Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Chemical Bond

Form 4 Chapter 5: Chemical bond
Download and find out more about the following topic.

(i) WHY DO ATOMS BOND TOGETHER?
      --> to attain stable duplet (2 electrons) or octet (8 electrons) electron arrangement

(ii) Octet rules
     --> A concept of chemical bonding theory based on the assumption that in the formation of compounds, atoms exhibit a tendency for their valence shells either to be empty or to have a full complement of eight electrons (octet).

     --> The octet rule is a simple rule of thumb that states that atoms tend to combine in such a way that they each have eight electrons in their valence shells, giving them the same electron configuration as a noble gas.

     --> The rule is applicable to the main-group elements. In simple terms, molecules or ions tend to be most stable when the outermost electron shells of their constituent atoms contain eight electrons.

Monday, July 25, 2011

Form 4 and Form 5 Chemistry Definition

In retrospect, the definition of chemistry has changed over time, as new discoveries and theories add to the functionality of the science. Shown below are some of the standard definitions used by various noted chemists:
  • Alchemy (330) – the study of the composition of waters, movement, growth, embodying, disembodying, drawing the spirits from bodies and bonding the spirits within bodies (Zosimos).[28]
  • Chymistry (1661) – the subject of the material principles of mixed bodies (Boyle).[29]
  • Chymistry (1663) – a scientific art, by which one learns to dissolve bodies, and draw from them the different substances on their composition, and how to unite them again, and exalt them to a higher perfection (Glaser).[30]
  • Chemistry (1730) – the art of resolving mixt, compound, or aggregate bodies into their principles; and of composing such bodies from those principles (Stahl).[31]
  • Chemistry (1837) – the science concerned with the laws and effects of molecular forces (Dumas).[32]
  • Chemistry (1947) – the science of substances: their structure, their properties, and the reactions that change them into other substances (Pauling).[33]
  • Chemistry (1998) – the study of matter and the changes it undergoes (Chang).[34]

 

Download the list of definition in chemistry for form 4 and form 5 chemistry.

understanding of the definition in chemistry is important in better understanding of chemistry concept.

Chemistry dictionary

2010 SPM Chemistry Trial Paper

Practise make perfect.

After SPM trial examinations, try to get other states SPM trial papers and practise them.

Sometimes, one or more exact or similar questions will come out in the actual SPM Chemistry paper.


Please visit the Trial paper page to download the trial papers.

Kelantan
Terengganu
Pahang
Perlis
Kedah
Perak
Selangor
KL
N.9
Melaka
P. Penang
Johor
Sabah
Sarawak
Time
MRSM
SBP

Saturday, July 23, 2011

2011 SPM Time table

Get a copy of latest SPM Time Table.

Chemistry 4541
Date : 29 November 2011
Paper 1 4541/1 : 0800 - 0915
Paper 2 4541/2 : 1000 - 1230
Paper 3 4541/3 : 1400 - 1530

Plan your revision timetable earlier to score flying colour in SPM for a better future.

Good Luck.

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Basic Concept in Chemistry - Chemical Formulae and Name of Compounds

In order to make it easier to describe elements, molecules, and compound, chemical formulae are used.

A chemical formula or molecular formula is a way of expressing information about the atoms that constitute a particular chemical compound.

The chemical formula identifies each constituent element by its chemical symbol and indicates the number of atoms of each element found in each discrete molecule of that compound.

If a molecule contains more than one atom of a particular element, this quantity is indicated using a subscript after the chemical symbol and also can be combined by more chemical elements.


Click to enlarge

For example, methane, a small molecule consisting of one carbon atom and four hydrogen atoms, has the chemical formula CH4.
The sugar molecule glucose has six carbon atoms, twelve hydrogen atoms and six oxygen atoms, so its chemical formula is C6H12O6.
 
The graphic below illustrates the formula for water using symbols.


Review: 
  1. Chemical formulas are used to describe the types of atoms and their numbers in an element or compound.
  2. The atoms of each element are represented by one or two different letters.
  3. When more than one atom of a specific element is found in a molecule, a subscript is used to indicate this in the chemical formula.
Chemical Formula Tutor Windows Software and shareware for students and teachers
of chemistry. Makes learning formula writing easy, at home or in class.



Test yourself.
Chemical Formula and Names Worksheet

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Basic Concept in Chemistry - Symbol of elements

The most impotant basic concept in chemistry - Element and symbol of elements.

Start learning chemistry with the basics.

An element, is a substance that cannot be decomposed or transformed into other chemical substances by ordinary chemical processes. All matter consists of these elements and as of 2006, 117 unique elements have been discovered or artificially created. The smallest particle of such an element is an atom, which consists of electrons centered about a nucleus of protons and neutrons.

