crystals have Feelings too!

Other sources of information on Orgone Generators:

For more interesting and Fun Science Activities and Games, feel Free to visit:

http://www.science-lessons.ca/games/weather3.html

http://www.science-lessons.ca/games/brain.html

http://www.science-lessons.ca/games/space.html

http://www.science-lessons.ca/games/ocean.html

In this experiment students will experiment with the properties of an acid. 

Materials:

Measuring cup (1/2 cup)

Tablespoon

Pennies (dirty and old pennies work best)

Lemon Juice and salt

Taco Sauce

Instructions

1. In a small bowl, mix ½ cup of lemon juice with a tablespoon of salt.
2. Take a small amount of taco sauce and begin rubbing the pennies with it. (Use your hands, the more you scrub the better!)
3. Periodically dip the penny in the lemon juice and salt mixture to help clean the penny even more.
4. Scrub the penny for about 5-10 minutes until the pennies are nice and shiny.

How It Works: The taco sauce has vinegar and salt in it, which when combined form a super cleaning mixture. When salt is dissolved in vinegar it breaks into two ions (or charged particles), sodium and chloride. These ions are able to then mix with the copper oxide (a.k.a. rust) on the penny and dissolve the rust, leaving the penny shiny like new. The lemon juice and salt mixture does the same, with the salt dissolving in the lemon juice to form the cleaning machines, sodium and chloride.

When teaching Chemistry concepts, it is best to do hands-on activities. There are great vocabulary words that can be reinforced during Chemistry-related activities, like liquid, solid, acid, base, even words like chemical change, and physical change. There are lots of Chemistry topics around us everyday from how we cook foods to how our bodies breakdown the food we eat. For more useful teaching techniques related to acids and to everyday chemistry, you can visit: http://www.watchknowlearn.org/SearchResults.aspx?SearchText=acids   or

http://teachingbug.com/edu/acid-base-science-experiment

And for other Fun Learning Science Games, we invite you to visit here:

http://www.science-lessons.ca/games/ocean.html

http://www.science-lessons.ca/games/space.html

http://www.science-lessons.ca/games/brain.html

 http://www.literature-enrichment.com/

Have a look in your schoolyard and backyards, and see if you can find the Wild Flowers, Stones and/or Marine Life that contain Azulene (the chemical compound that would make them blue). Azulene is an organic compound, an isomer of naphthalene. Even though naphthalene itself has no color, azulene is dark blue, hence the dark color Blue in the essential oils of Yarrow, Blue Tansy, Blue Chamomile, Cypress and Black Spruce.  It is not surprising that the Spanish word for Blue is Azul.  The mushroom Lactarius indigo is blue because of a derivative of azulene.  Azulene is also found in some marine invertebrates, and in Lapis Lazuli stones found in Middle Eastern Persia.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lapis_lazuli

The compound azulene has a long history, dating back to the 15^th century as the azure-blue chromophore was first obtained through steam distillation of the German Chamomile flower.  This azure-blue chromophore was later discovered in Wild Yarrow flowers and named in 1863 by Septimus Piesse.  Its structure was first reported by Lavoslav Ruzicka in1937. With anti-inflammatory, skin healing properties, it is often in skincare products.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azulene

Even though Wild Yarrow flowers, Achillea millefolium, grow in colors of bright yellow, white, pink, orange, salmon and purple, the oil of the Yarrow flower is azure blue.  Blue Yarrow oil is what is termed as volatile as it has “proazulenes”, making it blue.

www.essentialoils.co.za/essential-oils/yarrow.html

Yarrow oil is both a sweet and spicy smell, and is watery in its constitution.  Yarrow is Sacred, Holy, Healing and Spiritually Protective for many First Nations Peoples.  Thank you Mother Earth for these healing flowers, stones and marine life – and for Azulene and the color Blue!

Blue Tansy essential oil also is a vivid deep blue color due to its azulene content.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azulene.  It is wildccrafted from common wildflowers grown in Morroco and North Africa from thee daisy family.  The Latin name is Tanacetum Annuum.  Health benefits include natural antihistamine and anti-inflammatory.  Herbalist Peter Holmes says it as also a “qi” or energy regulator for the body.

www.Snowlotus.org/blue-tansy-essential-oil-article.aspx.

Learn more about being a Certified Teacher at Wikipedia and at teachers count.

Here is a quick over view of Basic Chemistry.

1. What are the differences, if any, between mixtures and compounds?

1. A mixture is homogeneous, and the properties of its components are retained, while a compound is heterogeneous and its properties are distinct from those of the elements combined in its formation.
2. A mixture is heterogeneous, and the properties of its components are retained, while a compound is homogeneous and its properties are distinct from those of the elements combined in its formation.
3. A mixture is heterogeneous, and the properties of its components are changed, while a compound is homogeneous and its properties are similar to those of the elements combined in its formation.
4. A compound is heterogeneous, and the properties of its components are retained, while a mixture is homogeneous and its properties are distinct from those of the elements combined in its formation.

2. What are the differences, if any, between chemical changes and physical changes?

1. During a physical change, some aspect of the physical properties of matter are altered, but the identity of the substance remains constant. Chemical changes involve the alteration of both a substance’s composition and structure.
2. During a chemical change, some aspect of the physical properties of matter are altered, but the identity of the substance remains constant. Physical changes involve the alteration of both a substance’s composition and structure.
3. During a physical change, no aspects of the physical properties of matter are altered, but the identity of the substance remains constant. Chemical changes involve the alteration of both a substance’s composition and structure.
4. There is no substantive difference between chemical and physical changes.

 3. When a measurement is recorded, it includes the _________ ________, which are all the digits that are certain plus one uncertain digit.

