1)Under what environmental conditions are molecules on earth formed? (Think of various environments on earth) The environmental conditions that molecules need to form on Earth are low in radiation, moderate in temperature and atmospheric pressures. According to the article, the same conditions that are needed for human life were thought to be the same required for molecules (Moskowitz, 2017).
2) Compare and contrast the environment in space to normal laboratory conditions on earth in which compounds are formed. The environments in space are much more volatile than the ones on earth. The temperatures can be extremely hot or cold and pressures recorded are “far from terrestrial” (Moskowitz, 2017, 63). In laboratory conditions, the environment of space can only be mimicked to a degree. There is no way to produce the climates found in space and still maintain human life.
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3) Why are “alien” molecules more likely to exist in space than on earth? Alien molecules are more resistant to the harsh climates and pressures that space requires them to live in. Also, this species of molecule can go years before ever interacting with another molecule while it is in space, meaning that it can exist for a long time without interruption (Moskowitz, 2017).
4) Draw a reasonable Lewis Structure for the newly identified C3H+ molecule. Is there more than one correct Lewis Structure? If so, draw them as well. What do scientists call multiple Lewis Structures for the same molecule, usually a polyatomic ion? Can C3H+ be considered a polyatomic ion? Draw your structure(s) on paper, take a picture of it and post your photo in the answer box.
5) Based on your Lewis Structure drawings of the C3H+ molecule…explain if this molecule would be stable under normal laboratory conditions on earth? Does the bonding of atoms in this molecule follow the octet rule? why or why not? Can the octet rule be applied to all molecules? When does it not apply? Under normal laboratory conditions, this molecule would probably be unstable due to its excess of carbon molecules and no defines nucleus. It does not follow the octet rule because there are more than eight shared molecules in the bonding. The octet rule cannot be applied to all molecules because some molecules may have less or more than eight molecules.
6) Explain why scientific models are applied to certain systems under a certain set of conditions? Think of the Lewis structure of C3H+ and whether it follows the octet bonding rules and other models that are used to explain other invisible phenomena. Under certain conditions, scientific models can show the process of how new molecules and molecular reactions are formed and initiated. Moskowitz (2017) writes that scientists who were studying quantum mechanics can start from a certain molecule in a lab and manipulate its bonds to see what is created and how long the molecules can exist independently.
7) Can noble gases or otherwise inert elements react in space? If so, what have scientists hypothesized as a possible mechanism for this process? Noble gases and inert elements can react in space. The hypothesis behind this event is that strong cosmic rays knock the bonds within inert elements loose, allowing them to bond with other elements (Moskowitz, 2017, p. 64).
8) What do scientist conclude if ArH+ is present in a region of space? Scientists conclude that that particular region is “flooded with cosmic rays” (Moskowitz, 2017, p. 65).
9) What molecular evidence has been discovered by astrochemists in space that can help answer the question of how did life begin? How may the discovery of unknown molecules in space affect life here on earth? Scientists have found that there are amino acids in space and molecules present that may have caused their existence. The discovery of unknown molecules in space affects life on earth by scientists being able to apply new molecular properties on Earth and recreate elements of space in a lab.
10) What molecule/structure was first developed in the lab and later found to be in interstellar gas? What experimental conditions were used to confirm he structures were in fact the same? The molecular structures created were buckyballs. The conditions used to confirm the structures were the best spacelike conditions that could be created in a lab (Moskowitz, 2017, p. 65).
- Moskowitz, C. (2017). Extreme Molecules in Space: Scientists are discovering many Compounds in the Cosmos that cannot exist on Earth. Scientific American, 60-65