Chemical symbols are a shorthand notation for the names of the elements. Most consist of two letters; a few involve a single letter. The first letter of a chemical symbol is always capitalized, and the second letter is always lower-case.

It's easier to navigate the periodic table and write chemical equations and formulae once you know the symbols for the elements.

However, sometimes it's easy to confuse symbols of elements with similar names. Other elements have symbols that don't seem to relate to their names at all! For these elements, the symbol usually refers to an older element name that isn't used any more. Here's an alphabetical list of element symbols with the corresponding element name. Keep in mind that the names for the elements (and their symbols) may be different in languages other than English.


Test youself:
Element / Periodic Table Games & Quizzes
These games and quizzes are all about the elements and the periodic table.
You'll find matching, hangman, concentration, and multiple choice quizzes.


Extra inforamtion about Symbol of Element:
wikia.com; wikipedia.org; education.com


More basic concept in Chemistry.


Search for more information about symbol of element by searching basic concept in chemistry symbol of element
Basic Chemistry Elements: Explains what elements are and how they relate to the study of chemistry.
Atoms and Elements: Explanation of the relationship between atoms and elements.
Chemistry Language: List of names of common elements and their corresponding symbols.
The Elements and the Periodic Table: A detailed description of each element and name origin.
The Chemistry of Nonmetal Elements: Explanation of the difference between metal and nonmetal elements with diagrams and a practice question.
Origin of Element Names: Explains the origin of common element names.
Periodic Table of the Elements: Elements listed in table form and alphabetically.

Basic Chemistry

The key to success is to know the basic chemistry building blocks of the pyramid.
States of matter and the particle theoryElements and the Periodic tableSeparating mixtures into pure substancesAtoms and moleculesCompoundsChemical formulaAcids and basesChemical reactionsChemical equationsMole chemsitryHome
The understanding of chemistry involves a progression in the sequences of certain chemical concepts.

The basic building blocks start with the junior high school years and develop into the senior years.

While high school chemistry students study a much larger range of topics the key to success is to be firmly established in the each of the above chemical building blocks.

Find out more from http://www.chemicalformula.org/

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Important of Chemistry

Chemistry has a reputation for being a complicated and boring science. Chemistry might seem boring to some students, and some find chemistry a very hard subject to understand. These students might ask:
Why is chemistry important?
Why do I need to learn chemistry?
What is the importance of chemistry?
Why would I want to learn about chemistry?

Here's a look at the importance of chemistry and why you should study it.

Chemistry is the study of matter and its interactions with other matter and energy. Fireworks and explosions are based on chemistry, so it's definitely not a boring science. If you take classes in chemistry, you'll apply math and logic, which can make studying chemistry a challenge if you are weak in those areas. However, anyone can understand the basics of how things work... and that's the study of chemistry. In a nutshell, the importance of chemistry is that it explains the world around you. Everything we can see is made of the chemical elements and the molecules that they form. Studying chemistry gives us the opportunity to better understand the world that we live in.

Chemistry is a branch of science, which deals with the study of matter, its composition, its properties and the changes that it undergoes in composition as well as in energy during various processes. Chemistry is the science of matter and molecules, and the changes they undergo during chemical reactions.

The applications of chemistry are wide- ranging. Toiletries, drugs, plastics, glass, fuels, dyes and metals are just a small sample of the things that chemistry has provided for us. There are also some far less obvious applications of chemistry. Silicon, a chemical element, is used widely electronics for computers due to its semiconductor properties. Metals, like aluminum, titanium and steel, are used in the manufacture of planes, trains, cars, bridges etc. Chemists help to keep our water clean, ensure our food is safe to eat, protect the environment, make our medicines and are instrumental in the development of new materials.

The Importance of Chemistry in Daily Life

The simple fact is that chemistry plays an important role in every person’s daily activities from the moment we’re born.

So what role does chemistry really play in everyday life? Well, this involvement usually begins first thing each morning. Most people wake up to an alarm or radio. These common household items contain batteries, which make them very chemically dependent. These batteries contain positive and negative electrodes. The positive electrode consists of a carbon rod surrounded by a mixture of carbon and manganese dioxide. The negative electrode is made of zinc.

Chemistry plays an important role in the discovery and understanding of materials contained in these and many other common household items. Things like household cleaners and water purification systems are vitally dependent on chemistry. Without chemistry something as simple as scrubbing a toilet without fear of severe burns or small explosions might not be possible.

Next, though it isn’t widely known, chemistry is also heavily involved with the manufacturing of things such as makeup and soap. Each time you bathe you are witnessing chemistry at work. Chemicals such as cetyl alcohol and propylene glycol are typical ingredients in the soap used to wash your hair and skin. Without chemistry, these materials (or combinations of these materials) might be hazardous or might not exist. The chemical coloring agents used in makeup and nail polish would not be possible without an understanding of the chemicals involved.

