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.

Thermodynamics: The Energetic Stability of Molecules

Thermodynamics is the branch of physics that deals with heat, work and temperature, and their relation to energy, radiation, and physical properties of matter.

That is the definition of thermodynamics. As you can see, it is an incredibly broad concept. Let’s forget about it for now. How does thermodynamics dictate why do chemicals react?

Well, imagine every different molecule having an associated value for energy.

Some molecules will have larger energies and some others lower energies. Then consider that every chemical system has the tendency to go towards the point of lowest energy possible, in effect, the most stable point. This means that a molecule with high energy (less stable) will have a tendency (or “will want to react”) to transform into another molecule with lower energy (more stable).

Why is that? Because the process of going from a high energy state to a lower energy state releases energy, or heat, in what is called an exothermic process. This is what we call a thermodynamically-favored process, and it is basically what the laws of thermodynamics are telling us.

Thermodynamic Stability in Energy Diagrams

This is easier than it might sound. The image below illustrates what you just read. Molecule A can react in two ways: Absorbing heat it can be transformed into 1. Alternatively, it can evolve into 2 by releasing energy, in a thermodynamically-favorable manner. Of course, if these were the only two possible scenarios, all molecules of A would react to give 2, and stay there forever. But the picture is usually not that simple, and we will come back to this later.

You might be looking at the picture above and still not get what we mean by higher or lower energy. Let me redraw it in a way you will probably have seen elsewhere, or been taught in school/college:

The scheme above resembles what you are always taught in introductory organic chemistry courses: more substituted isomers of alkenes are more stable (A and 2 vs. 1) and trans isomers are more stable than cis isomers (2 vs A).

What does this means? It means that, given the appropriate circumstances or conditions, both 1 and A would like to react to give 2. But we now that less stable alkenes such as 1 are perfectly inert, and can be handled and stored without worries. So, what is the deal here?

The answer is kinetics and activation barriers.

Kinetics: The Barriers of Chemical Reactivity

Before diving into kinetics, let me present another quick example of a thermodynamically-favorable process. An energy diagram of an Sn2 substitution reaction in this case.

As you can see, if we set the zero in energy for a hydroxyde anion plus a chloromethane molecule (in energy diagrams you always set an energy for the whole system, not individual molecules), the total energy of the products of the corresponding Sn2 reaction (tert-butyl alcohol and a chloride anion) will be lower (about 20 kcal/mol lower!).

What does this mean? That the reaction is thermodynamically favorable, and in principle it will not take place the other way around.

But does this mean that, mixing hydroxide with chloromethane at any temperature will lead to the immediate formation of tert-butyl alcohol and chloride? Of course not! The rate at which the reaction proceeds will depend directly on the temperature, and if the temperature is low enough, the reaction will not take place at all, even though the process is thermodynamically favorable.

Why is that? Kinetics is the answer.

What Are Chemical Reaction Kinetics?

Chemical or reaction kinetics is the branch of physical chemistry that studies the rates (or speeds) of chemical reactions.

In summary, thermodynamics determines in what direction a chemical reaction proceeds, and kinetics determines the speed or rate at which that process occurs.

Of course, in the last scheme of the previous section, there was something missing. In a chemical reaction, reactant A does not simply transform into product B. Reactions take place through what we call transition states.

Transition states are intermediate structures between reactants and products of a chemical reaction step. They are usually higher in energy (less stable) than both the reactants and the products, and the energy difference between the reactants and the transition states, also known as activation energy, is the barrier necessary to overcome for a thermodynamically-favorable reaction to take place.

Why Do Chemicals React? Thermodynamics and Kinetics Combined

See below a now complete version of the free-energy diagram of the Sn2 substitution reaction. As you can see, the process is thermodynamically favorable, but a barrier or activation energy of 23.0 kcal/mol has to be overcome in order to reach the products.

The larger the activation energy, the lower the speed or rate of a reaction at any given temperature. Usually, we set a limit of barriers of around 25 kcal/mol for reactions to proceed at a significant rate (this is, in several hours or days) at 25 ºC. Easy enough to remember.

Stability vs Inertness

No matter how thermodynamically favorable a process is, if the barriers to reach the corresponding transition are too high (say, higher than 30-40 kcal/mol), that chemical reaction is not going to take place under regular conditions.

This allows us to make a clarification between stability and inertness as properties of chemicals.

Stability is a thermodynamic concept, while inertness is a kinetic concept.

• A compound is stable, if it is relatively low in energy (compared to the molecules to which it may interconvert into). The opposite would be unstable, high in energy.

• On the other hand, we say that a compound is kinetically inert if in order to react it has to overcome large activation barriers.

A compound can be both unstable and inert. That is why we can handle and store thermodynamically unstable primary alkenes such as 1-propene without them isomerizing to more-stable secondary alkenes such as cis- or trans-2-propene (see the first two schemes).

But we can trick kinetics! Catalysts can be used to lower the activation energy of chemical transformations, allowing them to proceed more rapidly, or simply to proceed at all!

• Note: Theoretically, no matter how high the activation energy of a process might be, we say that it is always taking place at a certain rate. However, if the energy barriers are higher than, say, 50 kcal/mol, the rate or speed of the reaction would be so low that it would take many many years before we can detect a significant conversion.

Catalysis: Lowering the Barrier!

Now that we know why chemicals react, let me explain how we chemists try to override the system and make activation barriers lower.

A catalyst is a chemical entity (a molecule, a salt, a coordination complex…) which speeds up a chemical reaction. It also can unlock new reactivity pathways and make reactions work that would not be possible otherwise.

Let’s take a specific classical example. The electrophilic aromatic substitution of benzene with molecular bromine (Br–Br). This reaction is traditionally carried out using a Lewis acid as catalyst, such as iron tribromide.

But let us imagine first a catalyst-free version of the process, which I am certain can occur if you mix together benzene and bromine, and heat it up enough.

How Thermal, Catalyst-Free Reactions Occur

The first step of this reaction is the formation of the well-known Wheland intermediate. An intermediate (not to be confused with a transition state, which rather connects intermediates together) is a reactive chemical species which is formed in one of the steps in the middle of a chemical reaction of A leading to B, as intermediate point. For benzene to be transformed into bromobenzene, it has to pass through this intermediate species. Intermediates can rarely be isolated, since they usually are both thermodynamically unstable and kinetically reactive.

In any case, the reactants have to overcome a high activation barrier of 30 kcal/mol. Once the temperature is enough for this to take place, the rest of the process has lower activation barriers, and takes place downhill to give reaction products in an overall thermodynamically favorable process (exothermic by -11 kcal/mol).

But we can speed things up with a catalyst!

Lewis Acid-Catalyzed Electrophilic Aromatic Substitutions

By adding a catalyst to the mixture, we can access new transitions states, which are more stable, and hence lower in energy. And what happens when the transition state of the rate-limiting step of a reaction is lower in energy? That the activation barrier of the whole process is much lower!

This is basically the role of FeBr₃ (the catalyst) of this reaction: stabilizes transition states and intermediates. Now the activation barrier to reach the first transition state is much lower (20 vs 30 kcal/mol), allowing the reaction to take place under mild conditions.

Also, note that FeBr₃ is recovered unreacted with the products. This is another feature of catalysts: they can be recovered and re-enter another reaction cycle. This is why they are often employed in sub-stoichiometric amounts (this is, less than one mole of catalyst is enough to drive full conversion of one mole of starting material).

But as we have already mentioned, thanks to catalysis we not only can lower activation barriers that would need totally unpractical temperatures. We can also unlock reactions that would take hundreds of years to complete by themselves. We can also achieve completely new selectivities, and develop new chemical processes.

I work in catalysis myself, and I can tell you this is one of the most important, exciting and active fields of chemistry.

This is the end of this tutorial review, and I hope it has helped you to get a clearer picture of why chemical reactions take place and what leads chemicals to react. We certainly covered concepts you have to master if you are learning chemistry at any level!

The post Why Do Chemicals React? Kinetics and Thermodynamics appeared first on Chemistry Hall.

Especially in the most recent years, many conference lectures by the best research group leaders on chemistry are being recorded and posted publicly online, so everybody can enjoy them and learn about chemistry. All around the globe. Without the need to travel long distances.

Simply thinking about it is amazing! Who could have though that this would be possible >30 years ago. At that time, the possibility of even checking research papers online, did not exist. We did research without the aid of databases on the library.

Now you can access all research that has ever been published online. But not only that, you can also “assist to conferences virtually” from anywhere.

However, not only modern chemistry has been recorded. One of the greatest examples out there of online chemistry talks are the Woodward’s legendary lectures.

Woodward’s Organic Chemistry Lectures

R. B. Woodward won the Nobel prize in chemistry in 1965 for his achievements in the art and science of organic synthesis. In my opinion, he is the greatest organic chemist of all time. He could’ve gotten two more Nobel prizes if he didn’t die so young (1979, at 62), probably due to his contributions to the chemistry of metallocenes and to the Woodward-Hoffmann rules, among many others.

Anyway, he’s been known for giving epic hours-long lectures, explaining the details of his total synthesis. And some of these were filmed at the time! And now, thanks to the internet, are available to watch on YouTube. This is one example:

You can look for a couple more that are around the internet. Even if you are a young chemistry student, if you are interested in organic chemistry, you should take a look. Classical organic reactions that are employed in these >50 years old synthesis are the ones that are usually taught in undergraduate organic chemistry courses.

In any case, watching the master of organic chemistry is an incredible source of inspiration for any aspiring chemist.

The Best Conference Chemistry Lectures Online

As we already mentioned, more and more, we get big conference lectures tape recorded and posted online. These are some of the most enjoyable ones that we have found.

Baran’s Electrifying Chemistry

First off, you can watch and hour-long presentation on synthetic organic electrochemistry by Phil S. Baran, from Scripps Research.

In this lecture, he covers the main reasons behind how using electricity as oxidant/reductant, instead of a chemical reagent is the greenest possible approach for carrying out redox transformations.

New chemical reactivity is being unlocked month after month taking advantage of synthetic electrochemistry. Here, Baran summarizes how he and his research group are pursuing this field of chemistry. He also presents new IKA equipment for carrying out electrochemical transformations in a reproducible manner.

2018 Nobel Prize Frances Arnold

Frances Arnold, from Caltech, won the 2018 Nobel Prize in chemistry for her contributions to the field of directed evolution of enzymes. This lecture is from one year before, in a symposium called “Tailored Biology”.

Her ground-breaking research has to do with modifying enzymes, to make them catalyze chemical transformations that they would not promote naturally, or at least not as selectively.

John Goodenough’s Nobel Prize Press Conference

John Goodenough, a chemistry professor at the University of Texas (Austin), and he is the oldest Nobel laureate of all time!

Prof. Goodenough got his Nobel Prize in chemistry in 2019, as a recognition of his contributions on the development of lithium-ion rechargeable batteries. What’s to say about this discovery? All of us use rechargeable batteries on a daily basis, all the time. We cannot imagine a world without them right now. And one of the main responsible people for these advances is this man. Here’s his Nobel press conference:

The Magic of Chemistry by David Leigh

In 2016, the Nobel prize in chemistry was awarded jointly to Ben Feringa, Fraser Stoddart, and Jean-Pierre Sauvage. They got it for their work on molecular machines, an exploding and revolutionary field within supramolecular chemistry.

Arguably, the fourth key player on this field is David Leigh. He also works on molecular machines. But his lectures are best-known for his personal touch. He is also a professional magician, and brings magic tricks to the chemistry lectures. Apart from presenting some amazing research, the magic makes these lectures some of the best in the world. And you can enjoy and watch one of these online chemistry lectures right now.

The Best Educational Chemistry Lectures

Besides top-tier ground-breaking research conference lectures, you can also enjoy and learn form some more educational resources.

Some More Magical Chemistry

Some of the most both educational and entertaining videos that you can find online on chemistry are the ones by Andrew Szydlo.

He goes though color and phase changes, and he leads students through the world of “playing tricks” with molecules. This might seem like a long video, but I assure you, if you decide to start to watch it, make sure that you don’t have anything to do for the following hour-and-a-half!

Walter Lewin’s Physics Lectures

So we are past chemistry for this video. But I bring it to your attention for two reasons:

• Chemistry and physics are heavily packed together.
• The lectures by MIT professor Walter Lewin are just fantastic, the best educational videos I have ever watched online.

