Chemistry

Catalysts

CONCEPT In most of the processes studied within the physical sciences, the lesson again and again is that nature provides no “free lunch”; in other words, it is not possible to get something for nothing. A chemical reaction, for instance, involves the creation of substances different from those that reacted in the first place, but […]

Chemical Equilibrium

CONCEPT Reactions are the “verbs” of chemistry—the activity that chemists study. Many reactions move to their conclusion and then stop, meaning that the reactants have been completely transformed into products, with no means of returning to their original state. In some cases, the reaction truly is irreversible, as for instance when combustion changes both the […]

Oxidation-reduction reactions

CONCEPT Most people have heard the term “oxidation” at some point or another, and, from the sound of the word, may have developed the impression that it has something to do with oxygen. Indeed it does, because oxygen has a tendency to draw electrons to itself. This tendency, rather than the presence of oxygen itself, […]

Chemical reactions

CONCEPT If chemistry were compared to a sport, then the study of atomic and molecular properties, along with learning about the elements and how they relate on the periodic table, would be like going to practice. Learning about chemical reactions, which includes observing them and sometimes producing them in a laboratory situation, is like stepping […]

Compounds

CONCEPT A compound is a chemical substance in which atoms combine in such a way that the compound always has the same composition, unless it is chemically altered in some way. Elements make up compounds, and although there are only about 90 elements that occur in nature, there are literally many millions of compounds. A […]

Chemical bonding

CONCEPT Almost everything a person sees or touches in daily life—the air we breathe, the food we eat, the clothes we wear, and so on—is the result of a chemical bond, or, more accurately, many chemical bonds. Though a knowledge of atoms and elements is essential to comprehend the subjects chemistry addresses, the world is […]

BONDING AND REACTIONS

Hydrogen

CONCEPT First element on the periodic table, hydrogen is truly in a class by itself. It does not belong to any family of elements, and though it is a nonmetal, it appears on the left side of the periodic table with the metals. The other elements with it in Group 1 form the alkali metal […]

Carbon

Concept The phrase “carbon-based life forms,” often used in science-fiction topics and movies by aliens to describe the creatures of Earth, is something of a cliche. It is also a redundancy when applied to creatures on Earth, the only planet known to support life: all living things contain carbon. Carbon is also in plenty of […]

Noble gases

Concept Along the extreme right-hand column of the periodic table of elements is a group known as the noble gases: helium, neon, argon, krypton, xenon, and radon. Also known as the rare gases, they once were called inert gases, because scientists believed them incapable of reacting with other elements. Rare though they are, these gases […]

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