McKinley High School - Nugget Yearbook (St Louis, MO)

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THE CARNATION - CHEMISTRY CLASS

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.ggi I0 jg?-U THE CARNATION CHEMISTRY DEPARTMENT p F ERHAPS you have noticed that, as classes of prospective grade school graduates were led about the school on their visit to McKinley, their arrival in the chemistry laboratory was somewhat of a surprise to them. To the great majority it's something new, and perhaps you might hear one little fellow, who you would think was about to begin the fifth grade instead of graduating, say: Say, Jack, l'm gonna take this when I come up here. ln all probability that statement was prompted by curiosity, but if that little fellow goes through two years of high school, his reasons for taking chemistry will be a great deal better than that of mere curiosity. Everyone should have general knowledge of chemistry for at least one reason. That is, to have a better understanding of the everyday things we do and use. Chemistry deals with ele- ments and compoundsg their properties, characteristics, and re- actions. Since everything is made up of various groups of ele- ments or compounds, chemistry deals with everything. As an illustration, let us go through a few of the many things we do or use in which chemistry takes a part. You arise in the morning and go to the basement to start the furnacefire. After the fuel has been inserted, you will strike a match. A chemical reaction takes place. You light the fuel, but do you know what is actually taking place? Master your very first lesson invchem- istry and the question mark will be erased. You go upstairs to wash your hands which become soiled while tending to the fur- nace. Yes, the soap cleans them, but do you know the why of it? Then again, do you know of what soap is made? . How it is made? Chemistry again will answer these questions. You then go to the breakfast table. As you put the sugar into your coffee, do you realize that it is only a compound of carbon and water that is going to give your coffee a pleasing taste? As you eat your toast do you know that the bread in the making went througha chemical reaction? Do you know as the toast was made there was another reaction which gave the toast a sweet taste? So you see, chemistry does play an important part in our everyday lives. Chemistry cannot be taken before the fifth term in high school. Mathematics and physics are not absolutely essential for the study of high school chemistry, but naturally, a person with a knowledge of these subjects is at an advantage. During the first term of chemistry, one studies the funda- mental principles: The elements, their characteristics, properties and reactions. During the second term the study of the elements is continued, especially the metals. Also, more attention is given to compounds formed by these elements. The experiments per- formed are naturally of a more difficult nature than those of the first term. Some organic chemistry is also studied. Third term chemistry is altogether different from that of the first and second terms. Here one is given qualitative analysis. If one really likes chemistry in the first and second terms, he will surely like the third term extremely well. Here one is given a solution, the composition of which is unknown to the embryo chemist. He is given a scheme of analysis and, if this is followed carefully and accurately, the student will find out what elements are present in the unknown solution or salt. The fun of solving cross-word puzzles cannot be compared to the enjoyment re- ceived from chemistry three. I assure you that regardless of what you intend to become in after life, you will never regret having studied chemistry. MICHAEL LEVIN. L .

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...gl 1213s THE CARNATION MACHINE SHOP ANUAL training is the attempt to train together the head, heart and hand, especially through the use of various tools and machines. ln no other department of the school is there found so great a personal interest as in the Manual Training Shops, since most boys are mechanically inclined. This shop is one of the most important in the school, as it gives the student the finishing touches to his work in Manual Training. As one great educator has said, Much importance is placed upon machine shop practice, not only because of the fine educational training which it provides, but because of its technical and practical value. lt provides for the development of orig- inality, initiative and real thinking power, instead of training by rule-of-thumb, the instruction is entirely through blue-prints, job sheets, questions, problems and guided discussions. ln the machine shop as in no other division of the work, the metals are either cast wrought iron or steel, and the process is necessarily slow, patient and persistent effort by the student is more certain to be rewarded by character development and mental breadth. Again the senses are quickened by the neces- sity of close observation, and the reason schooled by its constant use of method, together with the planning of the logical sequence of the processes. Judgment is slowly, but surely acquired, and the will strengthened by the mastery of each new difficulty. From the forge shop, where the metals are worked when heated, the student goes into a new field. ln the Machine Shop, where the metals are worked cold, he also meetsa wilderness of belts and pulleys. Belts go in every direction, but each transmits power to a certain machine. The atmosphere is filled with a spirit of activity, the grinding of tools, cutting of metals, and the hum of belts, gives one the impression of a busy manu- facturing plant. The lathes, the fundamental machines of the shop, have many more clutches, handles, gears and pulleys, than the small speed lathes for wood-turning. The many polished steel parts of the machines shine brightly from the sunlight that pours in through the skylights in the roof of the shop. The equipment consists of ten lathes, a planer, shaper, milling machine, two drill presses and a universal grinder. The course in machine shop practice is divided as follows: Each project is presented in the form of a blue print and opera- tion sheet, from which the student receives the major part of his information, description and instruction. There is a series of thoroughly practical projects involving the uses of the lather, planer, shaper, drill presses, milling machine and grinder which are worked out by each student in logical order. The vice work enables the students not only to become familiar with the various hand processes of metal work, but to acquire skill in the manipulation of the common machinists' hand tools. The work includes laying out, filing, fitting, scraping and finishing. Lathe work includes the following operations: Cutting off and centering up stock, roughing out and finishing cuts, straight and taper turning, use of the compound shile rest, chuck work, in- cluding inside boring, face plating and thread cutting. The drilling deals not only with the ordinary processes of drilling, counter boring, and reaming, but includes the laying out and accurate spacing of holes in the given work. The grinding treats of abrasive processes, grinding machines, hand and machine operations, the grinding of both plane and cylindrical surfaces, and the sharpening of taps, reamers and milling cutters, while the grinding of hardened steel arbors, spindles and gauges forms an integral part of the work. ln addition to the regular course of exercises, the majority of which are machinists' small tools, some of the following machines are frequently designed and built by the students at the close of their senior year: Jackscrews, motors, steam and gas engines, small grindstone stands, and small machine tools. The students by this time are well acquainted with the vari- ous machines and have a fairly good idea of attack to a prob- lem given them. JOSEPH H. BAUER.