Tutoring chemistry, ancient processes are interesting. The tutor begins about smelting. Smelting is the process of turning ore into pure metal. In simple terms, ore is how it’s found naturally; the pure metal is what’s useful. Gold is exceptional in …
Tutoring chemistry, concepts are important. The tutor mentions the leveling effect. The leveling effect is used to explain why, in H2O, the strongest acid that can exist is H3O+, while the strongest base is OH–. If you imagine an acid …
Tutoring chemistry, Lewis acids and bases arise. The tutor mentions them. A Lewis acid is a species that has room, in its outer shell, for an extra pair of electrons. H+ is an example, but so is BH3. H+, having …
Tutoring chemistry, you encounter coordination compounds. The tutor begins about them. A coordination compound is a species consisting of a central metal surrounded by nonmetals. The surrounding nonmetals are often the same, and can be ions, polyatomic ions, or simply …
Self-tutoring about household chemistry: the tutor mentions a reaction. Pretty commonly, people know that when you mix baking soda (aka sodium bicarbonate aka NaHCO3) with an acid such as lemon juice or vinegar, you get lots of bubbles because they …
Self-tutoring about chemistry: the tutor mentions nuclide. A nuclide is more specific than an atom – it’s closer to the idea of an isotope. An atom is identified by its number of protons, aka its atomic number. Yet, the type …
Self-tutoring about chemistry: the tutor learns about helium and its sources on Earth. Apparently helium is the second-most abundant element in the universe (while hydrogen is first). Where is helium found on Earth? It turns out that most helium is …
Chemistry: helium: abundance and sources on Earth Read more »
Self-tutoring about chemistry: a drug question arises. My son and I were watching a video about police seizing drugs. One person had heroin on them – “a gram,” they called it. “What does a gram of heroin look like?” was …
Self-tutoring about soap and detergent: the tutor begins… I recall hearing, as a kid, a product’s being “real soap.” What is a real soap, vs a detergent? My research tells me this: Soap is made from oil produced during the …
Self-tutoring about chemistry: the tutor mentions sulfurous acid. H2SO3, aka sulfurous acid, isn’t known, for sure, to exist in that form. Dissolving sulfur dioxide in water is meant to produce sulfurous acid, but seems immediately to produce the equilibrium SO2 …