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Chemistry Hall – From Cutting-Edge Research Highlights to Educational Resources

Chemistry Hall From Cutting-Edge Research Highlights to Home Chemistry Experiments
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Education and Concepts

This category holds all posts regarding education in chemistry, chemistry for kids, chemistry models, basic information about chemistry or chemistry books. Reviews of learning resources, such as the best textbooks, will be included here.

Why Do Chemicals React? Kinetics and Thermodynamics

April 10, 2021 By C. Hall 4 Comments

Chemistry is the science of change. But why do chemical reactions take place? Why do chemicals react with each other?

The answer is in thermodynamics and kinetics. These two are arguably the most important concepts to grasp in chemistry.

But sometimes, even after several years of basic chemistry education, it is not easy to form a clear picture on how they govern reactivity!

Tutorial Review: Contents and Introduction

In this tutorial, we will try to introduce and summarize what these two concepts are, and their implications in chemical reactivity. This is obviously an introduction, intended for chemistry students of all levels.

For sure, there are more comprehensive explanations out there, and if you want one, go grab any of the best-known general chemistry books, or a more specific organic chemistry textbook. However, we have found that there are not many short explanations out there available for the general scientific public. This is somehow worrying, since, without a basic understanding of thermodynamics and kinetics, there is no way to understand the basic principles of reactivity. And without understanding reactivity, you are missing out on the most important part of chemistry.

But if you really want to dive on physical chemistry concepts as such, unfortunately you will find that most books can be impenetrable without a basic understanding of maths, physics and chemistry itself.

This is what we want to fix with this short tutorial. To give you a general overview on why chemical compounds react. We want to break the gate-keeping that has always been going on with physical organic chemistry!

As mentioned, this is intended to be brief. We will start off with the basic definitions, and hopefully make you go all the way through to understanding free-energy profiles of catalytic reactions.

Interested yet? Keep reading!

  • A quick disclaimer: Since my background is in organic chemistry, I will base the explanations on simple organic chemical reactions, but most of the general principles apply to any kind of chemical reactivity.
  • For most energy diagrams, the energy values are orientative, made up in order to explain the concepts.
… [Read More]

Filed Under: Education and Concepts, Featured Tagged With: general chemistry

The Swern Oxidation: Mechanism and Features

March 31, 2021 By C. Hall 6 Comments

the Swern oxidation

What is the Swern Oxidation? What can you do with this reaction? What is the mechanism of the Swern oxidation? How do you actually run this reaction in the lab and what are their most relevant practical features? These are some of the questions that I will try to answer in this guide, as someone… [Read More]

Filed Under: Chemistry Lab, Education and Concepts Tagged With: organic chemistry

A Journey into Substitution Reactions by Crash Course

September 3, 2020 By Guest Posts Leave a Comment

crash course organic chemistry

Note from Chemistry Hall: Today I would like to share with you a recommendation of a YouTube channel. This is how the people at ‘Crash Course’ tackle organic chemistry teaching by using videos. I checked a couple of videos and they explain important concepts in a clear and conversational manner. If you are learning organic… [Read More]

Filed Under: Education and Concepts Tagged With: organic chemistry

What Is the Difference Between Organic and Inorganic Compounds?

March 25, 2020 By C. Hall 1 Comment

organic and inorganic compounds

Wherever we look around, you can see both inorganic and organic compounds. When we go to supermarket, we see different items; some are organic and others are inorganic. What is the difference between organic and inorganic compounds? Well, the chemical difference is not the one you hear on the news which distinguishes “organic” vegetables from… [Read More]

Filed Under: Education and Concepts Tagged With: inorganic chemistry, organic chemistry

Watch The Best Online Chemistry Lectures From Your Coach

March 19, 2020 By C. Hall 4 Comments

best online chemistry lectures

We live in an amazing time for learning. Nowadays, you can access lectures and explanations for any scientific topic right from your couch at home! And chemistry is not left behind. Not only you can learn chemistry with a wide variety of tutorials form YouTube, but you can also enjoy many online chemistry lectures from… [Read More]

Filed Under: Chemistry Research Highlights, Education and Concepts Tagged With: general chemistry

The Best Analytical Chemistry Textbook

March 19, 2020 By C. Hall 7 Comments

analytical chemistry textbook

I always found analytical chemistry quite fascinating, even when I was a college student doing my first steps into the world of chemistry. It might not be the most exciting subject, but the concepts attached to it (such as error, accuracy, etc.) are basic for the education of any chemist (or any scientist, for that… [Read More]

Filed Under: Education and Concepts Tagged With: analytical chemistry

What Is The Best Physical Chemistry Textbook?

February 14, 2020 By C. Hall 7 Comments

mcquarrie physical chemistry

Here comes probably the scariest part of chemistry college programs for many students: physical chemistry. And around it, the most frequently asked question: what is the best physical chemistry textbook that you can get? Some other students find are more intimidated by organic chemistry. However, most chemistry students are not incredibly fluent in maths, so… [Read More]

Filed Under: Education and Concepts Tagged With: physical chemistry

Awesome Chemistry Experiments For Kids To Do At Home

February 7, 2020 By Emily McPeek 1 Comment

chromatography experiments for kids

Chemistry experiments for kids are a great way for parents to spend quality time with their children, have fun, and learn something all at the same time! Remember than running and rationalizing experiments is one of they cornerstones of learning science. Here are a couple of fun chemistry experiments that your kids are sure to… [Read More]

Filed Under: Chemistry Experiments, Education and Concepts Tagged With: general chemistry

How To Learn Chemistry at Any Level

January 31, 2020 By C. Hall 2 Comments

How to Learn Chemistry

Have you ever wanted to learn chemistry, but just didn’t know how to go about doing it? Taking college courses and you don’t know how to find resources? There is so much to this science that it can be hard to even know where to start! That’s why we put together this guide with recommendations… [Read More]

Filed Under: Education and Concepts, Featured Tagged With: general chemistry

The Best Chemistry Set for Kids (and Adults!)

