LEVEL 1 CLEARANCE // EYES ONLY

MISSION MEMO — TARGET UNKNOWN. ANALYSIS REQUIRED.

To: Agents with Level 1 Security Clearance

On your last mission, you retrieved a melted material from Urlingsen's cabin. Rodney suspects the material comes from photographic film. Only three locations on Abel Island still rely on such film: a movie theater, a black-and-white photographer's studio, and the Global Data Vault. Each uses film with a distinct chemical composition.

Unless we can prove the film came from the data vault, its administrators will not act. Our only power of persuasion lies in chemical evidence. Your mission is to analyze the chemical features of the film to determine its origin.

Compare the physical properties of film bases using a density test (PETE vs. cellulose).
Identify the metal ions of the recording layer using a flame test (silver vs. barium).
Log every measurement in this terminal, then export your findings as a mission report.

— Dr. Susan Forrestal, ITE Director

HOW THIS TERMINAL WORKS

Every measurement you log gets a short name, shown beside the field (massP). Fields marked ƒx accept a formula built from those names — type =totalP-waterP and the terminal calculates it live, or enter the value you worked out yourself. Your work saves automatically on this device. Answer all memo questions in Canvas as usual.

STEP 1 — IDENTIFY THE POLYMER BASE

Measure the density of the PETE and cellulose reference samples, prepare a sugar-water solution at the midpoint density, and float-test the unknown fragment recovered from Urlingsen's workbench.

STEP 1.3 · PREPARE REFERENCE SAMPLES

Cut each reference material into ~5 mm pieces directly into a tared weigh boat until the mass is approximately 2.5 g. Record each mass to the nearest 0.01 g.

Table 1 · Sample masses
Sample	Mass	Unit
PETE mass massP		g
cellulose mass massC		g

STEP 1.4–1.5 · CYLINDER “P” — PETE VOLUMES

Add DI water in 1-mL increments until all pieces are submerged. Record the water added and the combined volume, then calculate the sample volume.

sample volume (mL) = volume of water and sample − volume of water added

Table 2 · Cylinder “P” volumes
Measurement	Volume	Unit
volume of water added waterP		mL
volume of water and sample totalP		mL
sample volume volP ƒx		mL

STEP 1.4–1.5 · CYLINDER “C” — CELLULOSE VOLUMES

Table 3 · Cylinder “C” volumes
Measurement	Volume	Unit
volume of water added waterC		mL
volume of water and sample totalC		mL
sample volume volC ƒx		mL

STEP 1.5–1.6 · CALCULATE DENSITIES & MIDPOINT

density (g/cm³) = mass (g) ÷ volume (mL) · midpoint = (cellulose density + PETE density) ÷ 2

Table 4 · Sample densities
Quantity	Density	Unit
PETE: density densityP ƒx		g/cm³
cellulose: density densityC ƒx		g/cm³
midpoint density midpoint ƒx		g/cm³

Density comparison — live from Table 4

STEP 1.7 · SUGAR-WATER SOLUTION

Select the mass percentage of sugar whose solution density is closest to your midpoint density (the reference table is in your Canvas instructions, Step 1.7). Then calculate the mass of sugar to dissolve in 100.0 g of DI water.

mass of sugar (g) = ( % ÷ (100 − %) ) × mass of water (g)

Table 5 · Sugar values
Quantity	Value	Unit
mass percentage of sugar sugarPct		%
sugar-water solution density solutionDensity		g/cm³
mass of sugar sugarMass ƒx		g

STEP 1.9 · FLOAT TEST — IDENTIFY THE UNKNOWN

Lower each sample into the sugar-water solution with forceps, tap to release air bubbles, and record whether it floats or sinks. Then record your conclusion for the unknown fragment.

Table 6 · Float test results
Sample	Sink / Float	Identity
PETE		PETE (reference)
cellulose		cellulose (reference)
unknown fragment

STEP 2 — IDENTIFY THE METAL IONS IN THE RECORDING LAYER

Soak wooden splints in each solution, hold each just above the flame, and record the color you observe. Repeat up to three trials per solution for consistency. ⚠ Barium compounds are toxic — full PPE, goggles, gloves, lab coat.

STEP 2.2 · OBSERVE FLAME COLORS

Flame test observations
Solution	Trial 1 (color)	Trial 2 (color)	Trial 3 (color)
barium solution (Ba)
silver solution (Ag)
unknown film solution (U)

MISSION MEMO — TARGET UNKNOWN. ANALYSIS REQUIRED.

STEP 1 — IDENTIFY THE POLYMER BASE

Density comparison — live from Table 4

STEP 2 — IDENTIFY THE METAL IONS IN THE RECORDING LAYER

MISSION REPORT — EXPORT