Common Laboratory Apparatus

1.Test Tube 2.Test Tube Rack

Test Tube Holder

Reagent Bottle

Beaker

Bunsen Burner

Stand and Clamp

Crucible

Measuring Cylinder

Dropper

Electronic Balance

Evaporating Dish

Filter Funnel

Flat Bottomed Flask

Safety Glasses

Mortar and Pestle (used for grinding paste or powder)

Round Bottomed Flask

Spatula

Tripod

Plastic Wash Bottle

Wire Gauze

Triple Beam Balance

Understanding The Moon Phases Have you ever wondered what causes the moon phases? We all know that its appearance changes over time. But why? The good way to understand the phases of the moon is to examine an earth-moon-sun diagram:

MoonConnection.com All Rights Reserved. This moon phases diagram is NOT public domain and may not be used on websites, copied, printed or republished except by permission. Diagram Explanation

The illustration may look a little complex at first, but it's easy to explain. Sunlight is shown coming in from the right. The earth, of course, is at the center of the diagram. The moon is shown at 8 key stages during its revolution around the earth. The moon phase name is shown alongside the image. The dotted line from the earth to the moon represents your line of sight when looking at the moon. To help you visualize how the moon would appear at that point in the cycle, you can look at the larger moon image. This means for the waning gibbous, third quarter, and waning crescent phases you have to mentally turn yourself upside down. When you do this, you'll "see" that the illuminated portion is on your left, just as you see in the large image. One important thing to notice is that exactly one half of the moon is always illuminated by the sun. Of course that is perfectly logical, but you need to visualize it in order to understand the phases. At certain times we see both the sunlit portion and the shadowed portion -- and that creates the various moon phase shapes we are all familiar with. Also note that the shadowed part of the moon is invisible to the naked eye; in the diagram above, it is only shown for clarification purposes. So the basic explanation is that the lunar phases are created by changing angles (relative positions) of the earth, the moon and the sun, as the moon orbits the earth. If you'd like to examine the phases of the moon more closely, via computer software, you may be interested in this moon phases calendar software. Moon Phases Simplified It's probably easiest to understand the moon cycle in this order: new moon and full moon, first quarter and third quarter, and the phases in between. As shown in the above diagram, the new moon occurs when the moon is positioned between the earth and sun. The three objects are in approximate alignment (why "approximate" is explained below). The entire illuminated portion of the moon is on the back side of the moon, the half that we cannot see. At a full moon, the earth, moon, and sun are in approximate alignment, just as the new moon, but the moon is on the opposite side of the earth, so the entire sunlit part of the moon is facing us. The shadowed portion is entirely hidden from view. The first quarter and third quarter moons (both often called a "half moon"), happen when the moon is at a 90 degree angle with respect to the earth and sun. So we are seeing exactly half of the moon illuminated and half in shadow. Once you understand those four key moon phases, the phases between should be fairly easy to visualize, as the illuminated portion gradually transitions between them. An easy way to remember and understand those "between" lunar phase names is by breaking out and defining 4 words: crescent, gibbous, waxing, and waning. The word crescent refers to the phases where the moon is less that half illuminated. The word gibbous refers to phases where the moon is more than half illuminated. Waxing essentially means "growing" or expanding in illumination, and waning means "shrinking" or decreasing in illumination. Thus you can simply combine the two words to create the phase name, as follows: After the new moon, the sunlit portion is increasing, but less than half, so it is waxing crescent. After the first quarter, the sunlit portion is still increasing, but now it is more than half, so it iswaxing gibbous. After the full moon (maximum illumination), the light continually decreases. So the waning gibbous phase occurs next. Following the third quarter is the waning crescent, which wanes until the light is completely gone -- a new moon. The Moon's Orbit You may have personally observed that the moon goes through a complete moon phases cycle in about one month. That's true, but it's not exactly one month. The synodic period or lunation is exactly

