The UK’s Academic Pipeline Is Failing To Retain Black, Asian And Other Ethnic Minority Chemists, An

It’s #NationalCabbageDay! Cabbages aren’t just good for eating – you can make a colourful pH indicator from them, too 🧪 https://ift.tt/39JT2ro https://ift.tt/2LXZWTq

Water: Making a Splash

You don’t have to be a genius to know that water is essential for life. After all, we’re made up of it, we sweat it, we drink it, some people even opt to give birth in it. But what is it about two hydrogens and an oxygen which make it so sensational?

The answer is to do with water’s structure. A H2O molecule is covalently bonded, which means each atom shares electrons. In this case, the covalent bonds are between two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom. Oxygen is cool because it is highly electronegative. Electronegativity is the ability for one atom to “pull” the electrons towards it in a covalent bond. Since oxygen is highly electronegative, it pulls the electrons in the bond towards it which gives the oxygen a slight negative charge because of the electron proximity. This is represented by  δ- (delta negative). The hydrogen is therefore δ+ (delta positive) and has a slight positive charge. Overall, the molecule is said to be polar, or to be dipolar in nature, because there is a difference in charge across the molecule.

Water being a dipole gives it different properties, which you need to know about if you are sitting the AS or A level biology exam. 

A quick note on hydrogen bonding…

Being a dipole, water has areas of different charge. When many molecules come together, hydrogen bonds can form between H+ on one molecule and O- on another, shown in the diagram with a dashed line. 

It is hydrogen bonds which give water a property called surface tension. Water has a high tendency to ‘stick together’, called cohesion. This is important in water transport through the xylem in later units. Surface tension is a bit like a “skin” because it can allow small organisms to walk along it. It occurs because water molecules on the surface bond to their neighbours much like throughout the whole liquid, but since one side is exposed to air and cannot form hydrogen bonds upwards, they will form stronger ones with the molecules beside them. The net attraction is downwards.

Water is good as a temperature buffer too. Heating a substance makes its particles gain more kinetic energy and therefore the overall temperature rises since particles are moving faster. With water, the temperature doesn’t rise as much as other liquids do. This is because it takes more heat energy to raise the temperature of water by 1 degree - it has a high specific heat capacity due to the many hydrogen bonds that have to be broken (even though they are weak on their own). It takes a lot of heat energy for water to raise its temperature significantly. 

This is useful in organisms because our cells are mostly water, which can absorb heat energy without raising our temperature very much. Therefore it “buffers” or reduces heat changes. Seas, lakes and oceans are all good environments to live in because they do not change temperature as quickly as air. Aquatic organisms have an environment with less temperature fluctuation than land organisms.

Having a high latent heat of vaporisation means water can cool down organisms by evaporating a small amount of water. Evaporation is when water becomes a gas due to the large amount of KE. Fast-moving molecules are removed when this occurs and take their energy with them, therefore decreasing the amount of energy left behind and cooling it. Sweat is a good example of high latent heat of vaporisation. A small quantity of water is removed with a large cooling effect, meaning temperature is stabilised without losing a lot of water.

Water is also a good solvent (a substance which can dissolve other substances) and this is due to more hydrogen bonding. Water’s charges of H+ and O- are attracted to the positive and negative charges on molecules and therefore solutes such as NaCl are split into Na+ and Cl-, then spread out. Solvent properties are important in transport (such as blood plasma dissolving glucose, vitamins, urea etc), metabolic reactions, urine production and mineral transportation through the xylem and phloem in plants.

Water molecules can also take place in metabolic reactions. Hydrolysis reactions involve breaking down the covalent bonds between hydrogen and oxygen and making new ones, for example, in digestion. Condensation reactions produce water as a byproduct e.g. the formation of phosphodiester bonds. Water is referred to as a metabolite.

Summary

Water is a dipole due to the slight opposite charges on oxygen and hydrogen atoms.

Hydrogen bonds form between hydrogens on one water molecule and oxygens on another. 

Because of this, water has the tendency to stick to itself - cohesion. Cohesion is the reason for surface tension.