To be fair, when I started studying some physics in college, I didn’t enjoy them that much. That was until I found Lewin’s lectures online. This made love physics almost as much as chemistry.

MIT Lectures from Your Couch

Who said that not anyone in the world can take chemistry lectures from MIT? Now it is completely possible with this and other courses on chemistry offered by this prestigious institution.

Here, this solid state chemistry course is a brilliant example of some of the best online chemistry lectures from a purely educational point of view.

General Chemistry Online Lecture Series (UCI)

This is another example, this time brought to you by the OpenCourseWare of UC Irvine. This is one of the best educational series of lectures on general chemistry that you can watch online.

Periodic Videos!

Finally, we could not end this post with a mention to the Periodic Videos YouTube channel. Here, Sir Martyn Poliakoff and the rest of his team at the University of Nottingham, tackle the most exciting chemistry facts, experiments and questions. Here, every experiment that you alway wanted to perform, but couldn’t, is answered in these videos.

As the title of the site claims, they have covered the entire periodic table, with at least one video on each of the elements. Go on now and check the one for your favorite element!

Closing Up

As you can see, there is plenty of online chemistry lectures that you can explore throughout the internet. These are just some examples, but go ahead and find some more that fit your interests!

Finally, make sure to share your favorite chemistry lectures in the comment sections with us!

The post Watch The Best Online Chemistry Lectures From Your Coach appeared first on Chemistry Hall.

Through chemistry history, different materials have been employed to build these containers, although it is generally acknowledged that glass is the material of choice for most applications. From simple test tubes to the more complex micro-Kjeldahl distillation units, glass is used in most, if not all for some fields, chemical experiments performed in a laboratory.

Whether you are an experienced researcher or a curious student trying to unveil the fascinating world of chemistry, I am sure you will find in this article several interesting details that you could have missed and could be very useful once you are in front of you laboratory bench. Remember, small details make big differences!, particularly in experimental Chemistry.

Considering this, in the following paragraphs, you will find a description and useful information about the most common laboratory glassware found in any laboratory. All of them come with pictures so you can esily identify those weird pieces of glassware sitting around in the lab.

Enjoy!

• Erlenmeyer flask: It has a cone shape and a cylindrical neck, being also flat by the base. It serves to contain substances or heat them, although the shape of this flask also helps to prevent liquid spillage and facilitates swirling motion to perform titrations, or other procedures. The narrow opening of this flask also prevents dust contamination and minimizes losses by evaporation.

• Volumetric flask: A flat bottom glass container with an elongated and narrow neck that presents a line that exactly defines the volume of any liquid substance. It is generally employed to prepare solutions.

• Beaker: A cylindrical container with a flat bottom and a wide opening. It consists of presents graduations that can often be used as a measurement reference. It is commonly used to contain substances as well as to heat them.

• Measuring cylinder: It is a cylindrical and graduated glass tube that is employed to measure precisely the volume of liquid substances.

• Test Tube: These are a small cylindrical glass tube with one end open and the other closed and rounded. It is used to prepare small reactions or tests in it. They are also commonly used to collect fractions in column chromatography.

• Büchner flask: Volumetrically graduated glass container. It has a small side tube coming out of the neck which can be connected to other equipment, generally a vacuum pump. Widely employed to perform vacuum filtrations along with a Büchner funnel.

• Round-Bottom Flask: This is probably one of the most common types of chemistry flasks. Ball-like container with a wide base and narrow neck that has a stopper. It is used when the substances contained must be stirred, avoiding spillage and evaporation of gases. It can possess one, two, or three necks. They are the bread and butter for setting up chemical reactions.

• Burette: Graduated container, usually made of glass. It is a long tube of small diameter with a stopcock that allows the liquid to drip. It is used to transfer exact amounts of liquids. The most common application of this are titrations.

• Desiccator: Not really a reaction container, but you do store chemicals in it. It is a glass container with a lid that allows a tight seal. It is used to remove moisture from solid substances. Silica gel (desiccant) is placed at the bottom, while the substance to be dried is placed on a plate a few centimeters above.

• Crystallizer: A low container with a flat base. It is used in the laboratory to crystallize the solute from a solution by evaporating the solvent.

• Fleaker flask: Sometimes used to heat liquids, not a very common piece of material. It resembles an Erlenmeyer flask and a beaker. Its body is cylindrical and culminates in a neck that curves before opening into a rounded opening.

• Two-necked flasks. These are round bottom flasks with multiple (2-3) necks or entrances. One is usually employed to take chemicals in or out for the reaction. The others can have multiple uses. They can be connected to a condenser to perform reactions under reflux conditions. You can attach a dropping funnel. You can also attach a connection with a source of an inert gas to work in a closed system under argon or nitrogen, for air-sensitive reactions.

• Kohlrausch volumetric flask: They are used for sugar determination, according to the Kohlrausch method.

• Kjeldahl flask: It is used for the determination of organic nitrogen. Guess how: the Kjedahl method.

• Iodine flask: It is used to make iodine determinations in quantitative analysis of substances by electron exchange (oxidization-reduction) titrations that involve the use of iodine (or any other volatile chemical, for that matter). It’s quite similar to an Erlenmeyer flask (but significantly more expensive!), but is equipped with a stopper joint in order to avoid partial losses of iodine through evaporation, which would lead to errors on the quantifications.

• Saybolt flask: Used for viscosity determination.

• Fernbach flask: It is a narrow neck flask. Its shape provides a large cultivation area suitable for growing microorganisms, in liquid nutrient media. It allows faster growth, due to better ventilation.

• Mojonnier flask: It is used in fat determination, which is extracted with a mixture of ethyl ether and petroleum ether in a Mojonnier flask, the extracted fat is placed at a constant weight and expressed as a percentage of fat by weight.

• Le Chatelier flask: It is used to determine the density of things. Generally applied to determining density of stuff such as hydraulic cement, granulated blast furnace slag and fly ash for concrete, filler aggregates, and lime.

• Schlenk flask: The corner stone of working under strictly anhydrous conditions. This flask is a reaction vessel designed to perform chemical reactions which are sensitive to air. There are many variations for this, but usually it has two different necks or connections, one designed to put in the chemical reagents, and another one that is simply a connection to a Schlenk line, or source of an inert gas such as argon or nitrogen.

• Straus flask: They differ mainly from other Schlenk flasks by their neck structure. Two necks emerge from a round bottom flask, one larger than the other. The largest neck ends in a frosted glass joint and is permanently distributed by the blown glass with direct access to the flask. The smaller neck includes the thread required for a Teflon cap to be screwed perpendicular to the flask. The two necks are joined through a glass tube. The frosted glass gasket can be connected to a manifold directly or through an adapter and a hose. A typical use for these is storing anhydrous solvents with molecular sieves.

• Collector or Receiver Flask: It is a glass jar, with a very short neck, spherical body, and frosted mouth. It is designed as a piece of glass in rotary evaporators, to collect distillations of reactions with reflux. It is usually made of borosilicate glass.

• Florentine Flask: It is a glass flask, with a long neck and spherical body. It is designed for uniform heating and is produced with different thicknesses of glass for different uses. It is usually made of borosilicate glass.

• Pear-shaped flask: It is designed for uniform heating and is produced with different thicknesses of glass for different uses. It is usually made of glass.

The biggest advantage of classic round bottomed flasks, is that its rounded base makes it easy to stir or remove its contents without being able to spill any substance out of its container as a precaution.

Pear-shaped flasks are used for evaporating solutions to dryness post-synthesis using a rotary evaporator, the ’rounded V’ shape of the flasks enables solid materials to be scraped out more efficiently than from a round-bottomed flask. Also, collecting liquids using a syringe, it’s easier with the pear-shape!

• Laboratory bottles: Made of borosilicate glass, they can withstand high temperatures and are of high chemical resistance. They are used basically to store chemicals and solutions, such as brine or ammonium chloride solutions for aqueous reaction work-ups.

• Dropper bottles with pipette: Contains substances. It has a dropper and for that reason, it allows dosing substances, such as organic solvents, in small quantities.

• Winkler oxygen bottles: It is made of clear glass, has a frosted cap and the exact volume is engraved on the bottle. It is used for the determination of dissolvable oxygen in the water.

• Big reaction vessels resistant to high temperatures or pressures. These reactors usually consist of two parts: a cylinder where the reaction mixture has to be introduced and a cap or head where there are usually different valves or connections necessary to carry out the reaction, to be able to control or monitor safety elements. In some cases, it has a heating jacket that plays the role of keeping the fluid at a constant temperature, either high or low.

• Microwave vials: Reaction vials that can be sealed with a cap, snd can resist high pressures. They are used to heat up reactions at temperatures higher than the boiling point of the employed solvent. This happens usually when heating using a microwave reactor.

• HPLC vials: These vial have a cap with a septum that can be pierced by needles, such as the ones from an HPLC or GCMS autosampler, so they are used to inject samples on instruments such as those. You can also set up small-scale chemical reactions on those if you have a stirring bar small enough!

As you can see, the list is long, and there is virtually a flask for every task you can possibly imagine. By the way, thanks to wikimedia for some of the pictures here.

Of course, you don’t really need everything if you want to set up of own home chemistry lab, but it is always good to know about them all!

The post Types of Chemistry Flasks: A Complete Guide appeared first on Chemistry Hall.

Performing experiments and reporting them properly is a cornerstone of on your way into learning chemistry.

But how do you write a chemistry lab report properly?

It’s now time to find out!

Our ultimate guide sheds light on the main parts of lab report writing. You ought to be aware of every section and understand how to complete them properly. Therefore, we have divided our guide into three major sections that are:

1. Parts of the lab report;
2. A step-by-step review;
3. Writing your project.

General Information

It’s necessary to begin with an overview of the main sections that should be present on a laboratory report for chemistry.

Mind that sometimes these sections are called differently but have the same purpose. Some of the sections may be missing, but the general structure should be close to this. Everything depends on the educational institution.

It is important to know that usually lab reports are written after the lab session is finished. This means that you need to have everything previously recorded in your lab notebook. You are supposed to keep track of everything you do in the lab in your laboratory notebook, and then using that notebook to write down your lab report, not the other way around.

Reviewing Every Step

Now, we’d like to go through the main stages of a chemistry lab report. It’s necessary to add brief comments concerning each of them. Your laboratory report begins with a title page. You already know what it consists of. Let’s check how to compose it correctly. The information must be presented on the upper right-hand side of the page. All the points (the title, your name, collaborators, etc.) should be mentioned on the separate line.

Afterward comes the second part, which includes:

• The course title
• Title of the experiment
• Title of the parts within the experiment
• Semester, year, etc. (optional)

This data appears in the middle of the title page.

The next section is the Introduction and it begins with this word in the left upper corner of your report. It should consist of no more than a couple of paragraphs and end with at least one hypothesis.

The body of your project consists of the procedure, materials and methods employed; data; results and observations.  The section Procedure commonly consists of several steps that were followed for the proper conduction of the experiment(s). They could be divided in different parts, and those would describe your actions.

The section Data contains the numerical facts and Observations that provide the changes that took place. Afterwards, you move to the Discussions, in which you ought to plainly explain all the numbers, observations and collected data. Your conclusions provide an overall summary of the entire lab report, and the whole experimental session itself.

Writing a Chemistry Lab Report

The last lap in our “race” is to write a laboratory report. We have already mentioned the main constituents of the title page. Therefore, we can hit the text of your project. Your abstract appears soon after the title page. An abstract is a quick summary that sums up the whole thing (hypothesis to be proven, and conclusions that are reached). Nonetheless, you should leave some space and skip it until the entire project is finished. It is recommended to write the abstract last. The main point is that this section provides a brief review of what your lab report is about and what you’ve managed to achieve.

Main Sections

The introductory part tells your readers what to expect from the project. Write a couple o paragraphs and explain the purpose of your experiment. Including references here is also highly encouraged. The last sentence of your introduction is called a hypothesis or a thesis statement. It shows what you hope to achieve at the end of your research.

The main body consists of several parts and of course, each has its purpose. You should introduce the materials and methods you need to conduct the research. Explain your choice and how your choice helps to conduct a safe and accurate study.