Almost anything you do during the course of a normal day involves chemistry in some way. The gas and tires in cars we drive, the makeup we put on our faces, the soaps and cleaners used everyday, burning wood or other fossil fuels, chemistry is all around you each and every day. The associations are practically limitless.

So, as you go about your daily activities, remember to thank chemistry.
"CHEMISTRY IS LIFE!"

Chemistry is also very important in understanding how nature works.

Chemistry is a very old science, it was practice in some form as far back as 4000 years ago by the ancient Egyptians. 3000 years ago ancient civilizations where using the basis of various branches of chemistry in their technology, like extracting metal from ores, fermenting wine and beer, making pigments for painting, making cheese, dying, making medicine from plants, making soap, glass and lots of other things.Without our extensive knowledge of chemistry our world today would be vastly different from what it is today, and in my opinion a very boring place to live. There are just so many reasons why chemistry is important, everything you touch and use in your daily life is chemical after all. Learning chemistry can be difficult and challenging at times however, so it is important to understand why chemistry is really important to human society.

Chemistry Explains...

Cooking
Chemistry explains how food changes as you cook it, how it rots, how to preserve food, how your body uses the food you eat, and how ingredients interact to make food.


Cleaning
Part of the importance of chemistry is it explains how cleaning works. You use chemistry to help decide what cleaner is best for dishes, laundry, yourself, and your home. You use chemistry when you use bleaches and disinfectants and even ordinary soap and water. How do they work? That's chemistry!


Medicine
You need to understand basic chemistry so you can understand how vitamins, supplements, and drugs can help or harm you. Part of the importance of chemistry lies in developing and testing new medical treatments and medicines.


Environmental Issues
Chemistry is at the heart of environmental issues. What makes one chemical a nutrient and another chemical a pollutant? How can you clean up the environment? What processes can produce the things you need without harming the environment?


We're all chemists. We use chemicals every day and perform chemical reactions without thinking much about them. Chemistry is important because everything you do is chemistry! Even your body is made of chemicals. Chemical reactions occur when you breathe, eat, or just sit there reading. All matter is made of chemicals, so the importance of chemistry is that it's the study of everything.

Importance of Taking Chemistry

Good basis knowledge in chemistry will help you a lot studying more specialized subjects later on in your studies. No matter how science will change in the next century, most scientists believe that chemistry will be at the center of science and one of the most important subjects you could learn.

In terms of studying chemistry, the opportunities after graduation are limitless. As well as careers in research and industry chemists can find themselves working in finance, marketing, publishing, journalism, commerce, patent law and accountancy to name but a few. It was recently reported that chemistry graduates enjoy the highest starting salaries of any discipline, more so than the arts, humanities or even biology

Everyone can and should understand basic chemistry, but it may be important to take a course in chemistry or even make a career out of it. It's important to understand chemistry if you are studying any of the sciences because all of the sciences involve matter and the interactions between types of matter. Students wanting to become doctors, nurses, physicists, nutritionists, geologists, pharmacists, and (of course) chemists all study chemistry. You might want to make a career of chemistry because chemistry-related jobs are plentiful and high-paying. The importance of chemistry won't be diminished over time, so it will remain a promising career path.

Chemistry is needed in many industries, and having a good knowledge of chemistry is essential for many jobs. Not just in industry jobs actually, but chemistry is also important in commerce, teaching and lecturing, science journalism and even in some law related jobs like patent agents. Today we live in the age of chemistry-based technology, and future demands will increase the expertise needed in many areas of chemical, biotechnological and pharmaceutical industries.

60 Free Essays on Importance Of Chemistry

Interesting example of Chemistry in our daily life

Monday, July 18, 2011

Learning Chemistry online

With the proliferation of online learning, understanding Chemistry has become much more easier, simpler and faster too. The power of Online Chemistry Learning lies in its ability to create interactive tutorials which make understanding Chemistry much simpler. Learning Chemistry is now more fun, enjoyable and interesting.

The human element in learning chemistry ie Chemistry Tutors however cannot be ignored. While the tutorials have become more and more effective, the need for a tutor always remains to get the insight into the subject. It is only a tutor - whether online or face-to-face who can gauge your learning requirements and plug the gaps in knowledge to make a complete understanding. The online tutors available today are much more affordable, flexible and as effective compared to the face-to-face tutors. The Online tutors complimented with Chemistry learning aids make the best combination for success in Chemistry.


