Orders of magnitude, estimation and analogy in Chemistry... How do you convey to your students the scale of numbers indicated by the mole? One way is to use an analogy I've often introduced the mole using an analogy and have used many examples over the years. Here's a selection you may want to consider... Raindrops We'll change this to cubic kilometres using a conversion factor... The volume of 1 mole of raindrops will be 24 million cubic kilometres. The estimated volume of

From vibrant dyes to volatile disasters - trinitrophenol’s unstable legacy. Few substances in human history have been both so brilliantly useful and so terrifyingly dangerous as picric acid. This humble-looking yellow crystalline compound, formally known as trinitrophenol (TNP), has lurked in the shadowy corridors of chemistry for well over two centuries, causing as much chaos as it has progress. It’s a chemical that epitomises humanity’s knack for fiddling with dangerous thi

The Cold Fusion Bad Boys Welcome back to "Bad Boys of Science." In the third part of the series, we look at Martin Fleischmann and Stanley Pons, two electrochemists who stirred the scientific pot with their claim of achieving "cold fusion" – a claim that, if proven true, could have revolutionized energy production. The chemists Pons & Fleischmann. (Picture credit) In 1989, Fleischmann and Pons, working at the University of Utah, shocked the world with an astounding announce

Simply Science 01 The blue colour of the sky is primarily caused by a phenomenon known as Rayleigh scattering. Here's a simplified...

Answering 6-mark questions and extended writing responses in science exams requires a structured approach and careful attention to...

GCSE Energy in a Nutshell – includes a summary Energy is the ability to do work or cause change, while work is the transfer of energy...

A look at the types of plastic we encounter every day. There is a summary suitable for GCSE Chemistry students at the end. There are...

The Anthropocene is a term that has gained increasing recognition in recent years to describe the current geological epoch in which human...

The Cornell Method is a note-taking system that helps students effectively organize and review their notes. Devised by Professor Walter...

Exams can be a stressful and anxiety-provoking time for many students. The pressure to perform well and the fear of failing can take a...

Increasingly, parents are using tutoring as a supplement to school. There are various reasons for this including: Increased competition...

A blog post with advice to help you through mock examinations

How Many Significant Figures? A question that caused all sorts of problems for me in my younger days. It seems that others have similar...

Over the years, I have tried different strategies to help students balance chemical equations. I've found a number of students want to...