Stupid Chemistry!

[Marty333]

Sorry but I need to vent! So since im home school I have to do "labs" by myself all alone. This lab had to do with intermolecular forces ( I still have no idea what that is) So I had to either have a plastic comb or a latex balloon since I do not have balloons I got my plastic comb. So you are suppose to rub it on your head and then put it next to a steady stream of flowing water from your faucet to see if the water would bend. Of course it didn't bend so it said to keep on rubbing it on my head til the water bend so after 50 failed attempts I have a rub burn mark on my head! I will probably get a bad grade just because I didn't get the water to bend!
So that was my rant ugh I hate Chemistry!

 

[PeanutbuttER]

I hear ya. I've taken 2 full years of college level chemistry and it is an absolute pain in the butt. By far, this is my least favorite subject.

By the way, if you do have any questions, I'd be glad to help any way I can. What are you not understanding about intermolecular forces?

 

[Sweetness_bug]

You are so funny I hated chemistry to...Good luck!

 

[Torty Mom]

Awwwee hang in there Marty, try a smaller stream of water, maybe that will help! Maybe it's a trick question and it's really not suppose to work..... hmmmmm. Good luck!

 

[schribby24]

No its supposed to work

 

[spikethebest]

i can help with all math and science courses in high school, and most in college. let me know if you need any help.

 

[Sweetness_bug]

Everyone is just so nice here! i wish i had allof you when i was in high school

 

[Kenny]

the stream has to be very small about 1/16 of an inch.
and your hair needs to be dry.
thats what usually screws people up on this project.
good luck

edit: it also takes about a dozen strokes to build up the charge

 

[Marty333]

Lol i kept it making it smaller and smaller until it stopped flowing and my hair is dry so I dont know why it didnt work :/

 

[Kenny]

Lol i kept it making it smaller and smaller until it stopped flowing and my hair is dry so I dont know why it didnt work :/

try it in a kitchen. sometime the humidity of a bathroom makes it difficult.
also are you aware that the water is supposed to bend towards the comb? alotta people think its supposed to bend away , and in effect dont notice that its been working all along

 

[Marty333]

Lol i kept it making it smaller and smaller until it stopped flowing and my hair is dry so I dont know why it didnt work :/

try it in a kitchen. sometime the humidity of a bathroom makes it difficult.
also are you aware that the water is supposed to bend towards the comb? alotta people think its supposed to bend away , and in effect dont notice that its been working all along

I was doing it in the kitchen maybe its just the humidity of florida and yeah I called the teacher and she said it was to bend towards the come so IDK maybe there is something wrong with my head

 

[dmmj]

This may not help much but if you need static electricity I am always shocking myself all over the house.

 

[Kenny]

Lol i kept it making it smaller and smaller until it stopped flowing and my hair is dry so I dont know why it didnt work :/

try it in a kitchen. sometime the humidity of a bathroom makes it difficult.
also are you aware that the water is supposed to bend towards the comb? alotta people think its supposed to bend away , and in effect dont notice that its been working all along

I was doing it in the kitchen maybe its just the humidity of florida and yeah I called the teacher and she said it was to bend towards the come so IDK maybe there is something wrong with my head

unfortunately humidity Decharges the comb making this project impossible
if u can find a dry area it should work w/o a hitch.

heres what your trying to do:
you want to comb your hair with about 12 strokes.
then your comb will be negatively charged.
the water stream is neutral(both pos and neg molecules)
the comb being negatively charged repells the neg molecules in the water and brings the pos charged ones closer causing the water to bend.

unfortunately if its to humid you can't get a charge.
so if u have a de-humidifier that could help.

 

[Yvonne G]

Or comb the cat. I'm always shocking my cat while petting her.

 

[tobibaby]

Lol i kept it making it smaller and smaller until it stopped flowing and my hair is dry so I dont know why it didnt work :/

try it in a kitchen. sometime the humidity of a bathroom makes it difficult.
also are you aware that the water is supposed to bend towards the comb? alotta people think its supposed to bend away , and in effect dont notice that its been working all along

I was doing it in the kitchen maybe its just the humidity of florida and yeah I called the teacher and she said it was to bend towards the come so IDK maybe there is something wrong with my head

unfortunately humidity Decharges the comb making this project impossible
if u can find a dry area it should work w/o a hitch.

heres what your trying to do:
you want to comb your hair with about 12 strokes.
then your comb will be negatively charged.
the water stream is neutral(both pos and neg molecules)
the comb being negatively charged repells the neg molecules in the water and brings the pos charged ones closer causing the water to bend.

unfortunately if its to humid you can't get a charge.
so if u have a de-humidifier that could help.

wow kenny you are great at explaining this.. and Marty chemistry is so cool, i majored in math and chem in college and i loved every minute of it.. the reason why i love them is that you always get an answer at the end.

 

[Marty333]

I hate chem Bio is my specialty and English

 

[franeich]

Just watch a video of it working on the internet and tell your teacher it worked.

 

[Marty333]

but then thats cheating........

 

[RV's mom]

wish I had all you helpful people when I was going through school.

teri

 

[chairman]

but then thats cheating........

Ok then, watch the video on the internet of the actual experiment. Then, take a nickel and start placing drops of water on top of it. You'll notice that you can significantly overload the top of the nickel with water... because intermeolecular forces are holding the individual water molecules together, preventing them from spilling over the edge (until, that is, you add enough water that gravity overcomes the intermolecular forces). Thus, you have actually completed an experiment that demonstrates intermolecular forces, AND you have seen how the original experiment was supposed to work.