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Chapter 1

Web Destinations

Web Destinations

• Chemistry.org
  The information page of the American Chemical Society – career information, molecule of the week (and over 60 past archived molecules including pharmaceuticals, pesticides, and biological molecules), and lead articles from general chemical journals. A section geared towards educators and students has articles on chemistry in the news, as well as many links to areas geared to K-12, undergrad and grad students, continuing education, and other science organizations. The enthusiasts link includes articles of general interest and chemistry in the news.
  
  
• Learn.co.uk
  Learning resources for the national curriculum, online lessons, GCSE revision, exam support, and much more ... Other countries expect students to learn science too! This site has interactive sample questions on number of topics, including biology, genetics, math, English – basically the entire high school academic curriculum. Topics are broken down into different levels – have a look at the year 10-11 and 12 pages to see how you measure up.
  
  
• Environmental Protection Agency
  This government site includes information about environmental activities, legislation, recycling, careers, and more; the students link under educational resources has information and activities covering aspects of the EPA's responsibility.
  
  
• Periodic Table
  Produced by the Royal Society of Chemistry, this is perhaps the nicest periodic table on the Web. It contains uses, physical properties, history, and biological roles of all known elements.
  
  
• Named Concepts and Ideas in Chemistry
  Ever wonder why things are called what they're called? Find the answer here.
  
  
• The Chemical Engineers' Resource Page
  Follow the ChE in Everyday Life link for interesting articles on how everyday chemicals are produced and how chemical processes occur. There is also a link for sites with physical properties of chemicals.
  
  
• ChemCases.com General Chemistry Case Study Curriculum Supplements
  An amazing site with in-depth, educationally designed information and exercises on such things as automotive fuels and lead reduction, the first chemotherapy agent, drug pathways, fuel cells, nuclear chemistry, and much more.
  
  
• Tutorial Information
  A site from down under, it contains a multitude of links to information covered in chemistry classes – general, organic, physical, analytical, environmental, and industrial chemistry.

Chemistry Conversion Tools

• Math Skills for Chemistry Tutorials
  Numerous links on each of the following topics: Dimensional analysis, units, significant figures, scientific notation, accuracy/precision, graphing, spreadsheets (Excel), graphing calculators, TI graphing calculators, graphical analysis (Vernier), pre-algebra, ratios and proportions, algebra, trigonometry, geometry, probability and statistics, miscellaneous.
  
  
• Units
  A dictionary of units of measurement. Ever wonder how big an inch was? Or a foot? (1 foot = 3 hands = 4 palms = 12 inches (thumb widths) = 16 digits (finger widths) – to the Greeks and Romans). Did you know an acre is 10 square chains, 160 square rods, 43 560 square feet or 4840 square yards? There are exactly 640 acres in a square mile.
  
  
• Canadian Institute of Chemistry High School Chemistry Exam
  Curious about what students are expected to know about chemistry in other countries? Several years of sample exams, with some answers.
  
  
• Chemistry Calculator
  A Java applet that helps teach chemistry calculations. A three-page spreadsheet accepts information that applies to your chemistry problem and then derives many other values.
  
  
• Calculator
  Need to do sum quick sums, and don’t have your calculator handy? Did you know you can do calculations on Google? Find the instructions here.

Chemistry in the News

• Chemistry
  Weekly illustrated articles on chemistry in everyday life; basic chemistry resources on periodic tables, equation balancing, etc.; a list of known poisons; a worldwide directory of university programs, bulletin boards, and chat rooms.
  
  
• Molecule of the Month
  A site at the University of Bristol; structure, origin, uses, and chemistry of various compounds since 1996. Also links to other molecule of the month sites.
  
  
• Molecules of the Month
  Another site – this one at Oxford – with fascinating descriptions, since 1996, of compounds you've heard of: nerve gases, DDT, Taxol, cholesterol, Ritalin, Tamoxifin, novocaine, etc. Includes chemistry, structure, and history.
  