Take instant records of everything that happens during the experiment in your lab notebook. Never rely on your memory!

Afterwards, you’ll interpret the data and explain it using plain words. Don’t draw any conclusions when you record data and don’t explain it in the section called Results. This function should be fulfilled in the sections Discussions or Analysis sections, which should come right afterwards.

Your conclusion makes a brief summary. It should consist of 3-4 sentences, not many more. Restate your hypothesis in other words. Mention whether you’ve achieved your initial goal and explain its value.

Importantly, do realize that if a hypothesis cannot be proven, or an experiment doesn’t give you the results you expected, it doesn’t mean that your experiment and lab session was a failure. It is extremely common in chemistry to find yourself on this kind of situations! You only need to be able to explain why you got the results that you got, and how would you go around to fix them!

Further Sections on Your Report

Don’t forget about the contributors (labmates, supervisiors…) to your research.

You should also obligatorily use some secondary sources to support your theory. Therefore, you have to cite and make references according to the assigned writing format. You can reference other articles all over your manuscript (especially in the introduction and discussion sections), but don’t forget to put them together (or at the bottom of each page), and cite them properly.

The final step is to proofread your lab report. You’re free to use reading aloud and in your head, reading everything again, and using special grammar and spelling checking applications.

To sum up, keep in mind all these guidelines when you’re assigned to write a lab report. Thus, you’ll never miss something important, which can cost you essential grades. Write each section properly to receive the highest grades for your experiment. Always be clear, cite the appropriate references, and be objective with your analysis and conclusions!

The post How to Write the Perfect Chemistry Lab Report: A Definitive Guide appeared first on Chemistry Hall.

Here are a couple of fun chemistry experiments that your kids are sure to love.

Chemical Reaction Experiments for Kids: Green Pennies and Copper-Plated Nails

This awesome experiment is really three chemistry experiments for kids in one! First, in Part 1, an acid-base reaction gives dull pennies their original shine back. Then, in Part 2, we use redox chemistry to turn some of those pennies green. Finally, in Part 3, we coat ordinary steel nails in copper.

What you’ll need:

• About 20 dull pennies
• A shallow bowl (glass or plastic only)
• ¼ cup white vinegar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• A couple of clean steel nails
• Water
• Paper towels

Part 1: Making Dull Pennies Look Shiny and New

1. Combine the vinegar and salt in the bowl and stir to dissolve the salt.
2. Start by dipping a penny halfway into the vinegar solution and holding it there for 20 seconds. Make a note of what you see.
3. Dump the remaining pennies into the bowl and leave them there for 5 minutes.
4. Your pennies should be bright and shiny again! Reserve the solution for Part 3.

What’s going on?

Over time, shiny copper pennies get dull because the metal is gradually oxidized when in contact with air. The chemical reaction for this process is 2 Cu (s) + O₂ (g) –> 2 CuO (s). Copper (II) oxide (CuO) or cupric oxide, the product of this reaction, is dull and greenish. So, a layer of this substance on the surface of the penny makes it look dark brown and dull.

Cupric oxide is also soluble in many acids, including the acetic acid in household vinegar. When you place the dull pennies in the vinegar solution, the acetic acid dissolves the cupric oxide on the surface of the pennies, revealing the shiny pure copper metal underneath.

It’s an acid-base reaction that results in invisible copper ions (Cu²⁺) being left in the vinegar solution: CuO (s) + 2 CH₃COOH (aq) –> Cu(CH₃COO)₂ (aq) + H₂O (l). This will be important in Part 3, so don’t throw this solution away!

Part 2: Green Verdigris Pennies

1. Remove the pennies from the vinegar solution. (Keep it for Part 3.)
2. Place half on a paper towel to dry, and rinse the other half thoroughly in clean water before placing them on a separate paper towel. Label the paper towels so you know which is which.
3. Wait about an hour and note the difference between the two sets of pennies.
4. The unrinsed pennies should have turned a blue-green color!

What’s going on?

The turquoise-colored coating on the unrinsed pennies is a patina called verdigris. You might recognize it as being similar to the color of the Statue of Liberty—that’s verdigris, too! While verdigris can be several different compounds, in this fun chemistry experiment, it is copper (II) acetate, or cupric acetate.

It’s a two-step process. First, the copper metal is oxidized to cupric oxide, exactly the same way it does naturally over time. However, in this experiment, we have sped up the oxidation reaction using salt (NaCl) dissolved in the vinegar. Sodium chloride is an electrolyte, and since oxidation-reduction reactions rely on the movement of electrons, an electrolyte acts as a catalyst by increasing the conductivity of the solution.

In the second step, the acetic acid left on the unrinsed pennies reacts with the cupric oxide to form blue-green cupric acetate: CuO (s) + 2CH₃COOH (aq) –> Cu(CH₃COO)₂ (s) + H₂O (l)

Notice that this is the same reaction that dissolved the cupric oxide in Part 1. The difference is that we’ve taken it out of the aqueous environment. Because of this, the solid cupric acetate remains on the penny as the water evaporates.

Part 3: Copper-Plated Nails

1. Place one nail in the solution from Part 1 so that it is half covered, and completely submerge another nail. Note any changes you see.
2. Leave the nails that way for about 10 minutes. If the color hasn’t changed, come back again in an hour.
3. The parts of the nails in contact with the solution should now be coated in copper!

What’s going on?

Steel is an alloy whose main component metal is iron. When you dip the nails in the penny-cleaning solution, the acid in the vinegar dissolves some of the iron and iron oxides on the surface, leaving it with a negative charge.

Remember those invisible Cu²⁺ ions that were left behind in solution? Those positive ions are attracted to the negative charge on the surface of the nail. As a result, the copper ions are reduced (i.e. gain electrons) to pure copper metal, which is deposited all over the nail.

This is definitely one of the coolest chemistry experiments to do at home, and you probably have everything you need already!

More Chemistry for Kids: Coffee Filter Chromatography

This is one of the easiest chemistry experiments with household items, which makes it suitable for even younger kids. It’s an at-home version of something chemists do in the lab every day: chromatography. Here, you will take a dye from markers and separate it into its component pigments.

( As a fun continuation of this experiment, why not use water to pull the dye off of colored candies, like M&Ms and Skittles? Do you think red M&Ms contain the same pigments as red Skittles? How can you find out? )

What you’ll need:

• Coffee filter
• Ruler
• Scissors
• Pencil
• Non-toxic markers (or other source of dye)
• Water
• Table salt
• A tall glass

What to do:

1. Cut the coffee filter into a square, approximately 3 inches by 3 inches, and use a pencil to lightly mark a line straight across the filter, about a half inch from the edge.
2. Next, use the pencil to make dots for each dye color you are going to test, equally spaced along the pencil line, and label each dot with the name of the color.
3. Now, use each marker to make a small dot on the pencil dot by its corresponding label. Ensure that each colored dot is approximately the same size.
4. Prepare a 1% salt solution by dissolving 1/8 tsp table salt in 3 cups of water. Once the salt is dissolved, pour a small amount of solution into the tall glass. The water level should be approximately ¼ inch high. It is very important that it be lower than the marker dots on your coffee filter.
5. Crease the filter square vertically down the middle so that it can stand upright. Then, gently set it in the glass so that the edge below the marker dots is in the salt solution. Water will start to move up the coffee filter.
6. When the water has almost reached the top of the filter square, remove it from the solution and let it dry.
7. The pigments in the markers should have been carried up the filter, some farther than others. What do you see?

What’s Going On?

This chemistry experiment with household items is a simplified form of chromatography, a technique that real scientists use to separate components of a solution every day.

There are two phenomena at work here. First, capillary action is what causes the liquid to defy gravity and move up the coffee filter. This happens in small tubes (like the porous fibers of the coffee filter) when the intermolecular forces between the liquid and the tube are stronger than the force of gravity pulling on the mass of liquid in the tube.

But the second part is what makes chromatography so useful. Some of your marker colors will have moved higher up the coffee filter than others. It’s likely that a few of them even separated into multiple dyes (e.g. a blue spot and a yellow spot came from your green marker). Chromatography uses the different physical and chemical properties of different molecules to separate them in this way.

Sometimes, a dye will move faster up the coffee filter (the “stationary phase”) simply because it is a smaller molecule and weighs less. Usually, though, molecules are separated by their affinity for the stationary phase or the “mobile phase” (the salt solution in our case).

More polar molecules will have a stronger affinity for the positive and negative ions in the salt water, for example, and will be carried up the filter more easily. Nonpolar molecules, on the other hand, will not have any attraction to these charges, and will not get swept away by the solution so quickly.

Your Own All-Natural pH Indicator

Tons of household liquids “behave” the way they do because they are acidic, neutral, or basic. You could check the pH of these liquids with test strips or an indicator solution you buy at a pool supply store or the pet shop. But did you know you can do this with an ordinary vegetable?

The gorgeous colors in this simple experiment make it chemistry for kids at its best!

What you’ll need:

• Half a red cabbage
• 2-3 cups boiling water
• Strainer
• Various household liquids for testing (e.g. plain water, lemon juice, baking soda solution)
• One clear glass for each liquid
• Additional water for diluting

What to do:

1. Prepare the pH indicator from the cabbage. To do this, chop the cabbage into small pieces, cover in a saucepan with boiling water, and let cool. Strain to separate the liquid, which should be dark purple. This is your indicator solution.
2. Dilute a small amount of your household substances in water in separate glasses. Make sure to label them so you know what’s what. It’s a good idea to have one glass of plain water to act as a control.
3. Predict what color each liquid will turn when you add the pH indicator, and then see if you’re right by pouring a small amount into each glass.
4. Neutral liquids should be purple, like the indicator itself. Acidic liquids should turn hot pink, and basic liquids should turn blue!

What’s going on?

Acidity, for the purposes of pH, is a measure of hydrogen ions (H⁺) in a solution. A pH of 7 is considered neutral. If a liquid is acidic, its pH will be between 0 and 7, and if a liquid is basic or alkaline, its pH will be between 7 and 14.

A pH indicator works by reacting with acidic (H⁺) and basic (OH^–) ions in a solution; the product of that reaction is a different color than it was originally, thus indicating whether the solution was basic or acidic.

In red cabbage, the plant pigment anthocyanin has a molecular structure that allows it to act as both a base (reacting with acids) and an acid (reacting with bases). It therefore has three different forms, each with a different color, depending on the number of acidic hydrogens it contains (fully protonated in an acidic environment, partially protonated in a neutral environment, and fully deprotonated in an alkaline environment).

Final Thoughts on Chemistry for Kids

These fun chemistry experiments with household items are simple, safe and visually interesting for kids. But to make sure they get the most out of it, don’t forget to ask them questions (and do your best to answer theirs). What do they see? Why might that be happening? What would happen if you changed the conditions slightly?

You’ll have a budding scientist before you know it!

Also, make sure to check some of the more general science experiments that you can do at home that we have also published recently.

The post Awesome Chemistry Experiments For Kids To Do At Home appeared first on Chemistry Hall.

This said not all people actually have the luck of being able to study through college without working on a part-time job. This highly depends on the country you are living in, or on the wealth of your family.

I was one of those lucky guys. This approach lets you focus on simply getting your degree(s), which is nice. But there’s always the downside of not having any real work experience. That’s why you should start looking into building a career. Especially when you are close to graduation.

In this post I wanted to share the story on how I got my first research internship. And how this led me to another one, and then to my PhD without even having to interview.

Disclaimer: My career is purely academic, but I will try and finish the article with several tips that can help you land into your first job, either in industry or academia.

Getting Your First Working Experience

Getting research or industrial experience is key for building up a career in chemistry. This is clear. But is not equally easy in every part of the world.

But in any case, working as an undergraduate in something related to chemistry, will definitely help you. Always. It’s not just about having something to put in your CV. It will help you greatly in your transition from being a student to working full time.

If you can combine studying chemistry with working on you first chemistry job, you are off to a great start of your career!

I am aware that doing undergrad internships is quite common in the US. I worked here and know many people that studied chemistry here at the US, but I grew up in Europe. As a matter of fact, having some sort of experience is usually a requirement for most gradate programs.

But the world is quite big, and it doesn’t work like that everywhere.