29.5305882 days. It's the time required for the moon to move to the same position (same phase) as seen by an observer on earth. If you were to view the moon cycling the earth from outside our solar system (the viewpoint of the stars), the time required is 27.3217 days, roughly two days less. This figure is called the sidereal period or orbital period. Why is the synodic period different from the sidereal period? The short answer is because on earth, we are viewing the moon from a moving platform: during the moon cycle, the earth has moved approximately one month along its year-long orbit around the sun, altering our angle of view with respect to the moon, and thus altering the phase. The earth's orbital direction is such that it lengthens the period for earthbound observers. Although the synodic and sidereal periods are exact numbers, the moon phase can't be precisely calculated by simple division of days because the moon's motion (orbital speed and position) is affected and perturbed by various forces of different strengths. Hence, complex equations are used to determine the exact position and phase of the moon at any given point in time. Also, looking at the diagram (and imagining it to scale), you may have wondered why, at a new moon, the moon doesn't block the sun, and at a full moon, why the earth doesn't block sunlight from reaching the moon. The reason is because the moon's orbit about the earth is about 5 degrees off from the earth-sun orbital plane. However, at special times during the year, the earth, moon, and sun do in fact "line up". When the moon blocks the sun or a part of it, it's called a solar eclipse, and it can only happen during the new moon phase. When the earth casts a shadow on the moon, it's called a lunar eclipse, and can only happen during the full moon phase. Roughly 4 to 7 eclipses happen in any given year, but most of them minor or "partial" eclipses. Major lunar or solar eclipses are relatively uncommon. Moon Software If you want to follow the phases of the moon, you should definitely take a look at QuickPhase Pro, our flagship moon software product for your personal computer. This attractive and fun software covers thousands of years of past and future moon phases and is easy to use. Click Here For Recommended Moon Software & Products (c) 2012 MoonConnection.com. All Rights Reserved. Copyright | Contact | About | Privacy Policy

A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes behind the Earth so that the Earth blocks the Sun's rays from striking the Moon. This can occur only when the Sun, Earth, and Moon are aligned exactly, or very closely so, with the Earth in the middle. Hence, a lunar eclipse can only occur the night of a full moon. The type and length of an eclipse depend upon the Moon's location relative to its orbital nodes. The most recent total lunar eclipse occurred on December 10, 2011.

Inner Solar System The inner Solar System is the traditional name for the region comprising the terrestrial planets and asteroids.[40] Composed mainly of silicates and metals, the objects of the inner Solar System are relatively close to the Sun; the radius of this entire region is shorter than the distance between Jupiter and Saturn. Inner planets Main article: Terrestrial planet

The inner planets. From left to right:Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars (sizes to scale, interplanetary distances not) The four inner or terrestrial planets have dense, rocky compositions, few or no moons, and no ring systems. They are composed largely of refractoryminerals, such as the silicates, which form their crusts and mantles, and metals such as iron and nickel, which form their cores. Three of the four inner planets (Venus, Earth and Mars) have atmospheres substantial enough to generate weather; all have impact craters and tectonic surface features such as rift valleys and volcanoes. The term inner planet should not be confused with inferior planet, which designates those planets that are closer to the Sun than Earth is (i.e. Mercury and Venus). Mercury Mercury (0.4 AU from the Sun) is the closest planet to the Sun and the smallest planet in the Solar System (0.055 Earth masses). Mercury has no natural satellites, and its only known geological features besides impact craters are lobed ridges or rupes, probably produced by a period of contraction early in its history. [41] Mercury's almost negligible atmosphere consists of atoms blasted off its surface by the solar wind.[42] Its relatively large iron core and thin mantle have not yet been adequately explained. Hypotheses include that its outer layers were stripped off by a giant impact, and that it was prevented from fully accreting by the young Sun's energy.[43][44] Venus Venus (0.7 AU from the Sun) is close in size to Earth (0.815 Earth masses), and, like Earth, has a thick silicate mantle around an iron core, a substantial atmosphere and evidence of internal geological activity. However, it is much drier than Earth and its atmosphere is ninety times as dense. Venus has no natural satellites. It is the hottest planet, with surface temperatures over 400 C, most likely due to the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.[45] No definitive evidence of current geological activity has been detected on Venus, but it has no magnetic field that would prevent depletion of its substantial atmosphere, which suggests that its atmosphere is regularly replenished by volcanic eruptions.[46] Earth Earth (1 AU from the Sun) is the largest and densest of the inner planets, the only one known to have current geological activity, and is the only place in the Solar System where life is known to exist.[47] Its liquid hydrosphere is unique among the terrestrial planets, and it is also the only planet where plate tectonics has been observed. Earth's atmosphere is radically different from those of the other planets, having been altered by the presence of life to contain 21% free oxygen.[48] It has one natural satellite, the Moon, the only large satellite of a terrestrial planet in the Solar System. Mars Mars (1.5 AU from the Sun) is smaller than Earth and Venus (0.107 Earth masses). It possesses an atmosphere of mostly carbon dioxide with a surface pressure of 6.1 millibars (roughly 0.6 percent that of the Earth's). [49] Its surface, peppered with vast volcanoes such as Olympus Mons and rift valleys such as Valles Marineris, shows geological activity

