Solubility Rules

We Dig Chemistry!

Molemorial Day

Mole-di Gras

Mole Day - song

Avogadro's Number - song

History of the Periodic Table (1/2)

History of the Periodic Table (2/2)

Bill Nye: Greatest Discoveries

The greatest discoveries of chemistry are investigated with Bill Nye.


Full video

Bill Nye - Atom part 2

Bill Nye - Atom part 1

Flame Test Demo

Flame Test examples

Spectroscopy is the analysis of light spectra and the way in which light interacts with matter. When light is analyzed it is commonly separated into its component colors. The light source is directed on a slit and the "beam" of light is separated using a prism or grating.
The reason that the images are lines is that the light from the lamp is focused on a narrow slit. The illustration shows the separation of a light beam into its component colors.

Use simulation

Atomic orbitals

Atomic orbitals overlapping

Heisenburg's uncertainty principle: Schrodinger's cat

Atomic Models

Quantum Mechanics is not so bad!

Happy Birthday Madame Curie!

Marie Curie was a Polish physicist and chemist who lived between 1867-1934. Together with her husband, Pierre, she discovered two new elements and studied the x-rays they emitted.

Three new elements are named!

The General Assembly of the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP)approved the names of three elements on Friday. Elements 110, 111 and 112 are officially named darmstadtium (Ds), roentgenium (Rg) and copernicium (Cn). Of course, these names have been unofficially listed on the periodic table since they were first proposed to the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC). 

Read the full article

Density

Elements Song

Properties of matter

Physical vs. Chemical changes

Safety Video 2

Safety Video

Water Sanitation

River Pollution clean up

River Pollution

Ocean Pollution

Dalton's Law of Partial Pressures - Liquid demo

Gay-Lussac's Law

Charles' Law water bottle demo

Pringles in a vacuum pump

Boyle's Law Fun Demos

Basketball animation of gas laws

Effusion of a gas

Diffusion of a gas

The molar mass of gas particles influences how quickly they can diffuse.

Diffusion of Food Coloring

Food coloring added to a glass of water will slowly spread out to areas of "less concentrated" color.

Carbonated Ice Cream Recipe

Have you tried fizzy ice cream? It has the flavor and bubbles of an ice cream float without the soda. It's an extremely easy recipe to try. It doesn't even require a freezer; you just need dry ice.

Recipe here!

Chrome vs. chromium?

Have you ever wondered what the difference is between chrome and chromium? Chromium is an element. It is a hard, corrosion-resistant transition metal. Chrome, which you may see as decorative trim on cars and motorcycles or to harden tools used for industrial processes, is an electroplated layer of chromium over another metal.

Read more!

Converting units of pressure

Here is a table complete with all pressure units and conversion factors to change units.

Here is an online conversion that lets you put in your number and units given for pressure, then converts for you to any new units.

Measuring gas pressure

A manometer is an device employed to measure pressure. There are a variety of manometer designs. A simple, common design is to seal a length of glass tubing and bend the glass tube into a U-shape. The glass tube is then filled with a liquid, typically mercury, so that all trapped air is removed from the sealed end of the tube.

This method for measuring pressure led to the use of millimeters of mercury (mm Hg) as a unit of pressure. Today 1 mm Hg is called 1 torr. A pressure of 1 torr or 1 mm Hg is literally the pressure that produces a 1 mm difference in the heights of the two columns of mercury in a manometer.

Try reading a manometer here.

Some background info...

Here is some information on the scientists that put together the various gas laws:

Robert Boyle

Jacques Charles

Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac

John Dalton

Paul Clapeyron

Gas Law Simulation

Use this simulation to observe how amount of particles, volume, and temperature all affect the pressure of a gas in a container.

Gas Laws Info

The main distinguishing property of gases is their uncanny ability to be compressed into smaller and smaller spaces. Gases are also the least complex state of matter. Don't get it wrong, just because they are the simplest doesn't mean that they are not one of the most interesting and useful states of matter.

This website includes details about all the gas laws, as well as a glossary.