How Did I Land into my First Job Experience

I grew up in Europe, and did my undergraduate studies in a very small university. Education was great, but job opportunities are pretty poor to say the least. Most people graduate without any job experience, which is average for people here.

However, if you plan to build your career outside, having no experience at all can be a problem. Both for getting industry positions or joining academic graduate programs.

Here undergraduate chemistry studies take 4 years. So during my third year, I decided to make a move which defined entirely my career. I wanted to check out how a research chemistry job looked like.

For this purpose, I applied to an internship program offered by my university. Only two positions were available each year for the entire university, and I got one of those.

But still, those positions are not great at all, because they are kind of “rotations” in which you spend one or two weeks (no more than 10 h) in each of the 8-10 different labs on the department. This is simply not enough to get a flavour of what doing research in that lab looks like. Not even close.

So I decided to approach the head of one of the organic chemistry labs. I simply showed my genuine in their chemistry. I loved o-chem, so I figured doing research in organic chemistry would be great!

As a matter of fact, I was right. I got to work only in that lab, and I immediately fell in love with research. I my first lab a lot! My first chemistry job and the gate to open up my passion for research.

Bonus tip: Always be learning new things! An example of where you can do this is on this post reviewing some of the best online chemistry lectures. Also, keeping up to date on new methods of science communication and outreach can always be a plus.

Approach Professors: They Love Seeing Students Interested in their Chemistry!

I talked with many chemistry students who tell me that it doesn’t feel right to them approaching professors and ask them to join their labs. If you feel the same way, I would like to encourage you not to be scared!

Almost every professor who works in research love what they do, and also love sharing it with others! Even if you don’t quite understand what their research is about, just go and ask!

Many research groups have a website set up in which they have, not only a complete list of publications, but also a fairly accesible summary of what their research is all about. To go even further, if you enjoy what they teach, you will most likely enjoy what they do too.

On my case, I simple knew the professor that taught one of my favorite chemistry courses had a research group. I showed my interest and that was pretty much it.

I got a full paid internship on his lab, where I was given the opportunity to start a brand-new project for myself, in collaboration with a 4th year grad student. This student taught me enough to continue the project by myself over a bit more than 1 year.

After this time, I was fluent on a synthesis research lab, got the maximum grade on my undergrad dissertation, and got a first author publication. And I can tell you that this doesn’t happen to >95% of the people that graduate there. Not even close. And the key was just going ahead and showing interest!

Where Do You Go From Your First Chemistry Job?

In my case, I applied for another internship in a different European research group. In this case, one of the biggest European groups in organic chemistry. Thanks to my first experience on my university, I got the second internship, that directly led me to joining a graduate program over there. Not even an interview required. Just a bit experience, which showed that I dared to go a bit further ahead than my peers was enough.

Then I worked too in the US, mainly in an academic environment, but also in close collaboration with industry. From a position like this, with you PhD under your arms, you are in a pretty great position to move towards any industrial or academic job you want to pursue. Chemjobber here does an amazing job on gathering and publishing job opportunities and analyzing the job market in chemistry.

Getting The Technical Details Right

I might have made it sound easier than it is, since I didn’t comment on any technical issue, such as CV or email writing. When you are getting started, or if you know the guy you want to work with, the approach process is definitely easier.

But for any further application, you obviously need to know a bit how to write a CV or a cover email. Or how to tackle interviews.

Writing Your First Chemistry CV

If this is your very first CV, and have an average almost-zero experience, I wouldn’t go further than writing one page.

The structure that I like is as follows:

1. Essential data: First state your name and essential data. Nationality, place of birth, current address, phone number and email (which is just your name, with a gmail or university domain). Depending on the place, you might have to include age (date of birth), or in some countries, your picture (definitely not in the US or UK).
2. Two lines description: Then I usually follow with a two-three lines description of who you are or what are you aspiring to do. For example “XXX YYY, chemistry undergraduate student looking forward to developing a career in process chemistry. Looking for an entry job or internship in industry”.
3. Education: Unless you have strong and related working experience, education comes on the top. If you are already an undergraduate in college, I would not include any education data below high-school. Even high-school, I wouldn’t include it you don’t have anything to highlight there. If you got any prize, or had some experience, or joined anything such as a science club, make sure to add it. Anything that shows your interest on what you do/study, will be positive. About grades: If yours is above average, by all means add it. If it’s below average, not be scared not to include it. If they want to know, they can ask, but no need to show something bad for no reason.
4. Working experience/history: Try to fill all the gaps possible. It’s understandable that you have spent student holidays just as holidays, but once you graduate from college, blank gaps of more than a couple of months raise red flags to employees.
5. Language proficiency: This is usually most important for non-English native people, since English is the universal language of science. State clearly your English proficiency if you are not a native. And of course, if you can speak other languages, it’s always a great bonus, especially if you want to join an international working environment.
6. Prizes and other achievements: If you participated or joined the chemistry olympiad, or organized events on your science club at high school, you can add it to your CV.
7. Other skills and hobbies: You could add skills such as having a driving license, or playing a musical instrument. Or being a part-time high level athlete. Don’t bother including interests such as “reading”, “listening to music”, “traveling”, or “watching TV shows”. Everybody does this and no employer cares.

Don’t go crazy with colors. Black and white works just fine. A simple design such as this one, is more than enough. Just make it as easy to read as possible.

Cover Letters/Emails and Interviews

Your CV can go almost identical for any position that you want to apply to, but your cover email/letter needs to be tailored.

You can extract the main ideas for writing an email for your first chemistry job from the first sections of this article. Just show interest about the job, and include a couple of highlights from your CV.

As for interviews, they can vary largely between country to country, lab to lab, and company to company. I’m not going to go into details. You can go and check some great advice in this Reddit post.

Closing Up: Share Your Experience with Us!

If you are a chemistry student looking for your first job, I really hope you found this post useful.

On the other hand, if you are already past this point, please, we invite you to share your experience in the comments, so other people can learn from it!

The post How I Got My First Chemistry Job (And How You Can Do It Too) appeared first on Chemistry Hall.

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 for how to learn chemistry, plus tons of useful resources no matter what your level is.

What exactly is this guide?

Obviously you won’t learn chemistry reading this blog post by itself. This is more of a pedagogical article. However, we will point you towards tons of resources for learning this science, no matter if you are just a chemistry enthusiast or a college student.

This is a general introduction for approaching chemistry, from any level.

There is a very specific way of thinking that helps tackling the problems that chemistry has to offer. We will base our guide upon that cornerstone.

And you will find out what this theme is pretty soon if you keep reading.

An Introduction to Chemistry

But first, a quick introduction to the study of chemistry, what it is, and why you should make the effort to learn this awesome science.

What Is Chemistry?

Chemistry can be defined as the study of matter and the changes it undergoes. You’ll sometimes hear it called the central science because it is the connection between physics and all the other sciences, starting with biology. All that makes it sound abstract and esoteric, but really, chemistry is all around us. It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that it governs every aspect of your life.

Are you sitting inside? You’re surrounded by building materials that are structurally sound because of how chemistry holds them together. Reading this outside? Every living plant you see is consuming CO2 and releasing oxygen in the process of photosynthesis. The food you eat, the products you use to clean your house, the fuel you put in your car, the very air you breathe—it’s all chemistry.

What’s really incredible about chemistry is the seemingly infinite variety of stuff around us and the fact that it’s all just combinations of around 100 chemical elements. In reality, most of what we interact with in everyday life is made up of far fewer. When two or more of these elements are combined in a compound, the properties of the compound can be amazingly unlike the constituent elements. Would you guess that the table salt in your kitchen is made up of a chemical weapon and a metal that causes an explosion when it touches water?

What is Chemistry Used for?

It should come as no surprise, then, that chemistry is used for just about anything you can imagine. Life itself relies on chemistry, but humans have been harnessing it for our own benefit for thousands of years, knowingly or not. From our first combustion reaction (making fire) to the latest cutting-edge medical technology, this science has changed our lives in ways that are mind-blowing.

Long before we knew any scientific concepts that we take for granted today, we were performing basic chemistry. Some of the most important examples from the ancient world are processes that we still use today, such metallurgy and extracting compounds from natural sources, e.g. plants.

Many people consider alchemy to be the forerunner of modern chemistry. This is debatable, but regardless, the discipline that tirelessly sought a way to turn lead into gold fell out of favor among intellectuals right about the time when something closer to modern chemistry was beginning to catch on. The earliest publications in chemistry as a proper science date to the 16^th and early 17^th centuries.

Now, a few hundred years later, the field has positively exploded, with numerous subdisciplines. Today, we say that the five major branches of chemistry are general chemistry, organic chemistry, inorganic chemistry, biochemistry, and analytical chemistry. But there are tons of more niche areas of chemistry, too, like physical, materials, and nuclear chemistry, neurochemistry, chemical engineering, medicinal chemistry and pharmacology… The list goes on and on because chemistry is used for everything!

Why Should I Learn Chemistry?

So, aside from the fact that it is used for practically everything in life, why should you learn chemistry? There are tons of reasons!

Even if you don’t plan on a career in science, you’ll pick up a lot of useful skills and knowledge when you learn chemistry. Studying science helps you understand important issues, like climate change or food additives, more objectively. Chemistry is also great for developing problem solving skills.

More specifically, knowledge of chemistry unlocks some of life’s most profound mysteries… like how to make sure your baked goods come out moist and fluffy! Seriously though, it can make many routine tasks—like cooking—easier, and more importantly, it can help keep you safe. Knowing which cleaning products are okay to be used together and which should never be mixed is possible with chemistry, as is understanding how certain medicines work in your body, and much more.

This video sums it up really well:

Besides, chemistry is not a profession which seems to be going anywhere soon. Careers and jobs in chemistry, especially in research, are usually pretty fun, and creativity-driven.

Now that you’re convinced that you want to learn chemistry, how do you do it?

How to Learn Chemistry

I talked with many people that have studied chemistry, like myself, and everyone seems to have learnt this science very similarly.

There is a way of reasoning and thinking about chemistry which is common in chemical education.

Chemistry is an empirical science, so it is based on explaining observations, and taking what you extract from those observations to extrapolate and make predictions about other phenomena.

You can explain extremely simple chemistry questions, such as differentiating organic and inorganic compounds, to very complex scenarios with this same methodology.

This way of reasoning is, in my opinion, the best way to tackle chemistry problems. This goes from a kid learning basic science to a professional chemistry PhD working on ground-breaking research.

How to Rationalize, Explain and Extrapolate

To illustrate this, we will use a simple example:

First an observation: We observe that water freezes at a certain temperature (0 ºC at atmospheric pressure).

Then, rationalization/explanation: Thanks to previous knowledge, we can explain this observation in simple terms saying that at lower temperatures, molecules vibrate less, and can pack in a more efficient manner. The way water molecules can pack below 0 ºC, gives it a solid state structure.

We can generalize this to any other substance: Depending on how strong are intermolecular interactions between each molecule of a given substance, they will be able to pack in a solid state form more easily (at higher temperature).

Then we extrapolate to other systems/molecules: intermolecular forces between hexane molecules are much weaker (dispersion forces) than between water molecules (hydrogen bond). This will make it harder to pack them in a solid state structure, thus making its melting point much lower (-95 ºC, to be exact).

And this turns out to be true, as we can easily validate by determining (or consulting) the melting point of hexane.

And this can be made as simple as that or as complex as you would like your model to be.

This way of thinking fits perfectly with chemistry. That’s why I highly recommend it.

If you already took chemistry courses, you are probably familiar with this reasoning process, even if you didn’t really notice.

Where to Find Any Resource for Learning Chemistry

So you are already packed with a clear thinking process that you can adopt for tackling chemistry.

What do you need now?

Of course, you need information. Information is everything. You need books, resources and materials to study.

Well, we have good news for you! We live in the age of information technologies, and you can find literally everything anywhere. You can order a textbook from almost anywhere, and even find electronic versions of those books. You can find scientific research articles from home. You can visit Wikipedia and take a quick look about any subject you want. You can Google whatever you want and find tons of resources to learn from…

One might say, that there’s too much information out there! More than you can handle!

But I really don’t think there’s such a thing as ‘too much information’. Not if you are good at searching through it, and filtering what’s important. And this is a basic yet overlooked skill in our age. Focus on learning how to process, select and filter! And this not only applies to chemistry, but to every subject out there.