January 1, 2020 By Emily McPeek 1 Comment

best chemistry set for kids

There’s no better way to learn about chemistry than with fun, hands-on experiments and science projects. Teachers and parents, read on to learn the best chemistry set for kids of practically any age. Adults are sure to have a blast, too! We have reviewed and updated this guide recently, so it is ready for 2020…. [Read More]

Filed Under: Education and Concepts, Featured Tagged With: general chemistry

How to Use Online Resources for Learnig Chemistry

January 1, 2020 By Guest Posts Leave a Comment

best chemistry set for kids

In the past decades, students were required to physically attend classes in colleges and universities to attain their degrees. This often poses a number of immeasurable challenges, more so for working students, due to complications in schedules.  Even more complicated was the situation for students studying chemistry. This is because chemistry is not only a… [Read More]

Filed Under: Education and Concepts Tagged With: general chemistry

How to Use a Molecular Model for Learning Chemistry

December 30, 2019 By C. Hall 1 Comment

molecular model

In this article, we’ll give you some tips on how to use a molecular model for learning chemistry. Nothing can beat a nice molecular model kit for leaning 3D visualization of molecules. In this guide you will learn how to use it, and for what it can be helpful. If you don’t have one yet,… [Read More]

Filed Under: Education and Concepts Tagged With: organic chemistry

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why do chemicals react

Why Do Chemicals React? Kinetics and Thermodynamics

April 10, 2021 By C. Hall 4 Comments

Chemistry is the science of change. But why do chemical reactions take place? Why do chemicals react with each other? The answer is in thermodynamics and kinetics. These … [Read More...]

How to Learn Chemistry

How To Learn Chemistry at Any Level

January 31, 2020 By C. Hall 2 Comments

Have you ever wanted to learn chemistry, but just didn’t know how to go about doing it? Taking college courses and you don't know how to find resources? There is so much to … [Read More...]

tlc guide

Thin Layer Chromatography: A Complete Guide to TLC

January 2, 2020 By C. Hall 31 Comments

If there is one technique or experiment that every chemist, or student learning chemistry should know, it is Thin Layer Chromatography (or TLC for short). If you want to … [Read More...]

best chemistry set for kids

The Best Chemistry Set for Kids (and Adults!)

January 1, 2020 By Emily McPeek 1 Comment

There’s no better way to learn about chemistry than with fun, hands-on experiments and science projects. Teachers and parents, read on to learn the best chemistry set for kids … [Read More...]

best chemistry textbook

The Best General Chemistry Textbook

August 23, 2019 By C. Hall 1 Comment

The new academic year has already begun in many parts of the world, but it’s never too early to start planning for next year. Time to get your hands into the best general … [Read More...]

best inorganic chemistry textbook

The Best Inorganic Chemistry Textbooks

August 5, 2019 By C. Hall 14 Comments

Inorganic chemistry is one of the cornerstones of the central science. For many is the most fun, but it covers an extremely wide range of topics. For this reason, you need to … [Read More...]

top 100 chemistry facts

100 Fun Chemistry Facts (With Awesome Explanations!)

July 18, 2019 By C. Hall 9 Comments

You probably agree with me on the first fact: chemistry is fascinating. There are plenty of unanswered mysteries within this science, but there are also many interesting and … [Read More...]

Cracking the AP Chemistry Exam

The Best AP Chemistry Review Book

July 5, 2019 By C. Hall 2 Comments

Summer vacation is a time to relax and unwind, but students enrolled in advanced placement (or AP for short) classes for the coming school year are already planning for the … [Read More...]

Clayden Organic Chemistry Textbook

The Best Organic Chemistry Textbook [A Definitive Guide]

June 27, 2019 By C. Hall 28 Comments

Let's face it, organic chemistry can seem difficult to learn. Especially from a beginner's point of view. For exactly that reason we have put together the definitive guide for … [Read More...]

Home Chemistry Lab Experiments

Chemistry Experiments at Home: Setting Up a Home Lab

June 22, 2019 By C. Hall Leave a Comment

Not everybody has access to a professional chemistry lab, so setting up a home chemistry lab is your best bet if you want to do chemistry experiments at home. Chemistry is … [Read More...]

Can we see atoms and molecules?

Can We See Real Atoms and Molecules? Electron Microscopy at a Glance

June 17, 2019 By C. Hall 2 Comments

A universal challenge that has been keeping chemists busy ever since the modern concepts of “atom” and “molecules” were conceived, is how to actually characterize molecular … [Read More...]

TLC Lab Hacks

Lab Hacks – How to Increase your Productivity in the Lab

November 19, 2016 By C. Hall 4 Comments

I have been working in a chemistry laboratory for some years and still every once in a while I learn new amazing tricks or lab hacks that leave me open-mouthed. Also, it has … [Read More...]

LSD

LSD Synthesis and Discovery: What You May Not Know About It

December 14, 2014 By C. Hall 28 Comments

Disclaimer: This article is purely informative, and it does not contain information about how to actually carry out experimental procedures for the synthesis of LSD or any … [Read More...]

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