Water is a good temperature buffer because of its high specific heat capacity. It takes a lot of energy to raise the temperature by a degree.

Water has a high latent heat of vaporisation so evaporating a little has a large cooling effect.

Water is a good solvent because of how the hydrogen bonds attract charged molecules and separate them. This is useful for transporting solutions.

Water is a metabolite important for hydrolysis reactions and produced in condensation reactions.

Happy studying!

Nomenclature - what in the organic chemistry is it?

Organic chemistry is so widely studied it requires a standard system for naming compounds, developed by IUPAC. Nomenclature is simply naming these organic compounds.

So, you want to be an organic chemist? Well, it starts here. Are you ready?

(psst… once you’ve learnt this theory, try a quiz here!)

1. Count your longest continuous chain of carbons.

Bear in mind that some chains may be bent. You’re looking for the longest chain of subsequent carbon atoms. This number correlates to root names that indicate the carbon chain length, listed below:

The second part of naming your base comes from the bonding in the chain. Is it purely single bonds or are there double bonds in there? If you are familiar with carbon chemistry, you’ll know that saturated hydrocarbons are called alkanes and unsaturated hydrocarbons are called alkenes. Therefore, the syllable -ane is used when it has only single bonds and the syllable -ene is used when it has some double bonds. For example:

Sometimes carbon chains exist in rings rather than chains. These have the prefix of -cyclo.

2. Identify your side chains attached to this main carbon and name them.

Side chains are added as prefixes to the root names. Sometimes called substituents, these are basically anything that comes off the carbon chain. Examples of the prefixes are listed below:

There are other prefixes such as fluoro (-F) and chloro (-Cl) which can describe what is coming off the chain.

3. Identify where each side chain is attached and indicate the position by adding a number to the name. 

We aim to have numbers as small as possible. For example, if bromine is on the second carbon of a 5-carbon saturated chain, we number it as 2-bromopentane instead of 4-bromopentane, since it would essentially be 2-bromopentane if it was flipped. Locant is the term used for the number which describes the position of the substitute group, e.g. the ‘2′ in 2-chlorobutane is the locant.

Sometimes there are two or more side chains e.g. a methyl group and a chlorine attached to a pentane. In these cases, these rules apply:

1. Names are written alphabetically.

2. A separate number is needed for each side chain or group.

3. Hyphens are used to separate numbers and letters.

This would be named 2-chloro-3-methyl-pentane. This is because the longest chain of carbons is 5 (pentane), the chlorine is on the second carbon (2-chloro) and the methyl group is on the third carbon (3-methyl). It is 2-chloro rather than 4-chloro as we aim to have as small as numbers as possible.

Another variation of this step to be aware of is how many of the same side chains or groups there are, for example, having two methyl groups would be dimethyl rather than solely methyl. Each group must also be given numbers separated by commas to show where each one is located. 

The list of these prefixes is found here:

Convention does not usually require mono- to go before a single group or side chain.

4. Number the positions of double bonds if applicable.

Alkenes and other compounds have double bonds. These must be indicated with numbers. For example, pent-2-ene shows that the double bond is between carbon 2 and carbon 3. The number goes in the middle of the original root name e.g. butene, pentene.

(!) Below is a list of functional groups that you may need to study for the AS and A Level chemistry exams. “R” represents misc. carbons. It is important to know that some groups are more prioritised than naming. From the most to least priority: carboxylic acid, ester, acyl chloride, nitrile, aldehyde, ketone, alcohol, amine, alkene, halogenalkane. It is worthwhile learning these.

bigger version here (I suggest downloading and printing it)

But wait, there’s more:

Here are some things to bear in mind when naming organic compounds:

1. The letter ‘e’ is removed when there are two vowels together e.g. propanone rather than propaneone. The ‘e’ isn’t removed when it is next to consonant, e.g. propanenitrile isn’t propannitrile.

2. When compounds contain two different, one is named as part of the unbranched chain and the other is named as a substituent. Which way round this goes depends on the priority. 

SUMMARY

Count your longest continuous chain of carbons.

