WELCOME to The Catalyst!
Sidebar

Chemistry Resources For The Secondary Education Teacher On The WWW


All About Atoms
This site provides a very basic overview of atomic structure. The information is provided by the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (Jefferson Lab) which "is a basic research laboratory built to probe the nucleus of the atom to learn more about the quark structure of matter."
http://education.jlab.org/atomtour/

Atomic Orbitals
This site contains pictures with a brief overview of atomic orbitals. Orbitals with a principal quantum number (n) less than or equal to 10 are included. Also included is Orbital Viewer, a program for drawing orbitals.
http://www.orbitals.com/orb/

Chemistry in the Community (ChemCom)

Chemical Bonding
This site is devoted to chemical bonding and provides detailed information on the topic. In addition to information are laboratory activities for students with detailed teacher notes, and a tiny bit of bonding specific history and humor.
http://www.okstate.edu/jgelder/bondtable.html

Chemical Of The Week
In his General Chemistry courses, Professor Bassam Z. Shakhashiri (the master of chemical demonstrations) distributes a weekly fact sheet about a chemical or type of chemical to increase his students' knowledge about chemicals, their production, cost, and uses. You can find links to his fact sheets here.
http://scifun.chem.wisc.edu/chemweek/chemweek.html

Chemical Reactions: Balancing Equations, Interpretation, and Mass relationships
These pages are devoted to chemical reactions and provide detailed information on the topic. (From Bellevue Community College)
http://www.scidiv.bcc.ctc.edu/wv/6/0006-000-TOC.html

The Chemistry Calculator Project
This site is home to a very nice, powerful chemical calculator.
http://www.stolaf.edu/people/hansonr/jscalc/

Chemistry Drill and Practice Tutorials
This page contains links to drill and practice problems, word problems, and data analysis problems designed to help students with the mathematical aspects of chemistry.
http://science.widener.edu/svb/tutorial/

Chemistry Functions
This site will allow you to calculate various values for atoms, compounds, or solutions, as well as perform several conversions. NOTE: This page is no longer being updated.
http://www.stanford.edu/~glassman/chem/index.htm

Chemistry ConcepTests
This site is home to Chemistry ConcepTests, a method of in-class peer instruction developed by Eric Mazur.
http://www.chem.wisc.edu/~concept/

Chemistry Spreadsheet Calculator
The Chemistry Spreadsheet Calculator is an online Java applet which "balances any valid equation and solves dozens of stoichiometry problems using a spreadsheet - 26 different examples given." There is a note to teachers who wish to use it with students. A "quick tutorial" is available, and a PRO version can be downloaded for offline use on Windows computers (it is FREEWARE).
http://chemistrycalculator.com/

Dave's Chemical Equation Balancer
This page contains a handy, on-line chemical equation balancing program written by Dave Woodcock.
http://people.ouc.bc.ca/woodcock/programmes/balance.html

The Macrogalleria
The Macrogalleria is an internet mall where you can learn all kinds of things about polymers and polymer science. You can get basic and detailed information.
http://www.psrc.usm.edu/macrog/index.htm

Martindale's Calculators On-Line Center
This site contains links to over 16,125 calculators. This link takes you to Part 3, the chemistry section.
http://www-sci.lib.uci.edu/HSG/RefCalculators3B.html

MathMol
In addition to providing an introductory starting point for those interested in the field of molecular modeling, this site also contains an online textbook with internet multimedia capabilities, an introductory module on water, and more K-12 activities.
http://cwis.nyu.edu/pages/mathmol/

Measure your Radioactivity
This page will help you calculate how much radiation you receive each year as a result of living. It is a part of the Seattle Times Fifty Years From Trinity web site.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/trinity/supplement/radiate.html

Miami Museum of Science-The pH Factor
A really nice site dedicated to pH at the Miami Museum of Science.
http://www.miamisci.org/ph/default.html

MoleDay.com
It has to do with the mole, nothing more needs to be said.
http://www.moleday.com/

National Mole Day Foundation, Inc.
This site is dedicated to the mole. This is definitely the starting place for anything related to Mole Day!
http://www.moleday.org/

The Orbitron
"A gallery of atomic orbitals and molecular orbitals on the WWW" which includes images representing atomic, molecular, and hybrid orbitals.
http://www.shef.ac.uk/chemistry/orbitron/