To be completely honest, even in 2020, I don’t think there is a better way to learn a natural science such as chemistry than starting from a good textbook.

Not get me wrong, there is plenty of info about chemistry. Heck, probably most of the university level course materials can be found in Google.

However, there is nothing like the great and didactical organization of a textbook. You can get one for your level, and when you are done going through most of it, you will be a master on that level. Of course, I encourage you to expand every topic that is not clear enough, or not covered deeply enough. For this purpose, or for a quick outlook, the internet is amazing.

There are plenty of different textbooks for any level. Which one is the best for me? What are my options? This is what we will cover next.

We strongly recommend you to navigate this site through the links on each section to check specific details and thorough comparison data.

The Best Books to Learn Chemistry at Any Level

No matter what your interest or level in this subject may be, there’s a great book out there to help you learn chemistry. This section won’t be too extensive, but you can find detailed write-ups on all of the books below in other posts.

Kids and Casual Learners

Our recent post on the best chemistry-themed gifts included three books that are a great fit for older kids or adults who have a casual interest in the central science.

Elements: A Visual Exploration of Every Known Atom in the Universe is visually stunning and chock full of cool information. It contains gorgeous photos and fun facts, and it would be an excellent introduction for people who are curious to learn about the chemical elements that make up our universe.

Ask a Science Teacher: 250 Answers to Questions You’ve Always Had About How Everyday Stuff Really Works is a book that is less focused on chemistry specifically, but which has still got tons of fascinating explanations in plain English. It’s a great book to show all the practical ways in which science affects us every day.

Chemistry for Everyone: A Helpful Primer for High School or College Chemistry is exactly what it sounds like. It’s definitely the most educational of the books in this section, although it is not intended to replace a complete chemistry course. We would recommend picking this up before taking your first chem class so that you have an idea of what to expect.

High School

We have two favorites when it comes to books for high school chemistry students. You can read more in our post on these and other high school chem textbooks, but here are our top picks in a nutshell:

Chemistry: Concepts and Problems: A Self-Teaching Guide is, of course designed for self-taught students. This makes it ideal if you end up in a class with a “teacher who doesn’t teach”, as students often report. It’s based on the programmed learning method for maximum learning effectiveness.

Chemistry for Dummies tracks a typical introductory chemistry course, making it suitable for high school and college intro to chem classes. No matter what your current level is, you can learn chemistry with this book.

We also published a separate review for the best chemistry books for self-study, which can be suitable for anyone, but especially to people at the high-school level.

University Level

At the university level, there are several types of chemistry courses you could be taking, each with its own separate textbook. Or, if you’re curious to learn chemistry but don’t need the credit to graduate, you could use one of these books to teach yourself!

If you’re learning General Chemistry, we’ve got a whole post dedicated to the best books for this class. But in the interest of time, our two top picks are Brown’s Chemistry: The Central Science and Tro’s Chemistry: A Molecular Approach. Both are top-notch textbooks, with the second one being a bit more expensive but also more accessible for most students, especially visual learners.

For people with a serious interest in learning chemistry, the next course is usually Organic Chemistry, or o-chem. Your professor has likely listed a book on their syllabus, but in our opinion, the best textbook to learn organic chemistry is Clayden’s Organic Chemistry. According to research, students value clarity above all else in textbooks, and this one is very easy to follow with plenty of practice problems. We also try to publish resources in which reaction mechanisms are well explained, here is an example with the Swern oxidation!

Your o-chem professor will probably also require or suggest you get a molecular modeling kit. This is highly recommended, even if it isn’t mandatory in your class. But remember, it doesn’t do any good to buy a kit if you don’t use it, so make sure you take full advantage of all the concepts it can help you understand.

By the time you get to Inorganic Chemistry, you’ve likely made a major commitment to studying chemistry. There are several inorganic chemistry textbooks that can help you learn more effectively, but our preference is Housecroft & Sharpe’s Inorganic Chemistry. It’s got just the right balance of detail and being easy to understand with very instructive graphics.

Two other main fields of chemistry are not forgotten. Here you can go and check for the best physical chemistry textbooks and the best analytical chemistry books.

Other important subfields such as biochemistry and electrochemistry are not left behind.

Also, it is mandatory that you start learning how to properly take notes in the form of a laboratory notebook, and writing good lab reports.

Online Resources

Apart from books, the second best resource for finding resources is clearly the internet. But what sites should I visit?

Of course, there are many university websites with plenty of information, but the easiest and quickest way find something, is of course, a search engine such as Google. But make sure to check what kind of site are you visiting, and if the information they provide is reliable. Many times, your query will take you to university sites that you can trust. But as we advised before, learning how to filter information is key!

As for other great websites to look for information, some of them are:

Wikipedia: Some criticize that anyone can edit it and write any information. This is true, but it is also true that it undergoes continuos review by experts, and inaccurate or undocumented information rarely goes unnoticed. The info sources or citations are usually great and often refer to original research.

Youtube: Just the same as Google, just search anything you want and you will most likely find a channel explaining everything about it to you! An example for Organic Chemistry is presented by Crash Course here.

As an example of this, we have collected some of the best chemistry lectures and conference talks in another article.

SciFinder and Reaxys: Professional scientific databases. They are paid tools, but if you study or work in a research institution, you will most likely have access to a subscription. These are great for looking through original research, and if you are serious about doing a career on chemistry, you’d better get used to playing with them!

Libretexts: Great repository for completely open access books online, which might not be accessible anywhere else. Lot’s of chemistry material there to find!

This list could go on forever, for example, our own place, Chemistry Hall, has plenty of resources to discover. But we really want to remark how important is to master search engine searches to look for exactly what you are looking for.

We will now finish with an important section for students: tips on taking on some of the most popular standarized chemistry exams in the US.

Taking Standardized Chemistry Exams

The single best thing you can do to prepare for most standardized exams is to take practice tests that are as similar to the real thing as possible. In addition to that, check out these tips for some of the major standardized chemistry exams.

Tips for AP Chemistry Exams

The AP chem exam is a college credit exam for high school students, so it literally pays to be prepared for this one. Your first step should be to buy one of the best AP chemistry review books, preferably one with lots of practice test so that you’ll feel comfortable with the structure of the exam and the formats of the different types of questions.

When taking your practice exams, make sure you do it under simulated testing conditions. Most of all, that means that you need to time yourself. Another important thing to keep in mind is that the topics that are covered on the exam are changed from time to time, so if you buy a review book, make sure it’s the most recent edition.

Similarly, make sure you get the latest version of exam logistics, such as when you will be allowed to use a calculator, the provided equation sheet, etc. And if your handwriting looks like chicken scratch, remember that your free response questions are being graded by humans, and doing your best to keep things legible could save you some points by making your grader’s life easier.

Tips for the SAT Chemistry Subject Test

Many colleges and universities do not require SAT II exams, i.e. subject tests, but they can be useful to present yourself as a better applicant. Usually, students are advised to take one science SAT subject exam and one humanities, and the SAT Chemistry Exam is one of the most popular science tests.

It should come as no surprise that your first step to success is to buy a chemistry SAT subject textbook. But it’s also important to realize that not all review books are created equal. There is one specific type of question on the SAT Chemistry Exam that is quite different from what most students are used to. They are called “relationship analysis”, and they can be confusing at first, so you need to make sure that your practice exams contain this type of problem.

When taking practice tests, always do it as close to real-life testing conditions as possible. That means setting a timer and being aware in advance of the things that are and aren’t allowed on exam day. For example, you are NOT permitted a calculator on the chemistry SAT II. If your algebra and basic math skills aren’t strong, it’s best to start working on them as far in advance of exam day as you can.

You will, however, be given a very basic periodic table of the elements. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to review periodic trends, groups, series, etc. and make a “brain dump” of all this information as soon as you are allowed to begin the test.

Tips for ACS Exams

Some college professors opt to give the American Chemical Society general chemistry or organic chemistry exam as their course final in lieu of preparing their own. This sounds like a terrifying prospect to lots of students, but it can actually be a blessing because you will be able to prepare yourself for it with more confidence.

Since the ACS exam is standardized, you can know in advance exactly what topics will be covered, the sorts of questions they tend to ask, etc. You can find official study guides and practice tests online, along with the rules for the test, provided materials, and so on.

We recommend that you start prepping well in advance so that you can space out the material and take your time with everything. Remember that active forms of studying, like doing practice problems or trying to explain concepts to someone else, are much more effective than just reading and rereading notes.

The ACS finals are cumulative, which means they are more about breadth than depth in terms of material. You can choose to go back to the beginning of your course work and study chronologically, or take a more tailored approach and first focus on material that you have a good, but not great, understanding of, before continuing on to any parts that make you feel hopelessly lost.

Tips for MCAT, PCAT, etc.

Pre-professional exams, like the MCAT and PCAT, are designed to measure your knowledge and aptitude in multiple subjects. On the MCAT, one section is called Chemical and Physical Foundations of Biological Systems, while the comparable section on the PCAT is Chemical Processes (there is a separate section for biology).

The names of these sections give you a clue as to what you are expected to know on each exam. Understandably, there is a greater focus on chemistry in this section for pharmacy students and more of a biology focus for med school.

The two exams have totally different structures and rules, so you need to get all that information as soon as you can so that you know how to study and prepare. For example, the PCAT is now given on the computer at a testing center with a calculator built into the exam in the chemistry section and others. However, calculators are not allowed on the MCAT chemistry section, so part of your test prep may include practicing doing calculations by hand.

As with other exams, you’ll greatly improve your chances of getting into med school or pharmacy school if you make use of a good review book with plenty of practice problems.

Time to Learn Chemistry!

If you follow this guide and make use of the resources at your disposal, you’ll be well on your way to learning chemistry. Now, all you need is to dedicate some time to daily study—consistency will make the difference in how far you go!

The post How To Learn Chemistry at Any Level appeared first on Chemistry Hall.

We have reviewed and updated this guide recently, so it is ready for 2020. You can check the best available options right now.

Get ready to share a great adventure into chemistry together with your kids!

Why Do Chemistry Experiments at Home?

Kids are naturally curious about the world around them. Satisfying and encouraging that curiosity will help lay the foundation for a lifelong love of learning.

Chemistry is driving practically everything that happens in the universe, and the best way to learn it is to see it in action. Think back to your own schooldays. What parts of science class were the most memorable? The experiments and demonstrations!

Chemistry is an empirical or experimental science, and it is extremely difficult to make it enjoyable for a kid using only theory, or textbook explanation. Many chemists even admit to not like chemistry very much when they were kids! This was because their learning experience lacked of experiments.

Basically, the reason to find the best chemistry set for kids with age-appropriate experiments is that they are educational and totally cool. Students of all levels can learn important science concepts and have tons of fun doing it.

We have previously covered how to set up a home chemistry lab, but today we focus on another very important topic: learning together with our kids!

And this kind of sets go beyond learning chemistry. If you are interested in other fields of science, you should go and get your hands into a science kit.

If you are looking for something to give as a gift to a chemist, check out this gift review!

In this post, we’ve got our pick for the best chemistry set for kids, as well as detailed reviews for eight different chemistry kit products, all ideal for classroom or home use.

Our Top Choice for Best Overall Chemistry Kit

As always, we start this review post with our number one pick. Today, that designation goes to the Thames & Kosmos Chem C2000 kit. This would be considered the intermediate chemistry set, between the C1000 and the C3000 products.

Thames & Kosmos Chem C2000 (V 2.0)

We rate this best overall because of the amazing number of projects, quality materials and full-color experiment manual. It is on the higher end of the price range among the kits in this article, but with everything you get, it is a great value.

Chem C2000 was the best in 2019, and is still the best option out there in 2020.

The Chem C2000 chemistry set includes around 250 experiments with professional quality equipment. As such, it is ideal for homeschooling and traditional classrooms alike.

Thames & Kosmos recommend this kit for ages 11 and up; after all, there are some pretty serious chemicals in here, not to mention an alcohol burner for experiments that require heat.

Quick Comparison Table

The Best Chemistry Sets for Kids

Now, starting with our top pick, we’ve got detailed reviews of eight products which provide fun chemistry experiments for kids of all ages.