It has been my experience that a majority of the students are not able to understand the Periodic Table completely by themselves which affects their further learning of Chemistry. This is where the services of a tutor prove invaluable. Hence it is imperative that the gaps in knowledge be filled in by interacting with a tutor.


This attempting of the quizzes is the most important part of learning and brings forth the mastery for each aspect of chemistry. This is invaluable to identify the gaps in knowledge which can then be bridged with reasoning - which would apply equally to similar situations. Ideally this should be done with the aid of a Chemistry Tutor that can help in clearing questions and doubts which can arise. The objective questions also help to prepare for the various exams which are based on similar pattern.

Happy learning - May you all succeed in your endeavors.

Chemistry Magic Tricks

Just about everyone remembers going to a magic show when they were small and coming away enthralled and amazed at the miraculous feats which the magician performed, right in front of their eyes. But did you know that some of the tricks you saw performed were chemistry magic tricks, or rather, magic tricks using the science of chemistry to function? Who would have thought that science would enthrall us?


Although it might not seem possible, some of the most fun magic tricks to perform are chemistry magic tricks. These tricks have their base in science and sound theories of chemistry. These are also not only a good way for the beginning magician to impress friends, but they are also a good way in which to get into the groove of chemistry.



Obviously there are many people, kids in particular who have chemistry rammed down their throats on a daily basis, who won't take to these chemistry magic tricks if they know to begin with that there is any chemistry involved. These are the die-hard chemistry haters.


Nothing to worry about though, even these people can be turned to like at least some aspects of chemistry once they see chemistry magic tricks for themselves. The trick, if you will forgive the pun, lies in springing the trick on them without telling them that you are going to use chemistry to pull your trick.


This can also be a great tool for chemistry teachers to use, to snag the attention and interest of their students. Just about everyone likes a good magic trick, almost as much as they like to see a good magic trick deconstructed.


By utilizing some of the more simpler chemistry magic tricks as learning aids, a teacher might be able to get the attention of their student, and then maybe even keep it as they show how the trick was performed and how chemistry had a large part in it.


It's not a guaranteed sure fire way to work, but it's better than having apathetic students who barely glance at their chemistry books! Besides wowing chemistry students into interest by giving them a taste of the power of chemistry with simple chemistry magic tricks, you will also find that these are useful beginning magic tricks to learn.


And some, if not most of these chemistry magic tricks are good not only for junior magicians, but also for their adult counterparts. In fact, although it is a little known fact, most magic tricks depend on some form of math or science to help them. Chemistry magic tricks are just another branch of magic tricks which uses science to help mystify and enthrall people.

Learn Chemistry for fun.

Introduction

Chemistry is undoubtedly the most interesting of all science subjects. Yet, a lot of students, after taking a mere look at the Chemical formulae, go into a tizzy - probably due to a fear of the unknown. The fear of Chemistry pervades basically from a lack of understanding of the subject which itself stems from following a random approach to learning Chemistry

I reiterate here that Chemistry is a very interesting and easy to comprehend subject. However to understand it, Chemistry must be learnt in a systematic manner. The subject itself follows a beautiful pattern and as one learns, the pieces fall into place, fitting well into each other.

The Basics of Chemistry. For those with little or no background of Chemistry, the first step must start with the learning about the atom itself. One must completely understand the structure of atom, the way the electrons, protons and neutrons are arranged and how they affect the properties of substances. The ideal way of learning this is by animated tutorials

The next step is to graduate to the Periodic Table which gives complete insight into the Chemical and Physical behavior of elements. I will give a example here - the Sodium (Na) atom has 11 electrons. If one looks at its electronic configuration which is 2-8-1, following the Octet rule, Sodium can lose one electron - this makes it a metal. The same analogy is applicable to the other elements of the periodic table which can lose electrons. Thus one simple concept is applicable to a number of elements of the Periodic Table and can be used to predict their metallic and non metallic nature. From the periodic table itself, one can learn how to write chemical formulae. Once that is done, its easy to write Chemical equations and balance them.

Learning Advanced Chemistry. So far so Good. While I will not attempt to give the topics and various aspects to be studied in advanced Chemistry here, it is obviously clear that Advanced Chemistry delves further into depths of Chemistry. Hence sustained efforts to learn Chemistry and understand it well become more and more important. For advanced chemistry, the learning by Tutorials and reinforced by interaction with tutors must be supplemented with attempting quizzes on the subject. The ideal way of achieving it is as follows - First understand the topic fully by the tutorials. Next identify the gaps in knowledge and interact with a Chemistry Tutor to assimilate the topic. Thereafter attempt maximum quizzes on the subject to test himself/herself on the understanding of the topic. These are available aplenty on the internet.



Happy learning - May you all succeed in your endeavors.

by Uma Sharma