“Oh, Say Can
You See, CO?”
Paul Jebb
Chemistry Teacher
Ticonderoga High School
Puzzle
What do these terms have in common:
“Quoth the raven, “Nevermore!”
Rapid Pulse
Orphan
“Murder in the Rue Morge”
“The Philosophy of Furniture”
Carbon monoxide
Death
Gases
Nevermore
Cherry lips
“Once upon a midnight dreary”
“The Tell-Tale Heart”
Answer
Edgar Allan Poe
http://artfiles.art.com/images/-/Edgar-Allan-Poe-Print-C10209526.jpeg
The Raven
by Edgar Allan Poe (1845)
Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of someone gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
" 'Tis some visitor," I muttered, "tapping at my chamber door;
Only this, and nothing more."
Stanza 2
Ah, distinctly I remember, it was in the bleak December,
And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the
floor.
Eagerly I wished the morrow; vainly I had sought to borrow
From my books surcease of sorrow, sorrow for the lost
Lenore,
For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name
Lenore,
Nameless here forevermore.
Stanza 3
And the silken sad uncertain rustling of each purple curtain
Thrilled me---filled me with fantastic terrors never felt
before;
So that now, to still the beating of my heart, I stood
repeating,
" 'Tis some visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door,
Some late visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door.
This it is, and nothing more.”
Brief Biography of Poe
• Born in Boston in 1809 to Elizabeth Arnold Poe
• His father abandonded the family and his mother died
before he reached the age of two
• Raised by a tobacco merchant named Allan
• Studied in England and the University of Virginia
• Joined the army and was discharged after two years
• Appointed to West Point then quit
• Published poetry and prose
• Gained fame in 1845 by publishing “The Raven”
• Prone to drinking problems
• Married twice
What we know about Poe’s Last Days
•
In 1849, had a drink at a birthday party then
disappeared for three days.
•
He was found in Baltimore very sick and
delirious
•
He died in hospital and was buried in Baltimore
… But,
how did he die?
Theories on Poe’s Death











Beating
Epilepsy
Dipsomania
Heart condition
Toxic disorder
Hypoglycemia
Diabetes
Alcohol dehydrogenase
Porphyria
Delerium tremens
Rabies
and...
Or Possibly?
He is not dead - he is alive and well in Memphis with his
good friend Elvis
Our theory on how he died
Carbon monoxide poisoning
Look at the portrait carefully.
The drooping right eye and
mouth are symptomatic of CO
poisoning.
http://www.mcsrr.org/graphics/poeposter.jpg
Work in pairs
Handout: “Quotes from Poe”
Handout: “Symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning”
Below each quote, write-in the symptom that you think
best matches with the content of the quote.
Example
And the silken sad uncertain rustling of each purple curtain
Thrilled me---filled me with fantastic terrors never felt
before;
Rapid Pulse
So that now, to still the beating of my heart, I stood
repeating,
" 'Tis some visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door,
Some late visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door.
This it is, and nothing more.”
Symptoms of CO Poisoning
• Confusion
• Coma
• Headache
• Drowsiness
• Emotional changes
• Shortness of breath
• Vision changes
• Rapid Pulse
• Dizziness
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Cherry red lips
• Breathing difficulty
• Bluish discoloration of skin
• Chest Pain
• Weakness
Share
Tape your results around the room and carousel
to view the findings of other groups.
Research “Poe-ster” Topics
• Physical Properties of CO
• Symptoms and Treatment of CO Poisoning
• Physiology of Oxygen and CO Transport
• Sources of CO Poisoning
• Detection and Chemistry of CO Detectors
• Recommendations on CO Detectors in the Home
• Uses of CO
Physical Properties
http://www.ucc.ie/academic/chem/dolchem/html/comp/co.htmll
Symptoms and Treatment of CO Poisoning
Symptoms
• Confusion
Treatment
• Remove from source immediately
• Headache
• Seek hospital care
• Emotional changes
• Administer Oxygen
• Vision changes
• Reduce activity level
• Rapid Pulse
• No available medicines
• Dizziness
• Shortness of breath
• Nausea
• Vomiting
Physiology
http://www.kacr.or.kr/img/gene_expression/hemoglobin.jpg
Sources of Carbon Monoxide
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Bottled gas
Domestic gas to houses for stoves, dryers..