1. Thames & Kosmos Chem C2000

Thames & Kosmos offer a range of Chem kids’ science kits, and the C2000 falls right in the middle in terms of extensiveness, level, and price. It comes with the equipment and supplies you need for some 250 experiments with a comprehensive lab manual to guide budding scientists through each activity.

Thames & Kosmos Chem C2000

We would rate this as the ideal beginner chemistry set for older elementary school and up. Thames & Kosmos are famous for their award-winning products, so it’s no wonder they rolled out the best science kit for kids. Both this and the more basic C1000 kit have won awards from the Parents’ Choice Foundation.

Although it does not have as many experiments as the C3000 kit, it is very complete and very professional. It is recommended for ages 11 and up, but honestly, adults are just as likely to find this chemistry kit enjoyable and educational as children are.

Of particular note in the C2000 set is the alcohol burner, which greatly expands the number of possible experiments by providing a heat source.

2. Thames & Kosmos Chem C3000

This product is, of course, the more advanced premium option from Thames & Kosmos. Compared to the C2000 model, this chemistry kit has about 333 experiments, with extremely high quality equipment.

Thames & Kosmos Chem C3000

If you don’t mind the higher price point, this would definitely be the best chemistry set for adults of all the products on this list. It is just about the closest thing you’ll find to a professional chemistry set out there.

The C3000 model is recommended for ages 12 and up, and its experiments cover some fairly advanced topics. It would make a great companion to high school science, and would be right at home in the classroom as well.

If you are looking for a more advanced chemistry set for teenagers, this is probably a very nice bet.

3. Thames & Kosmos Chem C1000

Once again, another product from Thames & Kosmos that ranks among the best science kits for kids. Unlike its higher-end counterparts, the C1000 has just 125 experiments. However, this is still a very complete set, recommended for ages 10 and up.

Thames & Kosmos Chem C1000

Perhaps the most obvious benefit of the C1000 chemistry set compared to the other to is its more affordable price. Considering everything you get, we would still call the C2000 a better overall value, but this is another excellent choice.

Also, the Parents’ Choice Foundation has dubbed this one of the best chemistry sets for kids, too, by giving it their gold award.

4. Ben Franklin Toys Chemistry Lab Pad Science Kit

This product from Ben Franklin Toys is one of several options for chemistry kits for kids in preschool and early elementary school. Accordingly, it puts a focus on safety and exploration, and it is designed for children ages 5 and older.

Ben Franklin Toys Chemistry Lab Pad Science Kit

The distinguishing feature of the Lab Pad Science Kit is, you guessed it, the lab pad. Parents and preschool teachers will appreciate the lab pad, because it serves as both a work surface for experiments and storage for all the included equipment. As a result, everything stays nice and organized in between science days.

However, the experiments in this product are very limited. In contrast to the other chemistry sets on this list—even the ones designed for younger kids—it only has around 12 activities to do. The price for this product is in the middle of the range, but if you are looking for a great variety of experiments to do with your kids, then it might not be the best value.

5. Learn & Climb Kids Science Kit

Another chemistry set for kids designed for the preschool and kindergarten age group, the Learn & Climb Fun with Science kit is suitable for ages 5 and up.

Learn & Climb Kids Science Kit

Unlike the previous product, Learn & Climb provides a much more complete kit. It contains over 60 experiments, compared to just 12 in the Ben Franklin Toys product, and it retails for a lower price.

In fact, we would rate this as the best chemistry set for kids between the ages of 5 and 10. The number and variety of activities is quite impressive, it is very affordable, and it is designed to help kids learn and explore independently. On this last point, the kit includes a kid-friendly experiment manual and an instructional DVD to guide young scientists through each project.

6. Learning Resources Primary Science Deluxe Lab Set

If the Learn & Climb science kit is the best option for elementary school-aged children, then this lab set from Learning Resources is the best chemistry set for kids who are still in preschool. Designed for children as young as 3 years old, it is perfect for the youngest scientists.

Learning Resources Primary Science Deluxe Lab Set

This kit comes with 20 double-sided activity cards that guide students through experiments with step by step instructions. Altogether, it’s a great kit for giving kids their first exposure to real scientific equipment, like test tubes, flasks, funnels, and even a “science view scope” that looks like a microscope.

So, if you want to encourage scientific exploration in your children or students between the ages of 3 and 5, then this would be our top recommendation.

7. Dan & Darci Light Up Crystal Growing Kit

One of the most rewarding and visually impressive science experiments you can do with your kids is crystal growing. While natural crystals take thousands of years to form in the ground, crystal growing kits like this one from Dan & Darci take just one week or less to form beautiful crystals that will fascinate children and adults alike.

Light-up Crystal Growing Kit for Kids

Although the kit is not recommended for use by kids under 8 years old, your younger kids can still get excited checking the crystals each day to see how much they’ve grown.

The Dan & Darci crystal growing kit is very reasonably priced for this type of product. It comes with materials to grow three crystals: one red, one blue, and one colorless. All you have to do is add boiling water and follow the instructions.

Arguably the most standout feature of this specific crystal growing kit is the LED light display. Once your crystals have finished growing, simply use the included USB charging cable to charge the LED display, and then set your crystals on top and enjoy the beautiful results.

8. Happy Atoms Magnetic Molecular Modeling Complete Set

When kids start learning about atoms and molecules in middle and high school, the new information can be very abstract and overwhelming. Don’t let this discourage them! Instead, help them feel curious and confident by putting those molecules right in their hands.

Happy Atoms Magnetic Molecular Modeling Complete Set

This Happy Atoms kit might seem somewhat expensive for a molecular modeling kit; however, it has a very innovative special feature that accounts for the more premium price. In addition to the magnetic atoms and bonds, it comes with a scanning mat and a free app download that will scan and identify the molecules your child builds.

Because of this, it is a great tool for kids aged 10-17 as they go through their first dedicated chemistry classes. Also, it comes with 216 enrichment activities that are fun and sure to foster a love of science.

If you want more info on molecular modeling kits, make sure to check our previous review.

FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

In all cases, any time you are performing chemistry experiments, always make sure that you wear lab safety glasses. Protect your eyes (and your kid’s) at all costs.

Choosing the Best Chemistry Set for Kids

Luckily, this is a very easy choice for parents and teachers to make. After all, the main factor to consider is the age of the children who will be using the kit.

If your young scientist is at least 10 years old, then one of the Thames & Kosmos chemistry sets will be most appropriate for general chemistry experiments, especially the Thames & Kosmos Chem C2000 model. This is a great option that even adults will enjoy. The chemistry kits from this series are a great complement for learning chemistry in high school too.

If they are taking chemistry in high school, teenagers would also strongly benefit from the Happy Atoms molecular modeling kit and its companion mobile app.

For elementary-aged kids, approximately ages 5-10, we would recommend the Learn & Climb Kids Science Kit. This is because of its excellent array of experiments compared to similar products, its great value, and its clear focus on kids.

Finally, the Learning Resources Primary Science Deluxe Lab Set is certainly the best chemistry set for kids who are still in preschool and too young for the Learn & Climb kit. With visual instructions, bright colors, and safe experiments, it’s ideal for ages 3+.

If you want to check out some chemistry experiments that you can do at home without having to purchase any kit, make sure to check these examples.

So you see, there are great options available to do fun chemistry at home no matter where you kids are on their learning journey. These experiments are so cool, they won’t even realize they’re educational!

The post The Best Chemistry Set for Kids (and Adults!) appeared first on Chemistry Hall.

Even more complicated was the situation for students studying chemistry. This is because chemistry is not only a tough subject, but it requires utter concept traction as well. 

Thanks to advances in technology, all this has now changed. Today, it is easier for a student to find online tools that offer chemistry lessons. Whether you need chemistry homework help or simply looking for an avenue to learn, you can get all that on the internet. 

Perhaps the best thing about e-learning is that it is more flexible. This way, you are able to balance your schedule well to meet all your daily demands, without compromising on your chemistry studies. 

While online learning has numerous benefits, there are different emerging challenges that students face on a daily basis. As expected, since the online learning bubble busted, a number of resources were made available.

This is a good thing for students. However, with a tremendous amount of resources available, it can be difficult to understand how to use them. 

So how can you use these resources to improve your understanding of chemistry? This article will guide you on what to do in a bid to use the online resources effectively. Hopefully, they will go a long way in ensuring that you improve in your chemistry class. 

Treat Online Resources Like Real Classroom Resources

The first step to using online resources to your advantage is to, first of all, identify and treat these resources as real classroom resources. Although they may not fully act like physical resources such as books and pamphlets, it’s important to know that they offer equal, if not more, information on chemistry lessons. 

Whether you are using these resources for free or paying for them, always remember to follow through with your dedication to using them as though they were your textbooks or library resources. 

Additionally, if the classes are offered on live streams, ensure to follow through with the classes by strictly adhering to the set schedule. Remember that once you miss an online class, you will have difficulty catching up with the lost class, just like in the physical setting.

Many examples of chemistry courses available online, for different levels, can be found in this reddit post.

Hold Yourself Accountable

As mentioned before, online resources, just like physical learning, come with a lot of challenges. Perhaps using these resources offer an even bigger challenge in terms of concentration.

To successfully use online resources to better understand your chemistry lessons, you should first ensure to hold yourself accountable for everything. This includes identifying what your syllabus is set to cover throughout the semester and working hard to complete all the set units. 

If you find it difficult to ensure that you are accountable, try pairing up with one or two classmates. This way, they will help you take into account what needs to be done at each and every step of your learning process. 

Manage Your Time Well

Regardless of whether you are studying online or physically in a school, possessing impeccable time management skills play an integral role in your overall success. 

While the flexibility to develop a schedule that fits you is one of the most alluring factors to consider when studying online, you should always remember that the freedom that comes with it can be detrimental to your success. 

Without a solid time management system in place, you will not only find yourself with a lot to cover days before the exam, but you will not have time to fully grasp every chemistry concept. 

Make Sure to Stay Organized

Another important element to using online resources to better understand your chemistry classes is to ensure you stay organized. This means organizing all your resources in a manner that makes it easier for you to not only access but use it as well. 

The first step to getting organized is to ensure that you dedicate a specific learning environment. The reason for dedicating a specific study environment is that you will be able to develop a study routine. 

This way, you can achieve a steady routine and be able to better grasp your chemistry concepts with ease. 

Participate Actively

Since chemistry can be quite difficult to understand, it’s of utmost importance to ensure that you actively participate in all your online courses. 

Whether lessons are offered on a live stream or posted on a website, you should ensure to find a way to engage both your teachers and fellow students as well. This way, you will stand a better chance of grasping all the concepts with ease. 

Eliminate Any Distractions

Apart from different forms of online distractions, you can always expect a host of different distractions while using online resources to improve in your chemistry class. 

In order to use these resources effectively, it’s paramount to ensure that you limit any distractions while studying. However, the kind of distractions you will experience while using online resources will solely depend on your own preference and personality.

On one hand, a student would prefer to remove any form of distractions, in the form of noise, by playing music. On the other hand, another student will prefer to study in a completely silent environment.

Regardless of the place or environment, you prefer to study in, there are common things that you should do to mitigate any form of distractions.

One of the things you should always ensure to do is to switch off your phone. This way, you will avoid any forms of distractions in the form of text messages and incoming calls. 

Break Down Tasks

As mentioned before, studying chemistry can be tough. So, how do you deal with such a subject that requires an in-depth understanding? 

The best way is to break down different tasks that have to do with the subject. Consider using other online resources to help you identify and break down the different tasks that you have to accomplish.

This way, you will not only be organized, but you will grasp all the concepts in your chemistry class. 

The post How to Use Online Resources for Learnig Chemistry appeared first on Chemistry Hall.

While not all historians agree, many consider alchemy to be the proto-science of chemistry, its forerunner. The transition from alchemy to chemistry is, in any case, a fuzzy one, and the decline in alchemy’s popularity more or less coincides with the rise of true or modern chemistry.

Since then, although no one puts much stock in alchemy as a science any longer, technology has advanced to the point today that one centuries-old dream of alchemy—turning other metals into gold—has finally become a reality.

In this post, we’ll look at how alchemy came to be, how the study of matter transitioned to the science of chemistry we know today, and how humans finally discovered how to turn lead into gold.

Ancient Examples of Chemistry

The dawn of what we would consider chemistry by modern standards did not take place until the 16^th century at the earliest. However, whether they understood it or not, humans have been using the science to improve their lives for millennia.