Stoichiometry Tutorial with questions

Click here to watch the tutorial and practice

Bromine reacts with alcohol

Links to help you with chemical reactions...

Types of Reactions

Animated Types

Not this kind of mole!

Just a little mole tune...

What is a mole?

Limiting Reagents in Stoichiometry

Learn stoichiometry!

Happy Mole Day to You!

Too bad we missed mole day, but here it goes!

How Elements Get Named

Do you know which element is Azote, with the symbol Az? Element names are not the same in every country. Many countries have adopted the element names that have been agreed upon by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC). According to the IUPAC, "elements can be named after a mythological concept, a mineral, a place or country, a property, or a scientist".

Full article.

How Much Water Is a Mole of Water?

A mole is a unit of measurement that represents the quantity Avogadro's Number, 6.02 x 1023, of anything. Do you have a sense of how much a mole of a substance would be? Let's take water as an example. Do you think a mole of water molecules would be closer to: a microliter, a milliliter, 10 milliliters, 1 liter, or 10 liters of water?

Read on!

Decomposition Reaction

Synthesis or Combination Reaction

Combustion Reaction

Double Replacement Reaction

Single Replacement Reaction

Fun Periodic Table Facts!

The Periodic Table is a chart which arranges the chemical elements in a useful, logical manner. Elements are listed in order of increasing atomic number, lined up so that elements which exhibit similar properties are arranged in the same row or column as each other. The Periodic Table is one of the most useful tools of chemistry and the other sciences. Here are 10 fun and interesting Periodic Table facts.

Fusion Energy Advances

Teachers' Domain: Fusion Energy Advances

Teachers' Domain: Making Electricity at a Coal Burning Plant

Teachers' Domain: Making Electricity at a Coal Burning Plant

Fuel Cells

Teachers' Domain: Fuel Cells

Tips for Balancing Equations

Learning how to balance chemical equations is an essential skill for chemistry class or work in chemistry. Mastering this skill takes practice.

Click here to see some websites and helpful hints on how to balance chemical equations.

Balancing Chemical Equations

Incomplete Combustion

Incomplete combustion means burning in a lack of oxygen.

Read on.

Famous Chemists and their Contributions

Chemistry is a subject that studies components various substances and what are they made up of. Every individual comes across chemistry as a part of his or her routine life at some point of time. Even though it is a part of our everyday life, chemistry is a vast subject and a dynamic one as well. What we know of chemistry today is due to the major contributions made by the chemists who demystified the mystical world of alchemy into chemistry.

Read on!

Periodic Table of Shapes?

Read the full article.

Mathematicians are creating their own version of the periodic table that will provide a vast directory of all the possible shapes in the universe across three, four and five dimensions, linking shapes together in the same way as the periodic table links groups of chemical elements.

The Five Major Types of Chemical Reactions

Naming Covalent Compounds on Quizlet

Ready... set... GO!

Scatter is the game we've played in class if you'd like to choose that.

X-rays show why van Gogh paintings lose their shine

Scientists have identified a complex chemical reaction responsible for the degradation of two paintings by Vincent van Gogh and other artists of the late 19th century. This discovery is a first step to understanding how to stop the bright yellow colours of van Gogh's most famous paintings from being covered by a brown shade, and fading over time. In the meantime, the results suggest shielding affected paintings as much as possible from UV and sunlight.

Read on!

The International Year of Chemistry Kicks Off!

Read here for the full article.

The launch of the International Year of Chemistry is a great opportunity to get the message across to the public that chemistry is a provider of solutions to global challenges, rather than simply a cause of pollution.

Types of Chemical Reactions 3

Types of Chemical Reactions 2

Types of Chemical Reactions 1

Bill Nye on CBS

Bill Nye! On Chemical Reactions!

Five Types of Chemical Reactions

Chemical Reactions

Watch several types of chemical reactions, including single and double replacement.

Look How Tiny!

Women in Chemistry

If you were asked to name a woman who made important contributions to the field of chemistry, the person who would likely come to mind is Marie Curie. Madame Curie was awarded both the Nobel Prize in Physics and the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for her work with radioactivity and radioactive elements. Can you name other female scientists, engineers, and inventors who have advanced chemistry?

