How To Succeed in Organic Chemistry Class?

Organic chemistry is often considered the hardest chemistry class. It's not that it's impossibly complicated, but there is a lot to absorb, in both the lab and classroom, plus you can expect to do some memorization to succeed at exam time. If you're taking o-chem, don't stress! Here are survival tips to help you learn the material and succeed in the class.

1) Choose How To Take Organic Chemistry

Are you more of a mental sprinter or is distance running your style? Most school offer organic chemistry one of two ways. You can take the year-long course, broken into Organic I and Organic II. This is a good choice if you need time to digest and learn material or master lab protocols. It's a good choice if you tend to ask a lot of questions, because your instructor will be able to take the time to answer them. Your other option is to take organic over the summer. You get the whole shebang in 6-7 weeks, sometimes with a break in the middle and sometimes straight through, start to finish.

If you're more of a cramming, run-to-the-finish type of student, this may be the way to go. You know your study style and level of self-discipline better than anyone else. Choose the learning method that works for you.

2) Make Organic Chemistry a Priority

Your social life may take a hit while you're taking organic. It won't be your first chemistry class, so you already expect that. Try to avoid taking other challenging courses at the same time. There are only so many hours in the day to work problems, write lab reports, and study. If you load your schedule with sciences, you're going to get pressed for time. Plan to give time to organic. Set aside time to read the material, do the homework, and study. You'll also need some downtime to relax. Getting away from it for a while really helps the material "click". Do not expect to just go to class and lab and call it a day. One of the biggest survival tips is to plan your time.

(3) Review Before and After Class

I know... I know... it's a pain to review general chemistry before taking organic and to review notes before the next class. Reading the textbook? Agony. Yet, these steps truly help because they reinforce material. Also, when you review the subject, you may identify questions to ask at the beginning of class. It's important to understand each part of organic because topics build on those you have already mastered. Continue reading..

3 Ways to Find the Volume in a Test Tube

Finding the volume of a test tube or NMR tube is a common chemistry calculation, both in the lab for practical reasons and in the classroom to learn how to convert units and report significant figures. Here are three ways to find the volume.

Calculate Density Using Volume of a Cylinder

A typical test tube has a rounded bottom, but NMR tubes and certain other test tubes have a flat bottom, so the volume contained in them is a cylinder. You can get a reasonably accurate measure of volume by measuring the internal diameter of the tube and the height of the liquid.

The best way to measure the diameter of a test tube is to measure the widest distance between the inside glass or plastic surfaces. If you measure all the way from edge to edge, you'll include the test tube itself in your measurements, which isn't correct.

Measure the volume of the sample from where it starts at the bottom of the tube to the base of the meniscus (for liquids) or the top layer of the sample. Don't measure the test tube from the bottom of the base to where it ends.

Use the formula for the volume of a cylinder to perform the calculation:

V = pi r^2 h

where V is volume, pi is 3.14 or 3.14159, r is the radius of the cylinder and h is the height of the sample

The diameter (which you measured) is twice the radius (or radius is one-half diameter), so the equation may be rewritten:

V = pi (1/2 d)^2 h

where d is diameter.

Example Volume Calculation

Let's say you measure an NMR tube and find the diameter to be 18.1 mm and height to be 3.24 cm. Calculate the volume. Report your answer to the nearest 0.1 ml.

First, you'll want to convert the units so they are the same. Please use cm as your units, because a cubic centimeter is a milliliter! This will save you trouble when it comes time to report your volume. Continue reading..

The Chemistry that brews in your Cup of Coffee

Does coffee have anything to do with chemistry? Yes it is. We often think chemistry is made of explosions and color changing liquids and those incredibly hard to pronounce chemical names. Well chemistry is all those things and much more. It is about the interactions of atoms and molecules. Chemistry is all around us all the time. Making coffee is chemistry.

Brewing coffee is half art and half chemistry. The exact portions of ground coffee to water, the water temperature and the water contact time with the grounds ass affect the flavor of the final coffee. Brewing of coffee depends on two factors, first the heat contained in the brewing water has a big influence on the extraction. Hot water with high energy can extract more coffee solids faster than colder water because energy facilitates molecular movement faster.

Coffee contains a complex combination of carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, amino acids, nucleic acids, vitamins, inorganic compounds, alkaloids and volatile compounds. In all coffee contains more than 1000 different chemical compounds around 800 are volatile chemicals that dissipate rapidly. Coffee rich aroma results from the mixture of about 50-60 volatile chemicals released during brewing.

Water acts as a solvent doing the work of extracting the flavors in the coffee during the brewing process. This is where the quality of the water plays important role as the hardness and the mineral content can significantly affect how coffee brews. Harder water seems to change the rate at which the soluble in the coffee go into solution. Hard water does a poor job of brewing coffee.

What is a Molecule?

 

What Is a Molecule?

The terms molecule, compound, and atom can be confusing! Here's an explanation of what a molecule is (and is not) with some examples of common molecules.

