Materials:

Foam half circle

4 strings of lights
Blue plastic flowers
4 Styrofoam birds
2 formable tree branches
Synthetic moss
Hot glue
Green wire

The Making of:

The Chemistree was made with a
combination of mediums with the main focus
being the showcasing of metals various
abilities due to its bonds. The base/hill is a
foam half circle that was covered in synthetic
moss in order to give it a more realistic and
natural look. The Chemistree itself was then
formed from the two synthetic tree branches
mentioned in the materials. Once the two had
been formed together in what looked like a
cohesive tree, the ends were presses into the
base and hot glued into place. As soon as the
tree and base were stable, and attached, the
lights were strung around the tree. This was
done by wrapping the light strands around each
branch, and the trunk of the tree. At the end of
each branch the lights/their wire was anchored
to the branch with the highly malleable green
wire mentioned above. As soon as all of the
lights were secured in place, the birds were
added in such a way that they were separated
into what could be considered the four corners
of the tree to prevent crowding/clutter. This
was done by wrapping the same green wire
around the branches in such a way that an end

stuck out from the branch, which is where the

bird was anchored by pushing the wire through
it. Finally, the numerous synthetic blue flowers
were placed around the tree. This was done in
a way that allowed all/most of the flowers to
face in arbitrary directions, again, giving it a
more natural/realistic effect. Once the flowers
had been placed appropriately, they were glued
in place, and the glue strings were removed
from the entire piece. The final touch was
adding a tiny flower directly beneath the tree.

seen through the clear plastic coating) that

carry the electricity from the batteries to each
of the lights. This is due entirely to how metal
atoms are bonded.

The Chemistrees Inspiration:

So, by now, I bet your wondering what

on Earth any of this has to do with
conductivity? Well, everything! Conductivity
is the ability of a substance to conduct
electricity/allow it to pass through it.
Electricity is the flow of electrons, which is
where the sea of free electrons found in metals
makes for great conductors. When these free
electrons are excited by an electrical voltage,
they become highly excited and begin to move
around. This allows for the electric voltage
originally input to be transferred to whatever
needs it (in the Chemistrees case, thats the
lights).

The Chemistree was made as both a

work of art, and prime example of chemistry
concept (hence the name). Its main inspiration
was the malleability and conductivity of metals
due to their unique way of bonding.
Conductivity:
The most prominent piece of The
Chemistree is the lights. These were
incorporated into the tree due to their excellent
exemplification of the conductivity of metals.
There are metal wires (that can intentionally be

Metal atoms are bonded very

differently from covalent or ionic substances,
due to how their electrons are shared. In
covalent bonds, electrons are shares between
atoms, with little ability to move, or change the
atoms that they are tied to. This is similarly
true in ionic bonds as well however, the
electronegativities are so different that the atom
with the higher electronegativity completely
breaks electrons off of the other atom and takes
them for itself. However, the bonding of metal
atoms is quite different. When metal atoms
bond, their electrons arent claimed by any
atoms really. They instead exist in what could
be called a sea of electrons. This lack of
concrete ownership means that all of the atoms
share all of the electrons, allowing them to
move around freely between the atoms.

So, as voltage is applied to the

electrons in the metal wires, the free electrons
become extremely excited and move
around/flow. This energy is then transferred to
the lights lining the tree so they will light up.

Malleability:
The Chemistree also
utilizes/exemplifies the malleability of metals
with both the wires connecting the lights, the
green wire holding the birds and lights onto the
branches, and the branches themselves. The
branches were bendable, because they have a
malleable metal/wire core that can easily be
reshaped, and bent. The wires connecting the
lights are also malleable, which allowed them
to be so tightly wrapped around the branches
with little to no effort. And last, but certainly
not least, the green wires malleability allowed
it to anchor the birds, and lights to the tree.
How is this possible you say? Metals
are hard, strong materials? Well yes, but their
bonding also makes them malleable. This is
again due to the free floating sea of electrons
that exist between the atoms. Because these
electrons are not acting as bonding agents for

the atoms within the metal, but rather buffers,

they allow the metal atoms to slide past one
another. So, when pressure is applied to a
metal especially through either hitting or
bending, the electrons between the atoms
simply move out of the way and let the atoms
slide past one another.
This is why the green wire was used to
wrap around the wire and the tree in order to
anchor things to it. This is also why it was
possible shape the branches in such a way that
they looked similar to a tree.

Metals Role in History/Society:

Metals have been put to use by human
kind since nearly the dawn of time. They have
been cultivated for their unique physical and
chemical properties for everything from
making weapons and tools, such as farming
devices, to art throughout the ages. Its
malleability allowed it to be incredibly versatile
as a medium for tools and weapons. Early
civilizations could easily shape metals into
much stronger tools than their previous wooden
ones with far less effort. Metals, such as
copper and bronze, have also been used as art

mediums by countless artists from all time

periods. Metals have been cultivated in art to
make statues, and even art tools/supplies, and
not to mention being used to light the displays
(with metal wiring).
All of the above properties of metals
(conductivity, and malleability) are the main
reasons why metals are so prevalent in our
society today. Our electrical wiring for
example! One of the most popular and wide
spread uses is in wiring. The conductivity of
the metals (often copper) makes them highly
sought after due to their incredibly low
resistance. Metals are also commonly used in
wiring due to their malleability. This makes
them able to easily bend around corners, and
other objects in the home as they make their
way to the light that they are trying to supply
energy to. We also use metal for everything
from pots and pans, to currency, and even the
infrastructure that shapes our cities. All of this
is simply thanks to how these wonderful
materials are bonded in such a way that we
have been able to use their chemical and
physical properties to shape modern day
society out of the dark ages.