Seemingly simple processes, like preserving foods or making soap, rely on chemical concepts that would not be fully understood until thousands of years after people started to use them. Later came more advanced techniques, such as extracting plant essences for medicines and perfumes, the ability to extract iron from iron ore, the science of metallurgy in general, and the creation of metal alloys (most notably, bronze, for which the Bronze Age is named) and glass.

Meanwhile, classical thinkers such as Empedocles and Democritus developed philosophical theories about the nature of matter, including the concept of the four elemental substances—air, water, earth and fire—and the theory of the atom, an indivisible and indestructible particle, respectively. Many principles from Greek philosophy would persist over the centuries in the now-burgeoning field of alchemy.

Alchemy, the Mystical Science of Transmutation

Most people associate alchemy with two pursuits: turning lead into gold and finding the source of human immortality. But there was actually a lot more going on in alchemy, and it was a science that was studied and practiced differently in many parts of the world.

Alchemy in the West had its roots in in the city of Alexandria in ancient Egypt. It is hard to set an exact year when it began, but because of the nature of the discipline, some people date it back to the beginnings of metallurgy, around 3500 B.C.E. However, in addition to the technological aspect, alchemy was also built on a strong foundation of philosophy and esoterism. In fact, by the 7^th century, the mysticism of Western alchemy far outweighed its technical concepts.

Independently from the Western world, alchemy was also being studied in East Asia and on the Indian subcontinent, although with slightly different principles, as would be expected. Like its Western counterpart, Indian alchemy sought to transform base metals into gold and find the secret to eternal youth. In China, alchemy had a stronger connection to medicine, and arguably resulted in more useful knowledge and inventions, such as gunpowder.

But what comes to mind for most of us when we think of alchemy is medieval Europe, and alchemy likely would have never reached that time and place without the contributions of the Islamic World after the fall of the Roman Empire. In fact, the word alchemy has its origins in the Arabic language. Jabir ibn Hayyan, now considered by some to be the father of chemistry, was among the first to attempt to standardize alchemy with controlled experimentation and a scientific approach in the late 8^th century.

The Beginnings of Modern Chemistry

Until the 18^th century, alchemy and chemistry were not treated as separate disciplines, and both fell under the term chymistry. There were numerous flaws with alchemy experimental design and practice that eventually made it necessary for a new, more rigorous study of matter to emerge.

Works explaining chemical phenomena without the mysticism of alchemy date back to at least the 16^th century, including an extremely important work by Georg Agricola on the science of metallurgy, and the origins of what we now call the scientific method by Sir Francis Bacon in 1605.

But it wasn’t until a few decades later that the first modern chemists, such as Robert Boyle, would advance the field of chemistry and fully distinguish it from alchemy, in part by arguing that there was no evidence to support the existence of only the four classical elements of water, air, earth and fire. He was also instrumental in creating rigorous standards for experiments, and he believed that a theory could not be accepted as true until it was supported by experimental evidence.

Some of the discoveries made during this time were remarkable, while others sound downright silly to us nowadays. In the late 18^th century, Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisier showed that sediment in boiling water was not a result of water element transmuting into earth element, but was in fact just from the container it was being boiled in. But he also established and experimentally proved Lavoisier’s Law, also known as the Law of Conservation of Mass, which is certainly nothing to laugh at.

Can We Turn Lead into Gold?

While alchemy could not accomplish this, modern nuclear physics techniques can be used to change the nucleus of an atom, such as lead, and turn it into another, such as gold. However, this process is far from being economically feasible.

Turning Lead into Gold… with Nuclear Physics!

By the turn of the 20^th century, after alchemy had long fallen out of fashion among scholars, physicists Frederick Soddy and Ernest Rutherford witnessed how the element thorium turned into radium through radioactivity. Soddy immediately recognized this as transmutation, but Rutherford was more apprehensive: “For Christ’s sake, Soddy, don’t call it transmutation. They’ll have our heads off as alchemists.”

As we mentioned briefly in another post, 100 fun chemistry facts, the hallmark goal of alchemy, turning lead into gold, is actually possible. It’s just not something that can be accomplished with chemistry. The answer, it turns out, lies in physics through nuclear transmutation.

Nuclear transmutation is a process that occurs naturally in the universe, in the centers of stars, supernova explosions, etc., where it is called nucleosynthesis. This is how (essentially) every element other than hydrogen and helium came into existence. But now, using particle accelerators, we can recreate this natural process and literally turn one element into another.

The reason, of course, is that an element is defined by the number of protons in its nucleus, which we refer to as the element’s atomic number. Inside stars, the incredible heat and mass allow nuclear fusion reactions to occur, by which, for example, three helium nuclei, with two protons each, come together to form a carbon nucleus with six protons. In the case of turning lead into gold, particle accelerators make it possible to knock a few protons out of the nucleus of a lead atom until only 79 protons remain—gold!

Of course, just because it’s possible doesn’t mean it makes economic sense to do it. But even so, it’s curious how the evolution of science has brought us to this point, turning something that would have been thought possible only with actual magic into something totally achievable.

The post Can We Turn Lead Into Gold? From Alchemy to Nuclear Physics appeared first on Chemistry Hall.

Chemicals are not bad (even not-organic ones). The thing is, everything we see or touch in our world, is made up of chemicals. From the purest distilled water that we use as solvent in the lab to a carrot that you just harvested from your backyard.

But there are many poisons out there in Nature, and other dangerous chemicals that may or may not be human-made.

On this informative article, we wanted to cover some of these scary compounds which you might want to steer away from.

If you are not a professional scientist, you probably will not encounter many of them in your every-day life, or for sure in any experiment that you might do at home but still is good, or interesting to be aware of them. or maybe you want to warn your chemist friend (together with a cool gift)

On the other hand, if you are a chemist, it is definitely possible that you might have to use some of these for your work. And it is always good to be prepared, so you can take the appropriate safety measurements. Or just nope the hell out of using them if ever asked to.

So, what is the most dangerous chemical known to man? What is the most toxic chemical?

What Kind of Dangerous Chemicals Are We Reviewing?

We have decided to divide the compounds in different categories.

This will depend on whether they are dangerous because they are poisonous (low LD50), corrosive, explosive, or extremely harmful chemicals for some reason.

We also have a category for typical dangerous laboratory chemicals (definitiely worth checking out if you’re a chemist or chemistry student).

Finally, we will also discuss some very dangerous compounds that can be found in every-day life situations.

In any case, all these nasty chemicals are interesting to know about.

Without further ado, let’s look into them!

The Most Dangerous Poisons

Botulinum toxin

Botulinum toxin, is basically the most lethal poison known to man. An average 70 kg human being only would have to take around 100 nanograms of this protein to die (it has an LD₅₀ of 1.5–2.0 ng/kg).

If you put it in perspective, one gram of this toxin can kill more than one million people!

What this toxin does chemically is basically preventing acetylcholine from being released between neuron connexions. This breaks down the connexions of neurons with with muscle cells. This leads to muscle paralysis, as contraction of the muscle cells cannot take place.

If you take enough, the neuron connexions which make the heart or respiratory systems work go down, which can kill you.

Funnily enough, this toxin is used in medicine. Botulinum toxin is commercialized under the name of Botox, among others.

As a tool that can paralyze muscles, it found uses in treating muscle spasticity (muscles that are contracted all the time) or other muscle-related diseases. The most potent toxin in the world has even been used in cosmetics, in order to “smooth” facial muscles!

Batrachotoxin

Following next, the next poison comes off the skin of some dart frogs. Specifically, phyllobates terribilis or Golden Poison Frog is known for being one of the most dangerous poisonous animals in the wild.

One of the key components of their poison is batrachotoxin.

Contrary to botulinum toxin, which is a protein, batrachotoxin is a small organic molecule.

You can see how their structures have absolutely nothing to do with each other. But they both work in a fairly similar manner: batrachotoxin, with an LD₅₀ of 2000 ng/kg (an order of magnitude less poisonous than botulinum toxin, but still scary), is also a neurotoxin. It blocks the Na+ ion channels permanently, preventing neurons from communicating with muscles, leading to paralysis and eventually heart failure.

Interestingly, dart frogs don’t make batrachotoxin by themselves.

They need to ingest certain alkaloids through their diet. If they are kept in captivity, dart frogs are rendered non-poisonous.

But in the wild, they make one of the most dangerous poison mixtures. Dart frogs can only be found in Colombia or Panama rain-forests, and they were used by indigenous tribes to make poisonous darts and arrows. That’s where they get their name from.

Ricin

We are back to the protein world with ricin. This is yet another order of magnitude less poisonous than botulinum toxin. Ricin’s LD₅₀ is 22.000 ng/kg. But this still means that 2 mg of ricin will kill an average adult.

One of the most dangerous chemicals in the world, ricin, can be find in castor beans.

The mechanism of action of ricin is very different to the one for botulinum toxin or batrachotoxin.

This protein disrupts the ability of the body to assemble proteins from amino acids in the ribosomes.

Since the mechanism of action is much subtler than for other toxins, the symptoms take time to show up. But they eventually do. The inability to make proteins (a very basic type of cell metabolism, essential for cells to survive), causes damage to the nervous system, kidneys and liver in hours to several days.

Ricin got more popular around the world after its appearance in AMC show Breaking Bad.

Maitotoxin

We are coming back down in the LD₅₀ score, since maitotoxin has a value of 50-130 ng/kg in mice. This is the highest for non-protein compounds. It is produced by a species of dinoflagellates, gambierdiscus toxicus, and can be found on the surface of some algae in Polynesia, or some animals such as the ciguateric fish.

But from a chemical point of view, the most interesting feature of maitotoxin is not its toxicity, but its chemical structure.

Maitotoxin is not a protein, but I wouldn’t call it a small molecule either. With a molecular weight of 3422 g/mol, maitotoxin is one of the toughest unbeaten synthetic challenges out there.

This impressive amphipathic structure made up of 32 fused rings and a handful of stereogenic centers has not been synthesized completely in organic chemistry labs. The research group of K. C. Nicolaou is involved on the total synthesis of this giant. So far, the synthesis of some of the ring domains has been published, but the entire molecule is still a challenge to overcome.

Tetrodotoxin

Tetrodotoxin is another small molecule, which similarly to batrachotoxin, is a potent neurotoxin. It is also a sodium channels blocker.

This poison is the one that makes dangerous several kinds of animals: fishes such as the porcupine fish or pufferfish. Also, blue-ringed octopuses or moon snails produce tetrodotoxin.

This is not a huge molecule as maitotoxin, but it is still an attractive synthetic target that has been the objective of many total synthesis project. The structure of the molecule was elucidated by Woodward in 1964, and the first total synthesis was reported in 1972.

Phosgene: COCl₂

All the poisons covered above are made by natural sources. However, phosgene, a truly small molecule, is human-produced in the range of several tons a year.

Phosgene, or carbonyl chloride, is classified as a chemical weapon, and it is responsible for many thousands of deaths during World Wars. A median concentration in air (LC₅₀) of 200-500 parts per milion is enough to kill a person.

Despite being one of the most dangerous chemicals in history, it is an extremely useful reactive building block on chemical synthesis, and it is massively produced and used all over the world.

It is normally made by reaction carbon monoxide with chlorine gas, and it is employed in the synthesis of carbonates, isocyanates (precursors of polyurethanes), among others.

The Most Dangerous Acids and Bases

Hydrogen fluoride: HF

Hydrogen fluoride is not a very acidic acid. In fact, it’s the least acidic of all the hydrogen halides.

But it is actually the most dangerous.

HF is extremely toxic and corrosive. As it happens with many fluorine-containing compounds, it has weird properties.

Fluoride really loves binding to silicon, so HF can easily eat through glass (made of SiO₂). This is the reason it needs to be handled and stored in plastic containers.

But HF can also bypass our skin barriers, and go through reaching the bones, dissolving them as CaF₂ is formed.

The guys at Periodic Videos have performed some experiments showing how scary this acid can be:

As you can see, there is a difference between an acid being “strong” and being “corrosive”.

Fluoroantimonic acid: HSbF₆

Fluoroantimonic acid is one of the most acidic compounds known to man. It is what is called a “superacid”. These are usually defined as chemicals which have an acidity (or ability to donate protons, H⁺) larger than pure sulfuric acid.

