Do you remember stringing dandelions together to make hats and necklaces? Well, molecules like to have the same kind of fun. A bunch of small molecules string themselves together in the shape of a string, or a different complex shape forming a larger molecule. These molecules are called polymers. Proteins, starches, and plastics are examples of polymers.

7/13/98 - Oxidation

Are you ever looking for a way to seem smarter in front of your family? Well, the next time you are camping, why don't you ask if you can start an oxidation process? Oxidation is a chemical reaction or process in which electrons are taken from a molecule, and is most commonly known by wood burning.

7/14/98 - Caffeine

You know it. You love it. But what exactly is it? You obviously know that it is a stimulant, but how exactly does it work? In your body, it acts like ATP, which is a form of energy in cells. Because it does this, it prevents the making of enzymes that stop ATP production, so the body continues to make more ATP, which gives you more energy.

7/15/98 - Cholesterol

This molecule has been the scapegoat of many problems in human health over the years. But did you know that cholesterol is vital to human survival? That's right. Cholesterol is produced by the body and it helps make cell membranes.

7/16/98 - Covalent Bonds

No, they are not a form of getting out of jail. Covalent bonds are the way that atoms are held together. In a covalent bond, one electron is passed back and forth extremely fast between two atoms. The atoms are sharing the electron in a way, and that is what holds the two together.

7/17/98 - The Fourth State of Matter

How many states of matter are there? Three, right? Wrong. When the temperature of a gas is brought up high enough, the atoms knock together hard enough to break electrons loose from their corresponding nutrons. These crashes bring about the fourth state of matter called plasma, which can be found in fluorescent bulbs and stars.

7/18/98 - TNT

This substance is the primary explosive in today's non-nuclear bombs. The reason that the substance is so explosive is that the oxygen groups in the trinitroltoluene molecule are very unstable. The oxygen will leave the atom taking some hydrogen and carbon with it with just a little "push". The reason that it is such a high explosive is that it converts so little solid into such a high amount of gas so quickly by simply destroying or burning itself.