  
• Chemistry.org
  Check out the latest news reports in the Headlines section down the right side.
  
  
• Chemical-Biomedical Science News
  Great site with lots of articles on new discoveries in chemistry and biomedicine; newspaper style summaries of scientific articles with links to the full scientific papers.

Chemistry in Our Lives

• Adhesives
  Have you ever used fish glue? When was glue first used? Do they really make glue out of old horses? A text description of different types of adhesives and their applications.
  
  
• Air Bags
  From the University of Otago in New Zealand – everything you wanted to know about the chemistry, design, and environmental issues of air bags.
  
  
• Alchemy
  An amazing source of information about alchemy. Writings both historic and new about the ideas and philosophy of alchemy; illustrations and images from historic texts on alchemy. Practical alchemy covers types of reactions described by alchemists and current explanations, as well as photo series of the refining of several pure metals; lists of plants and the concentrations of six heavy metals in their tissues.
  
  
• Ammonia
  This chemical education site in Australia has information about the production, history, and uses of ammonia, with links to keyword descriptions and other sites.
  
  
• Aspirin
  This industry site has lots of information about the history of aspirin, as well as the chemistry of production, health issues, and new uses for aspirin.
  
  
• New Technology Batteries Guide
  Describes types of batteries (long description of Li⁺ batteries), applications, battery chargers, battery selection and care, and more.
  
  
• Biosphere
  This is the site for Biosphere 2 – “One of the largest living laboratories of the world. A monumental feat of engineering, the glass and metal shell hosts several different land types, or biomes, where scientists use the latest technology to experiment on Earth systems on a relatively large scale.” Explore each of the seven environments and check out the research projects in each of the environments. Find out how air and water is cycled and recycled through the system.
  
  
• Blood
  This Public Broadcasting System site has a huge amount of information about blood, the circulatory system, the history of our understanding of blood, innovators, effects of war, and lots of other resources and movie clips.
  
  
• Blood and Oxygen
  How does hemoglobin bind oxygen? How does oxygen get loose when it needs to? This site answers these questions, but be warned – it contains explanations that are a bit high level.
  
  
• Blood and Oxygen
  One more site with a description of the loss of oxygen from hemoglobin and myoglobin and graphs to indicate amount of oxygen bound.
  
  
• How Does Oxygen Work in Your Blood?
  Nice, simple explanations of oxygen and hemoglobin processes – no images, though.
  
  
• Carbon
  A really good site to get to know carbon. Carbon molecules – diamond, graphite, buckyballs – are described. VRML images that can be manipulated by mouse (with downloaded software); CHIME 3-D images. Learn why carbon is the building block to molecules of life.
  
  
• Chocolate
  The International Cocoa Organization site with more information than you can image about cocoa – caffeine, chocolate chemistry, cocoa beans, butter, pods, ….
  
  
• Cubic Zirconia
  Can’t afford a diamond? Find out a bit about a cheaper alternative.
  
  
• Skin and Hair Cleansers
  Descriptions of the nature and action of soaps, detergents, shampoos, and some of their components.
  
  
• Diamonds and Carbon Chemistry
  Like diamonds? This site has information about the formation, structure, types, and properties of diamonds.
  
  
• Compact Discs
  Wonder how CD’s work? How to clean them? How the signal is converted into sound? What about mini-discs? A physics professor from the University of Virginia answers your questions.
  
  
• Compact Discs
  This site has some good images and animations of compact disc structure, CD players, and information about data formats.
  
  
• Computer Chips – Keeping Cool
  The size of computer chips has decreased to the point that heat generated by the flow of electrons needs to be removed. Mechanical engineers at Stanford have developed an electroosmotic pump to cool chips with water – with no moving parts.
  
  
• Computer Chips – Copper Makes Them Faster
  Aluminum has been used in computer chip production – but copper conducts electricity 15% faster than aluminium, making your computer think faster.
  