Chains may be bent. You’re looking for the longest chain of subsequent carbon atoms. This number correlates to root names that indicate the carbon chain length, e.g. pentane.

The second part of naming your base comes from the bonding in the chain. Is it purely single bonds or are there double bonds in there? The syllable -ane is used when it has only single bonds and the syllable -ene is used when it has some double bonds.

Rings have the prefix of -cyclo.

Identify your side chains attached to this main carbon and name them.

Side chains are added as prefixes to the root names. Sometimes called substituents, these are basically anything that comes off the carbon chain. 

There are other prefixes such as fluoro (-F) and chloro (-Cl) which can describe what is coming off the chain.

Identify where each side chain is attached and indicate the position by adding a number to the name.

We aim to have numbers as small as possible. Locant is the term used for the number which describes the position of the substitute group, e.g. the ‘2′ in 2-chlorobutane is the locant.

Sometimes there are two or more side chains e.g. a methyl group and a chlorine attached to a pentane. In these cases, names are written alphabetically, a separate number is needed for each side chain or group and hyphens are used to separate numbers and letters.

When there are two or more of the same side chains or substituent groups, these must also be given numbers separated by commas to show where each one is located.

Number the positions of double bonds if applicable.

Alkenes and other compounds have double bonds. These must be indicated with numbers. The number goes in the middle of the original root name e.g. butene, pentene.

It is worthwhile learning the other functional groups that can be added on.They have varying priorities.

The letter ‘e’ is removed when there are two vowels together e.g. propanone rather than propaneone. The ‘e’ isn’t removed when it is next to consonant, e.g. propanenitrile isn’t propannitrile.

When compounds contain two different, one is named as part of the unbranched chain and the other is named as a substituent. Which way round this goes depends on the priority.

Happy studying guys!

Combusting Alkanes

If you follow this blog, by now you must be thinking, when will we be done with the alkane chemistry? Well, the answer is never. There is still one more topic to touch on - burning alkanes and the environmental effects. Study up chums!

Alkanes are used as fuels due to how they can combust easily to release large amounts of heat energy. Combustion is essentially burning something in the presence of oxygen. There are two types of combustion: complete and incomplete. 

Complete combustion occurs when there is a plentiful supply of air. When an alkane is burned in sufficient oxygen, it produces carbon dioxide and water. How much depends on what is being burnt. For example:

butane + oxygen -> carbon dioxide + water

2C4H10 (g) + 13O2 (g) -> 8CO2 (g) + 10H2O (g)

Remember state symbols in combustion reactions. In addition, this reaction can be halved to balance for 1 mole of butane by using fractions when dealing with the numbers.

C4H10 (g) + 6 ½ O2 (g) -> 4CO2 (g) + 5H2O (g)

Incomplete combustion on the other hand occurs when there is a limited supply of air. There are two kinds of incomplete combustion. The first type produces water and carbon monoxide. 

butane + limited oxygen -> carbon monoxide + water

C4H10 (g) + 4 ½ O2 (g) -> 4CO (g) + 5H2O (g)

Carbon monoxide is dangerous because it is toxic and undetectable due to being smell-free and colourless. It reacts with haemoglobin in your blood to reduce their oxygen-carrying ability and can cause drowsiness, nausea, respiratory failure or death. Applicances therefore must be maintained to prevent the formation of the monoxide.

The other kind of incomplete combustion occurs in even less oxygen. It produces water and soot (carbon).

butane + very limited oxygen -> carbon + water

C4H10 (g) + 2 ½ O2 (g) -> 4C (g) + 5H2O (g)

Internal combustion engines work by changing chemical energy to kinetic energy, fuelled by the combustion of alkane fuels in oxygen. When this reaction is undergone, so do other unwanted side reactions due to the high pressure and temperature, e.g. the production of nitrogen oxides.

