Pure gold is yellow, which makes it quite unlike other metals, but in every other way it is a typical metal. Like other metals it is… Gold is the most malleable and ductile metal of the lot, which means it can be rolled into incredibly thin sheets (called gold leaf). This is usually about 0.1 …
Continue reading Gold Part One…
Category:Chemistry
Making Gas…
I am sure you are familiar with the processes involved in making and collecting gases in the laboratory. The two most common ones we encounter are carbon dioxide and hydrogen. You will know that carbon dioxide is produced when carbon combusts and when carbonates are heated, but we tend to use the action of an …
Continue reading Making Gas…
Oily Fish…
I have eaten a lot of tinned sardines this week. Call me crazy but a warm baguette filled with good cheese and four oily sardines makes a great lunchtime snack. I prefer the ones packed in oil to the ones packed in tomato sauce but I am prepared to be open-minded on the issue. As …
Continue reading Oily Fish…
Where There’s Muck There’s Brass…
This was originally posted in March 2015. The title is a phrase meaning that where there are dirty or unappealing jobs to do, money can be made. Brass (an alloy of copper and zinc) is used to make coins – the pound coin being a good example. Several news outlets (BBC, Guardian) today reported that some …
Continue reading Where There’s Muck There’s Brass…
Atoms & Molecules Quiz…
It will really help if you have read this post before you try this. Please click here to go to the Quizizz on Atoms and Molecules.
Reduction and Oxidation…
We have seen reduction and oxidation as the removal and addition of oxygen. This is a perfectly good definition but we can use the words in a slightly more subtle way. We can talk about reduction as the gain of electrons and oxidation as the loss of electrons. Oil RiG – oxidation is loss, reduction …
Continue reading Reduction and Oxidation…
Atoms & Molecules…
There are about 100 different kinds of atom naturally occurring on Earth. They are the defining structure of an element and cannot be broken down by any chemical means. They consist of a dense nucleus, containing protons and neutrons, surrounded by a cloud of electrons. They may exist naturally as single atoms but more commonly …
Continue reading Atoms & Molecules…
Alkali Metal Error…
For a few years now I have been showing a clip from Brainiac when discussing the reaction of alkali metals with water. I can remember as a boy watching the following clip and being delighted when a piece of caesium was dropped into the water (that bowl is called a pneumatic trough by the way). I …
Continue reading Alkali Metal Error…
Separating Mixtures…
A mixture is any situation when two or more substances are mixed together. In a mixture, the different particles are close to each other but they are not joined. This means it should be possible to separate most mixtures out into their component parts. To do this, you need to look at the physical properties …
Continue reading Separating Mixtures…
Fritz Haber…
I think that Fritz Haber is a very interesting scientist with a fascinating life history. I first heard his story from an episode of RadioLab – which is a podcast I have recommended before. Haber was born in Germany in 1868 and went on to study chemistry at University in Berlin, completing his PhD under …
Continue reading Fritz Haber…