Molecules form when two or more atoms form chemical bonds with each other. It doesn't matter if the atoms are the same or are different from each other.

Examples of Molecules

Molecules may be simple or complex. Here are examples of common molecules:

• H2O (water)
• N2 (nitrogen)
• O3 (ozone)
• CaO (calcium oxide)
• C6H12O6 (glucose, a type of sugar)

Molecules Versus Compounds

Molecules made up of two or more elements are called compounds. Water, calcium oxide, and glucose are molecules that are compounds. All compounds are molecules; not all molecules are compounds.

What Is Not a Molecule?

Single atoms of elements are not molecules. A single oxygen, O, is not a molecule. Continue reading..

What makes a Neon Light Glow?

Have you ever seen a colorful glowing tube of light in a store’s front window or outside a restaurant, the glow is due to some noble gases which emits. These glowing tubes are called neon lights. Neon lights are commonly seen on advertising hoardings, outside shops, restaurants and cinemas. Their color is so distinctive that to most people the word “neon” has come to mean a dark pink glow, although neon is merely an elemental rare gas element.

The technology behind how a neon light works is very different from that of normal incandescent lights. Electroluminescence or the conversion of electricity directly into light is the operating principle of neon lights.

• A neon light consists of a glass tube filled with a noble gas at a very low pressure.
• Neon lights containing the other noble gases are also common.
• Neon is wholly colorless if placed in a normal flask, yet to glow of an eon light is visible even at night, so its color cannot be due to the way it interacts with light.
• Metal plates called electrodes are fitted to each end of the gas filled tube.
• When the neon light is plugged into an electricity supply, an electrical current flows through the tube between the electrodes.
• Gas discharge takes place and collisions involving mobile electrons generally elastic. They bounce like a ball off a wall.
• An extreme voltage ionizes the neon to form a plasma of Ne⁺ and e^-. Inelastic collision between Ne+ and neutral atom allow for the release of energy as visible light.
• Neon atoms are neutral, but ionization of the gas phase neon forms Ne+ ions, so the tube contains a mixture of electrons and ions.

Ne⁰(g) --> Ne⁺(g) + e^-

Thus neon light glows because they emit light under suitable conditions. All the light we see id a result of electrons jumping between electron shells. Subsequent relaxation of the electron releases a photon of light. It is this emission that we see as the bright glow of neon light.

How is Calcium Vital to the Body, especially Teeth?

Teeth are made of calcium

Calcium is the first thing we think we think of when we think about minerals. Calcium is the most prevalent mineral in out body, making up about two percent of our body weight. An adult has about 1.2kg of calcium in the body, 99% of this amount is in our bones and teeth. Calcium is vital for strong bones and healthy teeth, the transmission of nerve impulses, blood clotting, and the regulation of blood pressure and muscle contraction.

Although the major part of the body’s calcium is in bones, the most important functions of calcium are in the maintenance of muscle contractility and responses to hormones and neurotransmitters. To maintain these essential regulatory functions, bone calcium is mobilized in deficiency so and to ensure that the plasma and intercellular concentrations are kept within a strictly controlled range.

Many factors affect our calcium status. Vitamin D enhances the absorption of calcium and too much vitamin D combined with excess calcium intake can increase the risk of forming kidney stones. A high protein or high sugar diet can deplete calcium reserves in the body.


Because calcium is so important in keeping the human body functioning properly, it is important component of the daily diet of all people. It is especially important for children and pregnant women because it promotes the growth and heath of bones and teeth.  Foods rich in calcium include cheese, milk, yogurt and leafy greens such as spinach.

Few Facts About Fuel Cells

Fuel cell used in Car.

A fuel cell is a device that uses hydrogen and oxygen to create electricity by an electrochemical process.  A fuel cell consists of two electrodes a negative and a positive electrode which is sandwiched around an electrolyte. Fuel cells have been hot topics in discussions about renewable energy themselves, rather they are an efficient way of generating electricity with low emissions.

Some of the facts about fuel cells are:

1. Their electric efficiency is very high, especially under partial load.
2. They are extremely clean. If hydrogen is used, the only product is pure water, but even if hydrocarbons are used no pollutants are emitted.
3. They do not have any moving parts and are therefore quiet.
4. Different types of fuel cells allow different fuels to be used – from pure hydrogen to natural gas, methanol, biogas and testified coal.
5. Their modular design allows them to be built according to specific power requirements.
6. At present fuel cells are a potentially disruptive technology since it is still unclear whether they can develop quickly enough with performance characteristics to meet the needs.
7. The pre commercialization stage and the future development of this technology remain uncertain. It remains about their commercialization and their costs remain high compared to existing incumbent technologies.
8. A long transition process will be required before the hydrogen economy becomes a reality. In the long term there will be an obvious co-evolution between the successful commercialization of fuel cells and the deployment of hydrogen energy networks.

Fuel cell can be used in many ways. Stationary applications as cogeneration units, mobile applications in the transport sector hydrogen cars and small fuel cells for portable appliances notebook power supplies etc are some of the most common examples.