Nitrogen is regularly unreactive but when combined with oxygen, it produces NO and NO2 molecules:

nitrogen + oxygen -> nitrogen (II) oxide

N2 (g) + O2 (g) -> 2NO (g)

and

nitrogen + oxygen -> nitrogen (II) oxide

N2 (g) + 2O2 (g) -> 2NO2 (g)

Sulfur dioxide (SO2) is sometimes present in the exhaust mixture as impurities from crude oil. It is produced when sulfur reacts with oxygen. Nitrogen oxides, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, carbon particles, unburnt hydrocarbons, water vapour and sulfur dioxide are all produced in exhaust fumes and are also pollutants that cause problems you need to be aware of for the exam as well as how to get rid of them.

Greenhouse gases contribute to global warming, an important process where infrared radiation from the sun is prevented from escaping back into space by atmospheric gases. On the one hand, some greenhouse gases need to continue this so that the earth can sustain life as it traps heat, however, we do not want the earth’s temperature to increase that much. Global warming is the term given to the increasing average temperature of the earth, which has seen an increase in the last few years due to human activity - burning fossil fuels like alkanes has produced more gases which trap more heat. Examples of greenhouse gases include carbon dioxide, methane and water vapour.

Another pollution problem the earth faces is acid rain. Rain water is already slightly acidic due to the CO2 present in the atmosphere but acid rain is more acidic than this. Nitrogen oxides contribute to acid rain although sulfur dioxide is the main cause. The equation for sulfur dioxide reacting with water in the air to produce oxidised sulfurous acid and therefore sulphuric acid is:

SO2 (g) + H2O (g) + ½ O2 (g) -> H2SO4 (aq)

Acid rain is a problem because it destroys lakes, buildings and vegetation. It is also a global problem because it can fall far from the original source of the pollution.

Photochemical smog is formed from nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide and unburnt hydrocarbons that react with sunlight. It mostly forms in industralised cities and causes health problems such as emphysema.

So what can we do about the pollutants?

A good method of stopping pollution is preventing it in the first place, therefore cars have catalytic converters which reduce the amount of carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and unburnt hydrocarbons come into the atmosphere by converting them into less toxic gases. Shaped like a honeycomb for increased SA and therefore rate of conversion, platinum and rhodium coat ceramic and act as catalysts for the reactions that take place in an internal combustion engine.

As they pass over the catalyst, they react with each other to form less pollution:

octane + nitrogen (II) oxide -> carbon dioxide + nitrogen + water

C8H18 (g) + 25NO -> 8CO2 (g) + 12 ½ N2 (g) + 9H2O (g)

nitrogen (II) oxide + carbon monoxide  -> carbon dioxide + nitrogen

2NO (g) + 2CO (g) -> 2CO2 (g) + N2 (g)

Finally, sulfur dioxide must be dealt with. The first way it is dealt with is by removing it from petrol before it can be burnt, however, this is often not economically favourable for fuels used in power stations. A process called flue gas desulfurisation is used instead.

In this, gases are passed through a wet semi-solid called a slurry that contains calcium oxide or calcium carbonate. These neutralise the acid, due to being bases, to form calcium sulfate which has little commercial value but can be oxidised to produce a more valuable construction material.

calcium oxide + sulfur dioxide -> calcium sulfite

CaO (s) + SO2 (g) -> CaSO3 (s)

calcium carbonate + sulfur dioxide -> calcium sulfite + carbon dioxide

CaCO3 (s) + SO2 (g) -> CaSO3 (s) + CO2 (g)

calcium sulfite + oxygen -> calcium sulfate

CaSO3 (s) + O -> CaSO4 (s)

SUMMARY

Alkanes are used as fuels due to how they can combust easily to release large amounts of heat energy. Combustion is essentially burning something in the presence of oxygen.

Complete combustion occurs when there is a plentiful supply of air. When an alkane is burned in sufficient oxygen, it produces carbon dioxide and water

Remember state symbols in combustion reactions. In addition, reactions can be halved to balance for 1 mole of compounds by using fractions when dealing with the numbers.

Incomplete combustion occurs when there is a limited supply of air. There are two kinds of incomplete combustion. 

The first type produces water and carbon monoxide.

Carbon monoxide is dangerous because it is toxic and undetectable due to being smell-free and colourless. It reacts with haemoglobin in your blood to reduce their oxygen-carrying ability and can cause drowsiness, nausea, respiratory failure or death. 