Coal burning
Oil furnace
Fires
Cars
Boat engines
Solid fuel-powered water heaters
Barbecues
Chemistry of CO Detectors
Chemistry of CO Detectors
Types of CO detectors:
• Biomimetic - They mimic the action of
hemoglobin
• Semiconductor - Uses electronics to monitor
CO levels
• Electrochemical - Uses a redox reaction to
detect CO levels
Biomimetic
Infrared light
Hemoglobin-like gel
Infrared sensor,
connected to alarm
http://www.chemistry.org/portal/a/c/s/1/feature_ent.html?id=04dd47d40b8211d7f0856ed9fe800100
Biomimetic
Carbon Monoxide
http://www.chemistry.org/portal/a/c/s/1/feature_ent.html?id=04dd47d40b8211d7f0856ed9fe800100
Biomimetic
Carbon Monoxide binds to the gel.
This causes the gel to turn dark.
http://www.chemistry.org/portal/a/c/s/1/feature_ent.html?id=04dd47d40b8211d7f0856ed9fe800100
Biomimetic
The more carbon monoxide
binds to the gel, the darker it
becomes. This will eventually
block the infrared light, which
sets off an alarm.
http://www.chemistry.org/portal/a/c/s/1/feature_ent.html?id=04dd47d40b8211d7f0856ed9fe800100
Semiconductor
http://www. org/portal/a/c/s/1/feature_ent.html?id=04dd47d40b8211d7f0856ed9fe800100 chemistry.
Semiconductor
Semiconductor
Semiconductor
Semiconductor
Semiconductor
The more
electrons that are
in the sensor, the
lower the
resistance.
At a certain
resistance, the
alarm will go off.
Electrochemical
Recommendations on Carbon
Monoxide Hazard Reduction
• If you smoke, quit
• Test/check your CO monitor annually (never remove the batteries)
• Install CO monitors on all living levels, especially sleeping areas
(within 10 feet of bedrooms doors)
• Provide good airflow around heating appliances
• Make sure that gas appliances like dryers vent outside
• Never use a barbecue or generator in the home or closed garage
• If you smell gas or a detector goes off, exit the building and call 911
• Make sure natural gas, oil, wood, and kerosene appliances are in
good working order
• Never use an oven or stove to heat your home
• Have heating system and chimneys cleaned and inspected annually
Uses of Carbon Monoxide
http://mattson.creighton.edu/CO/CuO-COExpt.jpg
Student “Poe-ster” Session
Give each pair of students a piece of poster paper, and
a box of coloring pencils.
Randomly hand them a topic from the following list:
– Physical Properties of CO
– Symptoms and Treatment of CO poisoning
– Physiology of CO transport
– Sources of CO
– Detection and Chemistry of CO Detectors
– Recommendations on CO Detectors in the home
– Use of CO
(Use folders with one topic on each folder, there may be more
than 1 or 2 groups working on the same topic)
Every “Poe-ster” should show:
• Title of Sub-topic
• Student names
• A graphic to help convey
the topic
• A poem to convey
information about the topic
John Smith
Ellen Rumball
“Twas brillig and
the
Slythy toves
Did gyre and
gimball
In the wabe
All mimsy were the
Borogroves
All the momeraths
Outgrabe
- Lewis Carroll
“Poe-ster” Session
• Have students present their “Poe-ster” and then post
it on the wall.
• Students should read their poem, and interpret it for
their classmates.
A poem about Hemoglobin
by Roald Hoffman
Nobel laureate in Chemistry
This biconcave bialy platelet of the erythrocyte,
the red heart of the blood, holds the oxygen
carrier, hemoglobin.
Four coiled polypeptide chains, four subunits
changing pairwise twice in the fetus to let it
soak up placental O2 steadily.
Each chain a globular protein, juxtaposed
twining of helical segments, predestined
kinks, sequences of amino acids alike in
sperm whale and horse…
The last stanza from
“The Raven”
And the raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting
On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;
And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that is dreaming.
And the lamplight o'er him streaming throws his shadow on the
floor;
And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor
Shall be lifted---nevermore!
Modified last stanza from
“The Raven”
And the raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting
On the palladium bust by the furnace door
And his eyes have all the seeming of a CO detector that is
gleaming
And the furnace gases streaming CO2 and nothing more
And my soul from that CO shadow
Shall be lifted – evermore!
• The end
(or is it?)