Learn or review basic math and science concepts. These fundamentals form the foundation for advanced study in chemistry, chemical engineering, and other physical sciences.
If you are going to study science, it's probably a good idea to know what it is.
Short answer: It's a science. It's the study of life. Do you want to learn more?
Here are long and short answers to this Frequently Asked Question.
Are you confused about how chemical engineering differs from pure chemistry or other types of engineering? Here's an explanation of what chemical engineering is and what chemical engineers do.
If you answered, 'the study of rocks' you are partly right.
Like chemistry, physics is one of the physical sciences that seeks to explain the natural world. In fact, you could even define both sciences the same way. The primary difference between them is scale. Chemists tend to look at things on the atomic level; physicists study the universe from a macroscopic or subatomic perspective.
Start learning chemistry with the basics. Learn what chemistry is, what chemists do, and why it's important to study chemistry.
6th grade science focuses on understanding how to do science, social and historical aspects of science, and many scientific facts and concepts. Here's a ten question multiple choice quiz you can take to see if you have mastered science at the 6th grade level.
An -ology is a discipline of study, as indicated by having the -ology suffix. This is a list of science ologies.
Science fair and research projects apply the scientific method. Here's an informal explanation of the scientific method and how it is used.
How well do you know basic science? Here's a ten question multiple choice quiz you can take to test your knowledge.
Here's another science quiz you can take to test your knowledge of general science trivia.
Here's another general science quiz. I didn't go scouting for hard questions, though you may learn some science facts you did not know.
Are you confused about atoms, elements, protons, neutrons, electrons, isotopes, and ions? Here's a basic look at the model of the atom. It's a great overview for kids or anyone looking to grasp the essentials of atomic theory.
Scientific notation uses exponents to express numerical figures. Here's an explanation of what scientific notation is, plus examples of how to write numbers and perform addition, subtraction, multiplication and division problems using scientific notation.
This is a worked example problem that shows how to find the angle between two vectors.
Perimeter, surface area and volume formulas are used for many chemistry calculations. You may need to find surface area and volume to determine density and concentration, for example. While it's a good idea to memorize these formulas, here a list of formulas to use as a handy reference.
Here is a step-by-step tutorial for balancing chemical equations, along with a worked example. This is a must-read for students of general and introductory chemistry!
Here is an example problem that explains how to convert a temperature from degrees on the Celsius scale to Kelvin.
Here is a worked example of how to convert English to Metric measurement units using the unit cancellation method. This example converts yards to meters.
There are many instances in science and math in which you will need to determine the equation of a line. Here's a quick overview and example of how to determine the equation of a line from (x,y) data.
Are you failing chemistry? Don't panic. Here's a look at what you can do and how you can make the best of the situation and possibly turn it around.
Here is a step by step example of a conversion between metric units. This illustrates how to cancel units to convert measurement units.
The metric system or SI (from Le Système International d'Unités.) is based on seven base units. These units describe the basic properties on which all other measurements are based.
Many metric units used in science have specialized names for the values they represent. They are considered derived units and can still be reduced to factors of the seven base units. This table lists many of these units and their corresponding base unit values.
Metric units of measurement are all based on units of ten. Here is a list of the most common metric unit prefixes.
This thermometer is labelled with both Fahrenheit and Celsius degrees. Use it to compare the Fahrenheit and Celsius temperature scales or to look up conversions between them.
These are examples of unit conversion problems, with links to other worked chemistry problems and homework help.
This article discusses the use of significant figures in taking measurements and performing calculations. Learn about significant figures, uncertainty, accuracy, precision, rounding, and truncating. Losing significant figures and effects of exact numbers are also described.
It's very important to know how to calculate the mean or average of a set of numbers. Among other things, this will allow you to calculate your grade point average. However, you'll need to calculate the mean for several other situations, too.
Do the units for solution concentration confuse you? Get definitions and examples for calculating percent composition by mass, mole fraction, molarity, molality, and normality. I've also included a bit of information on dilutions.
This is a set of tables with some useful physical constants, conversion factors, and unit prefixes. They are used in many calculations in chemistry, as well as in physics and other sciences.
The Greek Alphabet is used extensively in science and mathematics to represent variables and symbols. This table lists all twenty four Greek letters in upper and lower case. Learning the names of these letters is easy and you may be surprised to find you already know them.
Cleaning laboratory glassware isn't as simple as washing the dishes. Here's how to wash your glassware so that you won't ruin your chemical solution, laboratory experiment, or the glass.
Lab reports are an essential part of all laboratory courses and usually a significant part of your grade. If your instructor gives you an outline for how to write a lab report, use that. Here's a format for a lab report you can use if you aren't sure what to write or need an explanation of what to include in the different parts of the report.
This is a one-page index of all of the worked chemistry problems on the site, arranged alphabetically and also arranged according to the order in which they are (typically) presented in a general chemistry text.
This is an interactive javascript periodic table of the elements. Click on an symbol on the periodic table to get facts about the element.
Here's a reference page that describes the major laws of chemistry.
This is a collection of chemistry worksheets in pdf format. The answers to the questions are available on separate worksheets so you can fill them out and then check your work.
Words have very specific meanings in chemistry and other sciences. Learn about the difference between a scientific law, hypothesis, and theory. Examples are provided for each term.
These are examples of significant figure, accuracy, and precision problems, with links to other worked chemistry problems and homework help.
Get definitions and examples of the main states of matter: solids, liquids, gases, and plasma.
Need a value for a fundamental physical constant? This handy reference table contains commonly used physical constants used in chemistry.
These are examples of temperature conversion problems, with links to other worked chemistry problems and homework help.
Use these printable worksheets to practice unit conversions. These pdf questions and answers will test your understanding of metric-metric, metric-English, and temperature conversions.
Get the definition for a chemical element.
Are you wondering what makes a chemical a chemical? Here's the answer to this frequently asked chemistry question.
No, we're not talking about the small burrowing mammal! Here's a look at a standard unit in chemistry and why it's used.
Learn about absolute zero and the Kelvin and Celsius temperature scales.
Distillation is a common chemistry process used to separate materials by changing their states of matter. Learn more about how the process works and find out about different types of distillations.