Read on!

What is the chemical composition of air?

There aren't any 'air' molecules, but you already knew this, right? Nearly all of the Earth's atmosphere is made up of only five gases: nitrogen, oxygen, water vapor, argon, and carbon dioxide. Several other additional elements and compounds are present. Although this CRC table does not list water vapor, air can contain as much as 5% water vapor, more commonly ranging from 1-3%. The 1-5% range places water vapor as the third most common gas (which alters the other percentages accordingly).

Click here to find out the complete composition.

Easy Science Projects

Find an easy science project that you can do using common household materials. These easy projects are great for fun, home school science education, or for school science lab experiments.

Molecular Shapes

Lewis Structures of Covalent Compounds 2

Lewis Structures of Covalent Compounds

Ocean Acidity: Small Change, Catastrophic Consequences

Sometimes, seemingly small numbers can have remarkably big consequences. Miss a single free throw, and your team loses the championship. The economy slows by a few percent, and millions of Americans are out of work. Your temperature rises by a degree or two, and you are down and out with a fever. What about a pH change in the ocean?

Find out more!

Chemistry in Real Life

Chemistry plays an important role in your daily life, whether you are aware of it or not. Everything you see and touch is comprised of chemicals. Chemistry is involved with your household products, the way you feel, and the way the world works. Here's a look at the chemistry of daily life, with examples of where you might find chemistry in the world around you...

Read more here!

Do you add salt to water before boiling it?

If you add salt to water, why do you do it? Is it to season your pasta or rice or is it because you think it will change the boiling point of the water?

Read on!

Covalent Bonding 2

Covalent Bonding

Metallic Bonding

Metallic Bonds

From carrying current on a computer's circuit boards to holding up skyscrapers, metal has countless uses, thanks to its special characteristics: It's hard and strong, yet it's bendable. It can be welded to other pieces of metal and rolled flat or hammered into shape. It conducts heat and electricity. It has a lustrous surface.

At the atomic heart of metal is a crystalline structure—tightly packed atoms arranged in orderly rows. This feature explores this heart and reveals what it is that gives metal its special characteristics and how metal behaves under the stress of heat and outside forces.

Keywords: metals, bonding, electron cloud

Solubility Rules

The solubility rules for common compounds are useful for preparing solutions and planning separations based on solubility. While several factors affect solubility, you can use the general solubility rules for most applications.

Read the solubility rules.

Keywords: solubility, solutions, dissolve

Improved combustion efficiency in China

A collaborative, six-year study of carbon dioxide levels in Beijing and surrounding provinces suggests that combustion efficiency, a component of overall energy efficiency, is improving in the region. The findings are generally consistent with official Chinese government statistics and could bolster their credibility as international negotiations proceed on commitments of China and other nations to combat climate change.

Read on about combustion reactions.

Keywords: combustion reaction, efficiency, carbon dioxide, climate change, global warming

The coldest chemical reactions

Chemical reactions tend to slow down as temperature is lowered, but this isn't always true. Researchers have shown that chemical reactions can continue even at temperatures just a fraction of a degree above absolute zero. Read about recent experiments.

Keywords: absolute zero, reaction

How can you tell acids and bases apart?

There are many acids and bases in your home. Soap, vinegar, lemon juice, baking soda, and ammonia are all examples of acids and bases. How do you know which is an acid and which is a base? The easy way is to check my pH list of common chemicals.

Check here for more info.

Keywords: acid, base, pH test, litmus paper

The wonderful world of acids and bases

Drain cleaner can dissolve glass!

Just about everyone knows many acids are corrosive. For example, hydrofluoric acid can dissolve glass (a chemical you do not want to mess with). Did you know strong bases can be corrosive, too? An example of a base sufficiently corrosive to eat glass is sodium hydroxide (NaOH), which is a common solid drain cleaner.

Read on!

Keywords: acid, base, corrosive, reactions

Wouldn't you like to join them and avoid the snow right now?