1. Major figures
2. Significant figures
3. Relative figures
4. Relevant figures

 4. The _______ _______ is based on the lowest theoretical temperature, called ________ _______.

1. Kelvin scale, absolute zero
2. Celsius scale, absolute zero
3. Kelvin scale, boiling point of water
4. Centigrade scale, freezing point of water

 5. Through experiments and calculations, ________  ______ has been verified to be _________^o on the _________ scale.

1. Through experiments and calculations, absolute zero has been verified to be – 273.15^o on the Celsius scale.
2. Through experiments and calculations, unconditional zero has been verified to be 0^o on the Kelvin scale.
3. Through experiments and calculations, absolute null has been verified to be -100^o on the Celsius scale.
4. Through experiments and calculations, absolute zero has been verified to be – 273.15^o on the Kelvin scale.

6. When using the scientific notation system to express large numbers, move the _______ ______ until _____ digit(s) remain(s) to the left, then indicate the number of moves of the decimal point as the _______ __ ___.

1. When using the scientific notation system to express large numbers, move the decimal point until only two digits remain to the left, then indicate the number of moves of the decimal point as the exponent of 10.
2. When using the scientific notation system to express large numbers, move the decimal until only one digit remains to the left, then indicate the number of moves of the decimal point as the exponent of 2.
3. When using the scientific notation system to express large numbers, move the decimal until only three digits remain to the left, then indicate the number of moves of the decimal point as the exponent of 10.
4. When using the scientific notation system to express large numbers, move the decimal until only one digit remains to the left, then indicate the number of moves of the decimal point as the exponent of 10.

 7. In science, ________ indicates the __________ or ___________ of a measurement, while _______ indicates the ________ of a measurement to its known or accepted value.

1. In science, accuracy indicates the reliability or reproducibility of a measurement, while precision indicates the proximity of a measurement to its known or accepted value.
2. In science, exactitude indicates the reliability or reproducibility of a measurement, while contiguity indicates the remoteness of a measurement to its known or accepted value.
3. In science, precision indicates the reliability or reproducibility of a measurement, while accuracy indicates the proximity of a measurement to its known or accepted value.
4. In science, uncertainty indicates the realism or possibility of a measurement, while precision indicates the distance of a measurement to its known or accepted value.

 8. The _________________ states that, in a chemical change, ________ can be neither _____ or ________, but only changed from _______________.

1. The Law of the Preservation of Matter states that, in a chemical change, energy can be    neither created nor destroyed, but only changed from one form to another.
2. The Law of the Conservation of Energy states that, in a chemical change, energy can be    neither created nor destroyed, but only changed from one atomic number to another.
3. The Law of the Conservation of Energy states that, in a chemical change, energy can be    neither created nor destroyed, but only changed from one form to another.
4. The Law of the Conservation of Energy states that, in a chemical change, energy can be    neither duplicated nor destroyed, but only changed from one form to another.

9.  A _________ is a process that transforms one set of chemical substances to another; the substances used are known as ________ and those formed are _________.

1. A chemical change is a process that transforms one set of chemical substances to another; the substances used are known as products and those formed are reactants.
2. A biological change is a process that transforms one set of chemical substances to another; the substances used are known as reactants and those formed are products.
3. A chemical change is a process that transforms one set of chemical substances to another; the substances used are known as reactants and those formed are products.
4. A chemical variation is a process that transforms one set of chemical substances to another; the substances used are known as reactants and those formed are products.

10.  ________ is the series of chemical reactions resulting in the ______ of organic compounds, and _________  is the series of chemical reactions that _________ larger molecules.

1. Anabolism is the series of chemical reactions resulting in the synthesis of inorganic compounds, and catabolism is a series of chemical reactions that break down larger molecules.
2. Anabolism is the series of chemical reactions resulting in the synthesis of organic compounds, and catabolism is a series of chemical reactions that combine larger molecules.
3. Catabolism is the series of chemical reactions resulting in the synthesis of organic compounds, and anabolism is a series of chemical reactions that break down larger molecules.
4. Anabolism is the series of chemical reactions resulting in the synthesis of organic compounds, and catabolism is a series of chemical reactions that break down larger molecules.

Answer Key

1. B
A mixture is heterogeneous, and the properties of its components are retained, while a         compound is homogeneous and its properties are distinct from those of the elements combined in its formation.

2. A
During a physical change, some aspect of the physical properties of matter are altered,         but the identity of the substance remains constant. Chemical changes involve the         alteration of both a substance’s composition and structure.

Note:  Examples of physical changes include breaking glass, cutting wood and melting ice. Sometimes, the process can be easily reversed. Restoration of the original form is not possible following a chemical change.

3.  B
When a measurement is recorded, it includes the significant figures, which are all the digits that are certain plus one uncertain digit.

4.  A
The Kelvin scale is based on the lowest theoretical temperature, called absolute zero.

5.  A
Through experiments and calculations, absolute zero has been verified to be – 273.15^o on the Celsius scale.

6.  A
When using the scientific notation system to express large numbers, move the decimal point until only two digits remain to the left, then indicate the number of moves of the         decimal point as the exponent of 10.

7.  C
In science, precision indicates the reliability or reproducibility of a measurement, while accuracy indicates the proximity of a measurement to its known or accepted value.

Note:  Regardless of the precision or accuracy of a measurement, all measurements include a degree of uncertainty, dependent on limitations of the measuring instrument and the skill with which the measurement is completed.[i]

8.  C
The Law of the Conservation of Energy states that, in a chemical change, energy can         be neither created nor destroyed, but only changed from one form to another.

9.  C
A chemical change is a process that transforms one set of chemical substances to         another; the substances used are known as reactants and those formed are products.

10.  D
Anabolism is the series of chemical reactions resulting in the synthesis of organic compounds, and catabolism is a series of chemical reactions that break down larger molecules.