Oxidation/Reduction
This is a very nice site which is totally devoted to oxidation/reduction. It takes the reader from the basic concepts to extended concepts; through exercises, and onto everyday examples.
http://naio.kcc.hawaii.edu/chemistry/

The Particle Adventure
This is a very nice, interactive site devoted to the fundamentals of matter and forces. It is a product of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and "allows you to explore the world of fundamental particles and forces and then to investigate the experimental evidence and techniques." The information is available in many languages.
http://www.particleadventure.org/

pH Tutorial Launch Pad
This site contains notes and self directed exercises designed to help students with the fundamental concepts of acid-base chemistry.
http://www.science.ubc.ca/~chem/tutorials/pH/launch.html

Powers of Ten
A very nice animation that demonstrates powers of 10 and exponential notation. This is very similar to the 'Powers of Ten' video produced by the Eames.
http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/primer/java/scienceopticsu/powersof10/

Valence shell electron pair repulsion (VSEPR)
A nice guide to VSEPR. Takes advantage of (but does not require) a browser plug-in called Chime.
http://www.shef.ac.uk/~chem/vsepr/

VSEPR Help Page
A very nice, comprehensive guide to VSEPR. Takes advantage of (but does not require) a browser plug-in called Chime.
http://www.chem.purdue.edu/gchelp/vsepr/

Valence Shell Electron Pair Repulsion (VSEPR): An Interacive Tutorial & Quiz
An interactive tutorial and quiz.
http://neon.chem.ox.ac.uk/vrchemistry/vsepr/intro/vsepr_splash.html

VSEPR - A Summary
This site does not discuss VSEPR theory, but provides examples of the most common geometries encountered using the VSEPR theory. By clicking on the example molecules, you get to view a 3-dimensional molecular structure with a specific geometry. The Chime plug-in OR RasMol is required to view the structures.
http://mc2.cchem.berkeley.edu/VSEPR/

VSEPR method
This site provides a detailed discussion of VSEPR theory, with 3-dimensional molecular structure showing specific geometries. The Chime plug-in OR RasMol is required to view the structures. A summary page containing only the geometries with corresponding 3D molecular structures is also available (in French).
http://www.faidherbe.org/site/cours/dupuis/vseprev.htm

Virtual Laboratory
The Virtual Laboratory is a collection of applets written in the Java programming language for use in Physics, Astronomy, and Environmental Science courses. "These experiments are meant to be conceptual interfaces to the equations of physics and/or represent interaction with data that simulates a real physical experiment." Some of these virtual experiments are directly applicable to the study of chemistry, and are directly linked in the list below. To enjoy this collection of Java Applets you need a Java-compatible web browser. You may also wish to read the programmer's "help" information before starting. (From the University of Oregon)
http://jersey.uoregon.edu/vlab/

  • Ideal Gas Law: The Piston in the Cylinder
    This applet presents a series of three experiments in which you will control the action of a piston in a pressure chamber which is filled with an ideal gas. The relationships explored are Gay-Lussac's Law, Boyle's Law, and the Ideal Gas Law.
    http://zebu.uoregon.edu/nsf/piston.html
  • Particle Speed and Temperature
    This applet presents an experiment in which you will control the temperature of gas particles in a balloon. The relationships explored are the Ideal Gas Law and Maxwellian velocity distribution.
    http://zebu.uoregon.edu/nsf/balloon.html
    http://jersey.uoregon.edu/vlab/Balloon/index.html
  • Elemental Spectra
    This applet displays the periodic table of the elements. Clicking on an element will display its line spectrum (emission or absorption).
    http://jersey.uoregon.edu/vlab/elements/Elements.html

The World Of Chemistry
This is the homepage for "The World Of Chemistry" videos, coordinated print materials, and videodiscs produced by the University of Maryland and the Educational Film Center. Most chemistry teachers should have heard of these videos. They are very good!
http://www.learner.org/resources/resource.html?uid=61

World Of Chemistry Study Guides
This page contains worksheets designed to accompany "The World Of Chemistry" videos.
http://www.woodrow.org/teachers/chemistry/exchange/topics/WOC/

[top]