that may have persisted until as recently as 2 million years ago. [50] Its red colour comes from iron oxide (rust) in its soil.[51] Mars has two tiny natural satellites (Deimos and Phobos) thought to be capturedasteroids.[52] Asteroid belt Main article: Asteroid belt

Image of the asteroid belt and the Trojan asteroids Asteroids are small Solar System bodies[e] composed mainly of refractory rocky and metallic minerals, with some ice.[53] The asteroid belt occupies the orbit between Mars and Jupiter, between 2.3 and 3.3 AU from the Sun. It is thought to be remnants from the Solar System's formation that failed to coalesce because of the gravitational interference of Jupiter.[54] Asteroids range in size from hundreds of kilometres across to microscopic. All asteroids except the largest, Ceres, are classified as small Solar System bodies, but some asteroids such as Vesta and Hygiea may be reclassed as dwarf planets if they are shown to have achieved hydrostatic equilibrium.[55] The asteroid belt contains tens of thousands, possibly millions, of objects over one kilometre in diameter.[56] Despite this, the total mass of the asteroid belt is unlikely to be more than a thousandth of that of the Earth.[57] The asteroid belt is very sparsely populated;spacecraft routinely pass through without incident. Asteroids with diameters between 10 and 104 m are called meteoroids.[58] Ceres Ceres (2.77 AU) is the largest asteroid, a protoplanet, and a dwarf planet.[e] It has a diameter of slightly under 1000 km, and a mass large enough for its own gravity to pull it into a spherical shape. Ceres was considered a planet when it was discovered in the 19th century, but was reclassified as an asteroid in the 1850s as further observations revealed additional asteroids.[59] It was classified in 2006 as a dwarf planet. Asteroid groups Asteroids in the asteroid belt are divided into asteroid groups and families based on their orbital characteristics. Asteroid moons are asteroids that orbit larger asteroids. They are not as clearly distinguished as planetary moons, sometimes being almost as large as their partners. The asteroid belt also contains mainbelt comets, which may have been the source of Earth's water.[60] Trojan asteroids are located in either of Jupiter's L4 or L5 points (gravitationally stable regions leading and trailing a planet in its orbit); the term "Trojan" is also used for small bodies in any other planetary or satellite Lagrange point. Hilda asteroids are in a 2:3 resonance with Jupiter; that is, they go around the Sun three times for every two Jupiter orbits.[61] The inner Solar System is also dusted with rogue asteroids, many of which cross the orbits of the inner planets.[62]

Outer Solar System The outer region of the Solar System is home to the gas giants and their large moons. Many short-period comets, including the centaurs, also orbit in this region. Due to their greater distance from the Sun, the solid objects in the outer Solar System contain a higher proportion of volatiles such as water, ammonia and methane, than the rocky denizens of the inner Solar System, as the colder temperatures allow these compounds to remain solid. Outer planets Main articles: Outer planets and Gas giant

From top to bottom: Neptune, Uranus,Saturn, and Jupiter (not to scale) The four outer planets, or gas giants (sometimes called Jovian planets), collectively make up 99 percent of the mass known to orbit the Sun.[c] Jupiter and Saturn are each many tens of times the mass of the Earth and consist overwhelmingly of hydrogen and helium; Uranus and Neptune are far less massive (<20 Earth masses) and possess more ices in their makeup. For these reasons, some astronomers suggest they belong in their own category, "ice giants".[63] All four gas giants have rings, although only Saturn's ring system is easily observed from Earth. The term outer planet should not be confused with superior planet, which designates planets outside Earth's orbit and thus includes both the outer planets and Mars. Jupiter Jupiter (5.2 AU), at 318 Earth masses, is 2.5 times the mass of all the other planets put together. It is composed largely of hydrogen and helium. Jupiter's strong internal heat creates a number of semi-permanent features in its atmosphere, such as cloud bands and the Great Red Spot.