  
• BBC Hot Topics – Cooking
  A good site from the British Broadcasting Company dealing with chemical explanations of how cooking occurs; several short comments from chefs regarding how they deal with cooking problems (no crying while cutting onions, for example), and a chemical explanation for why the remedies work. Video clips of how to cook perfect french fries and other foods, with chemical explanations for the processes. A cooking quiz you can take.
  
  
• Hard Disk Drives
  This site has all you ever wanted to know about hard disks – history, construction, performance, software details.
  
  
• Ethanol
  How ethanol is produced.
  
  
• Famous Women and Minority Chemists
  Contributions in tuberculosis, radioisotopes, the structure of penicillin, and many more areas. Links to support and mentoring groups for women and minority scientists.
  
  
• Fireworks
  What compounds make the different colors you see in fireworks? Check out the fireworks periodic table and descriptions about how light is produced in fireworks. Follow the links for more information.
  
  
• Fireworks
  See the anatomy of a firework in a Flash animation; see video of the 16 types of firework shells; explore the flash animation on fire.
  
  
• Chemical Cuisine – Food Additives
  The Center for Science in the Public Interest lists over 70 specific additives used, with descriptions of what they are, where they are used, recommendations on safety, and general information. Also a list of banned additives, which explains why they were banned.
  
  
• Food Colors
  Ever wonder about the chemical structure of some of the food dyes you eat? Also a brief discussion of the origin of color in these dyes.
  
  
• Green Chemistry
  Green chemistry is: "To promote innovative chemical technologies that reduce or eliminate the use or generation of hazardous substances in the design, manufacture, and use of chemical products." This government site describes what it is, grants and fellowships, projects and programs, international activities, and has links to tools and literature.
  
  
• Ibuprofen
  If you don’t mind a few questions that sound like chemistry class, you can find out about the structure and synthesis of Ibuprofen, as well as a bit of history of changes in its manufacture – for which the US EPA gave the producing company the 1997 Alternative Synthetic Pathways Award. See also http://www.epa.gov/greenchemistry/aspa97.html.
  
  
• Insect Repellents
  How they work, formulas, structures, and safety.
  
  
• Lead in Paint, Dust, and Soil
  Lead is a neurotoxin (as are many heavy metals) that has now been removed as an octane booster (as tetraethyl lead) in gasoline. This Environmental Protection Agency site on lead in the biosphere contains information on health effects, where it is found, how to test for it, home remodelling/renovating guides, rules and regulations, technical studies, and more.
  
  
• All About Synthetic Lubricants
  Lots of information here about synthetic automotive lubricants – history, function, tribology (go and see what it is), and also information about other types of lubricants.
  
  
• Matches
  A site from the BBC about the history and some chemistry in matches.
  
  
• Matches
  Redheads is an Australian match company. There is information about the history of match production in Australia, as well as a discussion of environmental issues. The manufacturing link has an interactive animated Flash movie that lets you explore how matches are produced (many in Sweden!) for the Australian market.
  
  
• Molecules with Silly or Unusual Names
  Odd names, structures, and a little information about most of these molecules. How about cadaverine, putricine, penguinone, draculin, ....
  
  
• Computer Monitors
  How computer monitors work. Describes the different kinds of monitors.
  
  
• Nobel ]E-Museum
  This site has a huge amount of information about all the Nobel Prize winners in all disciplines – biographies, award speeches, articles written by winners, exercises dealing with the research of latest winners, and information about Alfred Nobel.
  
  
• The Virtual Nuclear Tourist
  A fantastic site with descriptions of reactor designs, locations of reactor sites worldwide, component systems, safety systems, operation regimens, advantages and disadvantages of nuclear power, detailed descriptions of accidents and acts of nature, in-plant photos, links – everything you might want to know.
  
  
• Nuclear Energy and Waste
  Another excellent site out of School Science in the UK. Describes types of nuclear energy, types of waste, waste handling, and provides an opportunity to take part in an online survey and debate.
  
