Quests

While you could certainly play this game as an open-sandbox, the quests form the backbone of how this game is structured.

You start off with an easy quest - get a cup of water. From this one cup of something so ordinary, you will embark on a journey of discovering what water actually is. Sure have all heard of, but what does that really mean? What is H, what is O, and why is there a really small 2 between them?

Once you discover an element, molecule or compound, you trade or buy it. There are special side-quests that have quest rewards for a "lab assistant"; if you complete the activities (usually doing the same thing 5 times), you can assign a lab assistant to keep on doing that activity, even when you are offline.

What is water?

 * 1) get 1 glass of fresh water from the lake
 * 2) use a microscope (with "molecule power" setting) to view the molecules of water
 * 3) use electrolysis machine to separate the molecules
 * 4) weigh each ampoule (bottle) on the atomic scale
 * 5) burn the stuff inside each ampoule

Hydrogen is the lightest element; you can tell from the atomic scale how much heavier Oxygen is (should be 16 times heavier - Hydrogen has 1 proton, but Oxygen has 8 protons and 8 neutrons).

Hydrogen reacts quickly to heat and air. Oxygen does not really react to heat and air (it will help other things burn, but it does not necessarily burn itself).

Which gas was attracted to the negative side of the battery (cathode)? Which gas went towards the positive side (anode)?

An electrical charge will pull Hydrogen atoms away from water because they tend to have a slight positive charge (H+ ion), whereas Oxygen tends to have a negative charge (O-). Since opposites attract, and when the volts from the battery are high enough, the water molecules to split and each element will go towards one side of the battery.

Bonus question: How many atoms are in a glass of water?

Side-quests

Silver Clay

 * 1) go to the clay pit just west of town (still in the Central Plains - NOT all the way to the Rain Forest)
 * 2) scoop up 100 grams of the shiny clay
 * 3) use a microscope to view the molecules
 * 4) weigh the sample in the atomic scale
 * 5) Place sample in a glass of water - does it float? Does it get warm and bubble?

Lithium reacts slowly with water to produce Lithium hydroxide and Hydrogen (another way to produce Hydrogen, woot):

Side-quests