Jupiter has 66 known satellites. The four largest, Ganymede, Callisto, Io, and Europa, show similarities to the terrestrial planets, such as volcanism and internal heating.[64] Ganymede, the largest satellite in the Solar System, is larger than Mercury. Saturn Saturn (9.5 AU), distinguished by its extensive ring system, has several similarities to Jupiter, such as its atmospheric composition and magnetosphere. Although Saturn has 60% of Jupiter's volume, it is less than a third as massive, at 95 Earth masses, making it the least dense planet in the Solar System. The rings of Saturn are made up of small ice and rock particles. Saturn has 62 confirmed satellites; two of which, Titan and Enceladus, show signs of geological activity, though they are largely made of ice.[65]Titan, the second-largest moon in the Solar System, is larger than Mercury and the only satellite in the Solar System with a substantial atmosphere. Uranus Uranus (19.6 AU), at 14 Earth masses, is the lightest of the outer planets. Uniquely among the planets, it orbits the Sun on its side; its axial tilt is over ninety degrees to the ecliptic. It has a much colder core than the other gas giants, and radiates very little heat into space.[66] Uranus has 27 known satellites, the largest ones being Titania, Oberon, Umbriel, Ariel and Miranda. Neptune Neptune (30 AU), though slightly smaller than Uranus, is more massive (equivalent to 17 Earths) and therefore more dense. It radiates more internal heat, but not as much as Jupiter or Saturn.[67] Neptune has 13 known satellites. The largest, Triton, is geologically active, with geysers of liquid nitrogen.[68] Triton is the only large satellite with a retrograde orbit. Neptune is accompanied in its orbit by a number of minor planets, termed Neptune trojans, that are in 1:1 resonance with it. Comets

Comets are small Solar System bodies,[e] typically only a few kilometres across, composed largely of volatile ices. They have highly eccentric orbits, generally a perihelion within the orbits of the inner planets and an aphelion far beyond Pluto. When a comet enters the inner Solar System, its proximity to the Sun causes its icy surface to sublimate and ionise, creating a coma: a long tail of gas and dust often visible to the naked eye. Short-period comets have orbits lasting less than two hundred years. Long-period comets have orbits lasting thousands of years. Short-period comets are believed to originate in the Kuiper belt,

while long-period comets, such as HaleBopp, are believed to originate in the Oort cloud. Many comet groups, such as the Kreutz Sungrazers, formed from the breakup of a single parent.[69] Some comets with hyperbolic orbits may originate outside the Solar System, but determining their precise orbits is difficult. [70] Old comets that have had most of their volatiles driven out by solar warming are often categorised as asteroids.[

How do these massive slabs of solid rock float despite their tremendous weight? The answer lies in the composition of the rocks. Continental crust is composed of granitic rocks which are made up of relatively lightweight minerals such as quartz and feldspar. By contrast, oceanic crust is composed of basaltic rocks, which are much denser and heavier. The variations in plate thickness are nature's way of partly compensating for the imbalance in the weight and density of the two types of crust. Because continental rocks are much lighter, the crust under the continents is much thicker (as much as 100 km) whereas the crust under the oceans is generally only about 5 km thick. Like icebergs, only the tips of which are visible above water, continents have deep "roots" to support their elevations. Tectonics (from the Vulgar Latin tectonicus, meaning "building") is a field of study within geology concerned generally with the structures within the lithosphere of the Earth (or other planets and moons) and particularly with the forces and movements that have operated in a region to create these structures. SEA FLOOR SPREADING It is hard to imagine that these great big solid slabs of rock could wander around the globe. Scientists needed a clue as to how the continents drifted. The discovery of the chain of mountains that lie under the oceans was the clue that they were waiting for.

PLATES ARE CREATED: In the diagram below you can see that the continental crust is beginning to separate creating a diverging plate boundary. When a divergence occurs within a continent it is called rifting. A plume of hot magma rises from deep within the mantle pushing up the crust and causing pressure forcing the continent to break and separate. Lava flows and earthquakes would be seen. In the diagram below you can see that the continental crust is beginning to separate creating a diverging plate boundary. When a divergence occurs within a continent it is called rifting. A plume of hot magma rises from deep within the mantle pushing up the crust and causing pressure forcing the continent to break and separate. Lava flows and earthquakes would be seen.

