Fundamentals of Physical Science

Knowledge Check #2 I am Jacks Molecules

The narrator, a confused fellow battling insomnia, meets Tyler Durden, an interesting soap salesman, while flying home from a business trip.

After parting at the airport the narrator arrives at his apartment complex to find his belongings burning on the street. Apparently an explosion had blown the bulk of his apartment out his window.

The explosion in the apartment was reportedly from a gas leak and produced a violent release of gas and heat. The heat increased the (1) ____________ of the air in the room, which meant an increase in the airs molecular energy of motion. The pressure in the room (2) had increased because it is ___________ to the temperature. The pressure on the windows was much greater on the inside than (3) outside, meaning the __________ of the explosion divided by the (4) ______________ of the window was greater than that of the atmospheric pressure outside, resulting in the windows shattering outwards.

and nce, Tyler inta new acqua . After wards ng his rinks After calli ator eet for d if the narr rator m ouse the nar share his h Tylers condition es to vor. Tyler agre the unusual fa strange as s an As perform they punched. plies and he be or com is that the narrat s awl. uest seem eir first br req in th hemselves t soon find

Tyler and the narrator engage in a street fight. The severity of the damage of a punch is proportional to the force of the punch. Greater force does greater damage. So when Tyler leans away from the punch he distributes the impulse over an increasing (5) (6) amount of ______, which is _______________ to force. This effect decreases the force, which also decreases the damage of the punch. The force of the punch can be (7) (8) calculated by dividing the ________- of the punch by the ________ of the impact.

Soon after the narrator moves in, Tyler indoctrinates him in a strange philosophy of anti-capitalism and even stranger activities. Tyler imparts his secret method for making soap and the narrator finds himself entranced by the newfound knowledge. The soap is composed mostly of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms and other types of atoms making soap a (9) _________. The subatomic particle that determines the type of an atom (whether its carbon, or hydrogen, or oxygen, etc.) by the number in the atom (10) is the _____________. In the soap molecule a long chain of carbon atoms are connected by (11) ______________ like those in organic compounds. Those carbon chains attach to organic dirt and oils that does not normally wash away in water. The (12) oxygen end of the chain has an extra _________, which is a negatively charged subatomic particle, transferred from another atom. The oxygen bonds loosely to the water and pulls the dirt along with it.

Soon Tyler collects a group of like-minded followers, which grows into a fight club and finally evolves into Project Mayhem, a fanatical order of soldiers dedicated to the precepts of anarchy and the destruction of capitalistic bases of power. Project Mayhem engages in many operations that vandalize corporate structures.

In Operation Latte Thunder a piece of corporate art (a large metal sphere) is rolled into a coffee shop. When the metal sphere strikes the windows it applies a (13) force to the windows that is __________ the force applied by the windows on the (14) metal sphere, which is an example of __________________. The window experiences greater acceleration than the metal sphere because the mass of the window is less than the mass of the metal sphere, which is an example of (15) __________________.

The narrator has an incredible epiphany as to the identity of Tyler Durden and revolts against Project Mayhem. Attempting to foil their plot to destroy financial buildings the narrator accosts Tyler in an underground parking garage where some of the bombs are planted. A fight ensues and the narrator is knocked unconscious.

The narrator awakens in a chair across from Tyler where they have a conversation about their strange relationship. The narrator comes into possession of Tylers gun. He fires a bullet through Tylers head. The gunpowder in the bullet which starts as a (16) _________, the phase of matter with the closest packing of atoms, combusts with (17) the oxygen in the air producing hot _______, the least dense phase of matter. The density of those substances can be calculated by dividing the mass of the substance (18) by its _________. The bullet and the gun experience the same force, but the bullet experiences a greater acceleration than the gun because it (19) has ___________ when compared to the gun. The bullet passes through Tylers head because it is denser than the biological matter, meaning the bullet has (20) more ___________ than Tylers head.

Tyler Durden is put to rest but Project Mayhem proceeds and the financial buildings are destroyed in a collection of epic explosions producing an amazing finale for the spectators.

Image References: Fight Club. Dir. David Fincher. Perf. Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, Helena Bonham Carter, Meat Loaf Aday, Jared Leto. Fox 2000 Pictures, Regency Enterprises. 1999. DVD.