The other kind of incomplete combustion occurs in even less oxygen. It produces water and soot (carbon).

Internal combustion engines work by changing chemical energy to kinetic energy, fuelled by the combustion of alkane fuels in oxygen. When this reaction is undergone, so do other unwanted side reactions due to the high pressure and temperature, e.g. the production of nitrogen oxides.

Nitrogen is regularly unreactive but when combined with oxygen, it produces NO and NO2 molecules:

Sulfur dioxide (SO2) is sometimes present in the exhaust mixture as impurities from crude oil. It is produced when sulfur reacts with oxygen.

Nitrogen oxides, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, carbon particles, unburnt hydrocarbons, water vapour and sulfur dioxide are all produced in exhaust fumes and are also pollutants that cause problems you need to be aware of for the exam as well as how to get rid of them.

Greenhouse gases contribute to global warming, an important process where infrared radiation from the sun is prevented from escaping back into space by atmospheric gases. Some greenhouse gases need to continue this so that the earth can sustain life as it traps heat, however, we do not want the earth’s temperature to increase that much. Global warming is the term given to the increasing average temperature of the earth, which has seen an increase in the last few years due to human activity - burning fossil fuels like alkanes has produced more gases which trap more heat. 

Another pollution problem the earth faces is acid rain. Nitrogen oxides contribute to acid rain although sulfur dioxide is the main cause. 

Acid rain is a problem because it destroys lakes, buildings and vegetation. It is also a global problem because it can fall far from the original source of the pollution.

Photochemical smog is formed from nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide and unburnt hydrocarbons that react with sunlight. It mostly forms in industralised cities and causes health problems such as emphysema.

A good method of stopping pollution is preventing it in the first place, therefore cars have catalytic converters which reduce the amount of carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and unburnt hydrocarbons come into the atmosphere by converting them into less toxic gases. Shaped like a honeycomb for increased SA and therefore rate of conversion, platinum and rhodium coat ceramic and act as catalysts for the reactions that take place in an internal combustion engine.

As they pass over the catalyst, they react with each other to form less pollution.

octane + nitrogen (II) oxide -> carbon dioxide + nitrogen + water

C8H18 (g) + 25NO -> 8CO2 (g) + 12 ½ N2 (g) + 9H2O (g)

nitrogen (II) oxide + carbon monoxide  -> carbon dioxide + nitrogen

2NO (g) + 2CO (g) -> 2CO2 (g) + N2 (g)

Finally, sulfur dioxide must be dealt with. The first way it is dealt with is by removing it from petrol before it can be burnt, however, this is often not economically favourable for fuels used in power stations. A process called flue gas desulfurisation is used instead.

In this, gases are passed through a wet semi-solid called a slurry that contains calcium oxide or calcium carbonate. Since they are bases, these neutralise the acid to form calcium sulfate which has little commercial value but can be oxidised to produce a more valuable construction material.

Happy studying!

Today is #InternationalMakeUpDay! Here’s a graphic looking at the various components of nail polish 💅 https://ift.tt/32fnwAh https://ift.tt/3jWclTk

Follow @productive-tips for more tips and content like this posted daily! Handpicked and curated with love :)

Polarity, Resonance, and Electron Pushing: Crash Course Organic Chemistry #10:

We’ve all heard the phrase “opposites attract.” It may or may not be true for people, but it’s definitely true in organic chemistry. In this episode of Crash Course Organic Chemistry, we’re learning about electronegativity, polarity, resonance structures, and resonance hybrids. We’ll practice a very important skill for this course that will help us avoid a lot of memorization in the future: electron pushing. It’ll be a lot of trial and error at first, but we all start somewhere!

#OTD a year ago, Moderna’s RNA vaccine became the first #COVID19 vaccine to enter phase 1 trials. The latest #ChemVsCOVID graphic with the Royal Society of Chemistry takes a brief look at how prior research helped COVID vaccines reach this point quickly: https://ift.tt/3cE5xHR https://ift.tt/3rV4v0F

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