This is an example of a divergent plate boundary (where the plates move away from each other). The Atlantic Ocean was created by this process. The mid-Atlantic Ridge is an area where new sea floor is being created.

As the rift valley expands two continental plates have been constructed from the original one. The molten rock continues to push the crust apart creating new crust as it does.

As the rift valley expands, water collects forming a sea. The MidAtlantic Ridge is now 2,000 metres above the adjacent sea floor, which is at a depth of about 6,000 metres below sea level.

The sea floor continues to spread and the plates get bigger and bigger. This process can be seen all over the world and produces about 17 square kilometres of new plate every year.

Click here for the Scotland story

It's important that we look at the evidence for sea floor spreading. So clickhere

Picture the following in your mind: 1. 2. 3. You have a nine piece jigsaw (now there's a challenge). The piece in the middle starts to grow. It gets bigger and bigger.

What do you think will happen to the puzzle? ANSWER

Now let's think back to our plates being created at the mid-ocean ridges, it seems to be a good idea but if this is the only type of plate movement then the world would get bigger and bigger. In fact the world has remained the same size. So if plates are being created at the mid-ocean ridges then they must be being consumed somewhere else in the world.

PLATES ARE DESTROYED (SUBDUCTION): This is a convergent plate boundary, the plates move towards each other. The amount of crust on the surface of the earth remains relatively constant. Therefore, when plates diverge (separate) and form new crust in one area, the plates must converge (come together) in another area and be destroyed. An example of this is the Nazca plate being subducted under the South American plate to form the Andes Mountain Chain.

Here we can see the oceanic plate moving from left to right. The top layer of the mantle and the crust (all called the lithosphere) sinks beneath the continent. A deep ocean trench is formed. Water gets carried down with the oceanic crust and the rocks begin to heat up as they travel slowly into the earth. Water is then driven off triggering the formation of pools of molten rock which slowly rises. The plate moves downwards at a rate of a few centimetres per year. The molten rock can take tens of thousands of years to then either:

Solidify slowly underground as intrusive igneous rock such as granite. or

Reach the surface and erupt as lava flows. Cooling rapidly to form extrusive igneous rock such as basalt.

The floor of the Easter Pacific is moving towards South America at a rate of 9 centimetres per year. It might not seem much but over the past 10 million years the Pacific crust has been subducted under South America and has sunk nearly 1000 kilometres into the Earth's interior. Types of Convergent Boundaries The example above showed what happened when the dense oceanic plate subducts under a lighter continental plate (ie, oceanic continental). Two other types of subduction can take place: When two oceanic plate meet each other (oceanicoceanic) this often results in the formation of an island arc system. As the subducting oceanic crust melts as it goes deeper into the Earth, the newly-created magma rises to the surface and forms volcanoes. If the activity continues, the volcano may grow tall enough to breech the surface of the ocean creating an island.

The key to subduction seems to be water which acts as a kind of lubricant as the heavier plate slips underneath the lighter plate. I must not forget to mention the Himalayas and Mount Everest because this is the third example of plate movement

Millions of years ago India and an ancient ocean called the Tethys Ocean were sat on a tectonic plate. This plate was moving northwards towards Asia at a rate of 10 centimetres per year. The Tethys oceanic crust was being subducted under the Asian Continent. The ocean got progressively smaller until about 55 milion years ago when India 'hit' Asia. There was no more ocean left to lubricate the subduction and so the plates welled up to form the High Plateau of Tibet and the Himalayan Mountains. The continental crust under Tibet is over 70 kilometres thick. North of Katmandu, the capital of Nepal, is a deep gorge in the Himalayas. the rock here is made of schist and granite with contorted and folded layers of marine sediments which were deposited by the Tethys ocean over 60 million years ago.

The fourth type of plate movement involves plates sliding past one another without the construction or destruction of crust. This boundary is called a conservation zone because plate is neither created nor destroyed An example of such a boundary is the San Andreas fault in California. The force needed to move billions of tonnes of rock is unimaginable. When plates move some of the energy is released asearthquakes.