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

Chemistry and Element Jokes

Dead Chemists
What should do you do with a dead Chemist? Barium!

Ice water
H2O is the formula for water, what is the formula for ice? -- H2O cubed

Polarity Chemistry Humor
Why did the white bear dissolve in water? Because it was a polar bear.

Chemistry One Liner
If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate!

mole jokes
What was Avogadro's favorite sport? Golf - because he always got a mole-in-one.

Joke Why Chemists Are Great
Why are chemists so great at solving problems? Answer: Because they have all the solutions.

Keywords: jokes, elements, chemistry

Does bottled water go bad?

Although bottled water has an expiration date, it doesn't actually go bad. Why is there an expiration date on a product that doesn't go bad? This is because New Jersey requires all food and beverages, including water, to carry an expiration date on its packaging. It doesn't matter if you don't live in New Jersey... your water may carry an expiration date anyway to make it easier to standardize packaging.

See full article.

Keywords: water, expiration date, food

What is hydronium?

No, it's not the name of some element found only on another planet. Hydronium is what you get when you put water and hydrogen ions together, forming H3O+. Hydronium is the simplest form of oxonium, which is any ion that contains the trivalent oxygen cation.

See full article.


Keywords: acids, ions, cations