Things you shouldn't microwave

You can see some interesting phenonema using your microwave, but is it worth the risk? When you microwave something, you input energy into its molecules. This can produce heat and stimulate a chemical reaction. This is great, if you are cooking food. Other materials don't produce a favorable result. Here's a list of things you shouldn't microwave and why.

Keywords: microwave, energy, chemical reaction

Why does salt melt ice?

Salt melts ice essentially because adding salt lowers the freezing point of the water. How does this melt ice? Well, it doesn't, unless there is a little water available with the ice. The good news is you don't need a pool of water to achieve the effect. Ice typically is coated with a thin film of liquid water, which is all it takes.

Read on!

Keywords: freezing point of water, colligative properties, ice, salt, freezing point depression

Interactive Practice on Naming Ionic Compounds

Click here to practice more!


This website will tell you if you are correct and give you the correct answers in the end. Practice makes perfect!


Keywords: ionic compound, naming, ions

Chemistry Tutorial: Naming Ionic Compounds

Check out this website to practice and learn more!

Key Concepts

Positively charged ions are called cations
Negatively charged ions are called anions
The cation is always named first.

Keywords: cation, anion, naming, ionic compound, ions

Dustbuster wanted!

If the house seems dustier than it used to be, it may not be a reflection on your housekeeping skills. The amount of dust in the Earth's atmosphere has doubled over the last century, according to a new study; and the dramatic increase is influencing climate and ecology around the world.


Read on!

Keywords: deposition, precipitation, dust, atmosphere

What are CDs made of?

A compact disc or CD is a form of digital media. It is an optical device which can be encoded with digital data. When you examine a CD you can tell it is mainly plastic. In fact, a CD is almost pure polycarbonate plastic. There is a spiral track molded into the top of the plastic. The surface of a CD is reflective because the disc is coated with a thin layer of aluminum or sometimes gold.

Read on here!

Keywords: CD, elements, plastic

The School Lunch Blues

see more Funny Graphs

Electrifying new way to clean wastewater

The researchers have made an electrobiochemical reactor in which a low electrical voltage is applied to microbes
to help them quickly and efficiently remove pollutants from mining, industrial and agricultural
wastewater.

Read full article here!

Keywords: water treatment, voltage, microbes, pollutants

Getting Ready for more Snow!

Keywords: dog, snow, cold

Fake Diamond Alert!

What is cubic zirconia? Cubic zirconia or CZ is the crystalline manmade form of zirconium dioxide, ZnO2. Zirconium dioxide is also known as zirconia. Ordinarily, zirconia would form monoclinic crystals. A stabilizer (yttrium oxide or calcium oxide) is added to cause zirconia to form cubic crystals, hence the name cubic zirconia.

Read the whole article here!

Keywords: compound, ionic, cubic zirconia, elements, crystals, salt

Gatorade Anyone?

Chemistry: Electrolytes in the Human Body

Electrolytes play a crucial role in the chemical reactions that occur within the human body.
In humans, electrolytes are introduced into the body when the person takes electrolyte containing fluids by mouth.

Read on here...

Keywords: electrolytes, ions, gatorade, hydration, dehydrated

If you're happy and you know it...

There are no mistakes in Chemistry

Colour-changing glass discovered by accident by UBC researcher

An accidental scientific discovery in British Columbia could eventually make the world a more vibrant place.

Read the full article here.

Keywords: accident, glass, color changing

Chemistry: The trials of new carbon

Researchers have spent 25 years exploring the remarkable properties of fullerenes, carbon nanotubes and graphene. But commercializing them is neither quick nor easy.

Read the full article here!


Keywords: carbon, fullerenes, nanotubes, graphene

Vanishing Valentine Demo

Here's a fun chemistry demonstration that's perfect for Valentine's Day or to illustrate an oxidation-reduction reaction.

Click here to see it done!

Keywords: valentine, valentine's day, oxidation-reduction, reaction, redox, demo

How to Supercool Water

You can cool water below its usual freezing point and then crystallize it into ice on command. This is known as supercooling. These are step-by-step instructions for supercooling water.


http://chemistry.about.com/b/2011/01/05/how-to-supercool-water.htm

Keywords: water, freezing point, supercool, ice