It is actually made by mixing HF with SbF₅. Surprisingly, this combination between a relatively weak Brønsted acid (HF) and a Lewis acid (SbF₅) gives rise to a compound which is 20.000.000.000.000.000.000 (2·10¹⁹) times stronger than H₂SO₄.

Piranha solution

Piranha solution is the name that chemists give to a mixture of hydrogen peroxide and sulfuric acid. H₂SO₄ and H₂O₂ react giving H₂SO₅ (Caro’s acid) and water.

This results on a strongly oxidizing acidic mixture. The “piranha” name is quite appropriate, since it easily eats through organic matter.

As a matter of fact, this mixture is used by chemists to remove organic residues from glassware (although the glassware has to be very valuable and all other common methods unsuccessful).

tert-Butyl lithium: t-BuLi

One of the most common dangerous laboratory chemicals is tert-butyl lithium. We have switched it to this category because it is an extremely strong base.

This makes it very useful in organic chemistry. If a proton cannot be abstracted by t-BuLi in an organic molecule, you will most likely not be able to remove it with anything else.

It can even react with THF (a common organic solvent, which usually are very chemically innert) at room temperature, removing one of their protons and leading to decomposition.

t-BuLi is very pyrophoric, it readily reacts with air catching fire, that’s why it has to be handled and stored with very special care, always under a protective inert atmosphere of pure nitrogen or argon.

The Most Dangerous Laboratory Chemicals

Dimethyl mercury: HgMe₂

Karen Wetterhahn was a chemistry professor working on toxic metal exposures. Ironically, she died in 1997, due to exposure to dimethyl mercury.

One of the most famous dangerous lab chemicals is Me₂Hg. Prof. Wetterhahn was using full protective equipment, but unfortunately, a couple of drops of dimethyl mercury fell in the top of her gloves. The amount of compound that could be absorbed through the gloves and her skin was enough to kill her by metal poisoning, slowly, after less than a year. Even using very strong chelation therapy, it was not possible to save her life.

Dimethyl mercury was used in very specialized NMR experiments using ¹⁹⁹Hg nucleus, but I don’t think I would ever work with it. Me₂Hg can actually go through most types of safety gloves. The use of this substance in any scenario is strongly discouraged.

The price of a potential accident is just too high.

Dimethyl cadmium: CdMe₂

If you thought dimethyl mercury is nasty, meet its bigger brother, dimethyl cadmium. It is not only highly toxic as Me₂Hg, but it is also highly reactive.

Dimethyl mercury reacts with air, or organic matter, not only exploding but also giving rise to more and more toxic Cd-compounds.

Dimethyl cadmium is also very volatile, and inhaling only a few micrograms of it can lead to cadmium metal poisoning, and eventually, to death.

Diazomethane: CH₂N₂

Diazomethane is the simplest diazo compound there is.

Diazo compounds are organic molecules which have a -N₂ functional group attached to it. As you can imagine, thermodynamically, that nitrogen really wants to jump out of the organic molecule and leave as nitrogen gas.

So these compounds are extremely reactive, and some of them have a high tendency to explode. Besides, they are usually extremely toxic. Specifically, several deaths have been reported by diazomethane poisoning.

It is a useful reagent in organic chemistry, since nitrogen gas release is an extremely powerful driving force for achieving difficult chemical transformations, such as cyclopropanation or homologation reactions. Finding alternatives to diazomethane and its derivatives is an important challenge in modern organic chemistry.

Chloride trifluoride: ClF₃

Chloride trifluoride is a compound which will look very unusual to you if you don’t have a very advanced chemistry knowledge. This is a hypervalent chlorine compound, with three fluorides attached to it.

ClF₃ is a very poisonous and reactive gas, which has found applications in fields such as rocket fuel research (although it is not used yet as rocket propellant), or as fuel in nuclear reactors.

It is manufactured by mixing F₂ and Cl₂ gases and then separating it by distillation.

It is a highly oxidizing agent. It can also act as a potent fluorinating compound.

Dioxygen difluoride: FOOF

As far as oxidants go, dioxygen difluoride is the top pick.

It can be prepared by mixing oxygen and fluorine gas, and the resulting compound is so oxidizing and unstable, that it starts decomposing even at temperatures as low as -160 ºC. It hass a funny structure, common to the one for classical peroxydes

O₂F₂ reacts in a vigorous manner with virtually any chemical that it comes in contact with. It is usually referred to by the name “FOOF” due to its high tendency to make anything explode.

Osmium tetroxide: OsO₄

Osmium tetroxide is not as scary as the last previous oxidants, but it is also a much more common laboratory chemical.

This reagent is great for oxidizing alkenes to diols, or for epoxydation reactions. As a matter of fact, most of the chemistry awarded one half of the 2001 Nobel prize in chemistry (to Barry Sharpless) is based on the use of osmium oxides for the asymmetric oxidation of alkenes.

However, one should handle this chemical with care. OsO₄ is very poisonous and inhalation of small concentrations can cause pulmonary edema, and cases of death have been reported.

Handling osmium tetroxide with care, and disposing it appropriately is of great importance.

Fluorine: F₂

Playing with fluorine gas is something most chemists are scared of.

However, due to its very particular properties, introducing fluorine atoms into molecules is of great interest in organic synthesis and all its applications.

That’s why there are many research groups specialized in doing fluorine chemistry.

But a great deal of care must be taken. The following video illustrates how fluorine can behave.

Fluorine reacts with moisture to give hydrogen fluoride, which is scary enough by itself. But contrary to HF that can be handled in solution, F₂ has to be handled as a gas, and always using containers and tubing made of resistant plastic materials.

The Most Dangerous Chemicals in “Real Life”

Carbon monoxide: CO

Carbon monoxide can be a silent killer.

It can bind to the iron atom in hemoglobin, displacing oxygen, basically shutting down cell respiration.

Carbon monoxide, along with CO₂, is one of the products of burning organic matter. If the concentration of oxygen is low during combustion, the amount of CO that is produced increases. This can happen in a closed fireplace inside a house, and you could get poisoned without noticing.

In fact, dozens of deaths are reported every year due to CO poisoning.

Amatoxin

We are back to natural poisons, this time discussing amatoxin.

This is a general name for several toxins with a similar structure (several amino acids arranged in a macrocyclic fashion) that are responsible for the toxicity of different mushrooms, such as the death cap (amanita phalloides).

There is nothing as picking up your own shrooms out in the goods and making a great meal out of it… But it can also be dangerous!

Always make sure you known perfectly well what you are getting your hands into, and if you are in doubt, ask an expert before eating any mushrooms.

The Most Dangerous Chemicals… For Other Reasons

Azidoazide azide

This compound with a very illustrative name (and structure), is one of the most explosive chemicals that has ever been prepared.

Azidoazide azide is among the “high-nitrogen energetic materials”, and its molecular formula of C₂N₁₄ speaks for itself.

The thermodynamic feasibility of this substance to react releasing nitrogen is just HUGE.

Anything can set if off. Hit it with something, it explodes. Heat it up, it explodes.

I don’t recommend any of you ever getting close to this stuff. Instead, just check out what other people have already tested:

Thioacetone

Smell may seem like a “minor” danger sign for a chemical. But it can get beyond unpleasant, to the realm of actually being literally unbearable.

One of the most extremely unpleasant odors in chemistry comes from thioacetone.

Imagine an acetone molecule in which you swap the oxygen for a sulfur atom. The result is a substance with one of the worst smells known to man.

A famous incident involving this molecule involved a couple of milliliters dropped in a German laboratory in 1889.

The result was people unconscious and vomiting in a radius of almost one kilometer (half a mile).

For its extremely foul odor, thioacetone is considered one of the most dangerous chemicals in the world.

We are now wrapping up this list of really dangerous chemicals. These guys are the actual chemicals that should scare you, but do know that everything out there is made of chemicals, which simply can be very good or very bad!

Make sure to share if you found this useful or interesting, and up next, check out our explanations for 100 chemistry facts!

The post The 21 Most Dangerous Chemicals in the World (Steer Away!) appeared first on Chemistry Hall.

We have also covered the great advantages of playing around at home with a chemistry set for kids. You can also check out our reviews there.

Not only kids are allowed to learn science, though! High school is an even more important period for getting interested in STEM. The best way to feed teens interest is letting them play with science experiments kits designed for teenagers.

With massive variations in subject matter and the involvement of maths, it is no wonder more students are struggling to keep up with biology, physics and chemistry than ever before. So when it comes to inspiring children to be more interested in the sciences, and to succeed in learning, having a little input is essential.

So how can we inspire children to learn science, or chemistry?

Here are just a few ways you can provide a little inspiration and make science fun (which is key for motivating kids) for children.

Think Outside the Box

It can be tempting to consider science a relatively ‘dry’ subject, but there is far more you can do to inspire learning beyond textbooks and simple experiments. Chemistry concepts can seem difficult to grasp at the beginning.

Science affects every part of the world around us, from the effects of evolution to the chemical interactions in anything from our food to our household cleaning products.

By thinking outside the box, it’s possible to give children a way to enjoy science in new and exciting ways. Whether it’s watching an enjoyable nature documentary to discover more about natural selection or examining the effects of physics in the real world, being a little more creative and exploring science in new ways can be an excellent way to get inspired.

Invest in One-on-One Support

While teachers do their best to offer a well-rounded experience to all their students, it does mean they are stretched thin when it comes to providing extra care and attention. 93% of parents in the UK experience anxiety surrounding their child’s education, and science can be a particularly tricky subject.

But investing in some one-on-one help, via a specialised science tutor, could be the perfect way to gain the interest of the child and provide them with a helping hand to understand the more difficult concepts. This especially applies to subjects where equations and mathematics are required, areas of science that don’t come easy to many kids (or parents).

Relate Science to Subjects Your Child Already Enjoys

As previously mentioned, science is all around us. So when it comes to the interests of your children, whether it’s playing sports, drawing or even playing video games, science is a daily part of those activities.

Helping your child to relate science with play is an excellent way to get them more inspired about learning; because they’re learning about a subject they are personally interested in.

Whether it’s the physics involved in scoring a football goal, the chemicals in pencils and paper that allow them to draw or the electronics within their games console, there’s a little bit of science in everything.

For children interested in how the world around them works, relating science to subjects they enjoy is a particularly powerful choice.

Don’t Be Afraid to Get Physical

Many of us, our children included, don’t learn best when it comes to copying off the board or reading from textbooks. These activities are relatively passive, and as such, it’s easy for vital information to be forgotten or muddled if children aren’t provided with a way to make that knowledge ‘stick’.

Getting physical with science – also known as practical science – is a fantastic way to motivate and inspire children to learn science, and also provides a new and more engaging way to connect those dots beyond simple theory. Performing experiments is an excellent way to show, instead of tell, when it comes to how science works, whether it’s biological processes or chemical reactions.

Particularly in chemistry, experiments are everything. No matter if you a just growing some crystals, or making a soda/vinegar volcano, doing fun experiments at home can be the key that transforms some “boring science” into one of the best and most fun things a child can experience!

Playing around with molecular models can also be a fun alternative!

Be Enthusiastic – or Bring Someone in Who Is

Children are most inspired when they see enthusiasm and interest from others.

So when it comes to science, showing just how interested you are in the subject matter they are learning can make a world of difference. But if science isn’t your thing, don’t be afraid to bring in outside help to provide that fascination and enthusiasm for you. 43% of parents employ tutors intending to improve their child’s grades, but a tutor can be just as much a source of inspiration for your child as they can be a way to get results.

A child that is enthusiastic about learning is a child that learns more, and providing a role model for that interest is a great place to start.

Everything is Chemistry!

Everything we can see, anything around us is made up of chemicals! Therefore, you can find a scientific reasoning to explain most common facts. We have previously covered a big list of 100 fun chemistry facts, all explained, which can be a great starting point for finding stuff that can be of interest to your kids.

Inspiring children to understand and learn science is easy if you think beyond the basics. Whether hiring a tutor sounds like the perfect solution, or getting out in nature sounds like the best way, going the extra mile does make all the difference to their learning and knowledge building in the long term.

The post How to Inspire Children to Learn Science appeared first on Chemistry Hall.