  
• Paint
  A commercial site with lots of information about paints and their uses. Perhaps most interesting is the Painting Secrets Revealed link where old master materials and techniques are described.
  
  
• Paint; Pigments
  A beautiful site under development. Check out the history of pigments and information about materials used for painting. Choose different colors from the top menu, and read descriptions of uses of the color in painting; at the bottom of the page you can link to information about specific pigments and their chemical composition, history of use, how to make them, and technical details including spectroscopy, MSDS links, and references.
  
  
• Pesticides
  General information about pesticides, details about DDT, pesticides and politics, careers in pesticides, and resources and links.
  
  
• Discover Petroleum
  Good general information about petroleum – origins, uses, refining, retrieval, jobs. Also some games to play dealing with oil refining (Game 3), British geography and refining/shipping (2), products made from oil (1), and underwater oil exploration (4); and the geological processes that led to the formation of petroleum (5 -- drag the pictures on the bottom in chronological order, then start the movie to watch the process).
  
  
• Photography
  A bit on the chemistry of color photography.
  
  
• Photovoltaics – Basics
  All about how photovoltaic cells convert solar energy into electricity – design, types of cells, history, manufacturing methods, advantages, and disadvantages.
  
  
• Powers of Ten
  Having trouble with the idea of orders of magnitude (powers of ten)? Look at images as you zoom in from 100 million light years away from our galaxy to the level of subatomic particles – each step by one power of ten. Information and images about microscopes, and a history of telescopes and microscopes.
  
  
• The Macrogalleria – A Cyberwonderland of Polymer Fun
  A terrific site with lots of information about polymers – applications, production, structures; well put together with hotlinks within the text to structures, synthesis, descriptions, and photos of a multitude of polymers.
  
  
• Refrigerants
  Implicated in the destruction of the ozone layer, refrigerants are covered at this excellent site – history, synthesis, properties, reactions with ozone, and more.
  
  
• Scuba Diving
  Information about gas laws, pressure effects on divers, decompression, and bubble chemistry.
  
  
• Silicone
  A great site with information and exercises. First developed as wiring insulation (where they didn't work well), silicones have found wide applications – paints, resins, electrical tape, space fabrics, breast implants, waterproofing agent, medical implants. This site covers the history, chemistry, uses, and health issues associated with silicones.
  
  
• Steel
  The companion site for the one above – structure and bonding in iron and steel, alloys, metal structures, cold working, annealing, tempering, specialty steels, and steel testing.
  
  
• Steel
  A amazing source of information about steels – chemical reactions in the production of steel, properties of steels, pictures of a steel plant, different processes of steel production, casting techniques, and minimills. Just start with the contents to find out what is here.
  
  
• Sunscreens
  One page with a description of types of sunscreens, and some molecular structures.
  
  
• Surface Tension
  Uses illustrations to explain the principles and origins of surface tension – cohesion and adhesion.
  
  
• The History of Television Invention
  Lots of links to information about types of TV, broadcasting, receiving, how it works, a bit of history of development, new technologies (digital, wide screen) and issues (bandwidth).
  
  
• Tennis Balls
  Details the construction of tennis balls, courts, and raquets. Also deals with aerodynamic issues – pressure, density, velocity, viscocity, etc., forces, and ball physics.
  
  
• Origin of the Universe
  Drive a space ship back through time to the big bang in this Flash animation.
  
  
• Viagra and Drug Development
  An interesting site with lots of information about how drugs are developed and brought to market – as well as how Viagra works on erectile dysfunction. A small section on the anatomy of an erection.
  
  
• Water on the Space Station
  An article on how water is used and recycled on the space station.
  
  
• Cruising Chemistry – Water Quality Introduction
  This site describes the importance of water, substances in water, how water is purified, water testing, the politics of water, activities, and further resources.
  
  

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