A female student wished to make some potassium hydroxide solution (aqueous) and decided to throw a large lump of potassium into a bucket of water. Her professor observed what she was about to do, out of the corner of his eye and hurried towards her, and after confirming this was what she was intending to do, asked her first to stir the water in the bucket for five minutes before adding the potassium. She was puzzled and ran after him to ask the purpose of this action.’It will give me time to get away’ said the professor.

Interesting isnt it. Potassium is one of the most reactive metal and will explode if it is dropped directly into water.

Based on the comments to my earlier posts asking readers what they would like me to cover more in this blogsite, i have decided to touch base on Tips for Effective Learning. Some of the tips below can also used to your educational learning outside of Chemistry.

It is important to find effective learning strategies that will work for you. Different person have different ways of making their learning more effective.

Here are some common techniques that can be used as a reference to promote active and effective learning:

From a Textbook, Reference Book or Other Written Material

• Read the material at an environment that you feel comfortable and can have total focus.
• Pause after each paragraph to make sure you understand everything you have read.
• Highlight the main ideas, either on a piece of paper, in the book, or in your mind.
• Make short concise notes in your own words.
• Read out loud and clear.

From a Lecture or Classroom

• Make notes in your own words.

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This is a question that i picked up and shared with a student that i am coaching at the moment. This will be a question that tests on the different sub-sections that is covered in Mole Concepts and Chemical Calculations.

Example:
Hydrogen Fluoride attacks glass and is used to draw on glass. It is prepared by adding concentrated sulphuric acid to calcium fluoride. The reaction takes place at r.t.p: CaF2 (s) + H2SO4 (l) –> 2HF (g) + CaSO4 (s)

1) When 15.6g of calcium fluoride was reacted with 12.5cm^3 of 20.0 mol/dm^3 sulphuric acid, 7.68dm^3 of hydrogen fluoride was formed.
i) What is the limiting reactant in this reaction?
ii) Calculate the theoretical volume of hydrogen fluoride that should be formed.

2) Calculate the mass of the calcium fluoride in the impure calcium fluoride.
3) What is the percentage purity of the calcium fluoride?

Please work out your answer on your own first on a piece of paper, before you click on “Read More” or the Headline itself for the suggested answer.

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Here is another book that i thought will be interesting to students, tutors and teachers. This book provides fast, easy way to master the fundamentals of chemistry by giving simple examples.

Have you ever wondered about the differences between liquids, gases, and solids? Or what actually happens when something burns? What exactly is a solution? An acid? A base? This is chemistry—the composition and structure of substances composing all matter, and how they can be transformed. Whether you are studying chemistry for the first time on your own, want to refresh your memory for a test, or need a little help for a course, this concise, interactive guide gives you a fresh approach to this fascinating subject.

Can you differentiate between Atom, Molecule & Particle? I received an enquiry from a subscriber to SimpleChemConcepts.com yesterday and i realized that many students have misconception of the different definitions given to them.

When we say Avogadro’s Number states that there are 6 x 10^23 particles for 1 mole of substances, the “particles” is actually a general term.

“Particles” can mean atoms (He gas atoms), molecules (H2 gas, N2 gas molecules), ionic substances (NaCl ionic salt) or even the ions itself (Chloride Cl- anions, Mg2+ cations).

I was approached by a parent as well as a teacher on the recommendation of any interesting Chemistry books that can intrigue the liking of Chemistry for their child/students respectively. After recalling some of the books that i have read before that are interesting, i would like to recommend the 1st Chemistry book titled: “Chemistry for Dummies” which touches on the fundamentals of chemistry in everyday life.

We’re all natural born chemists. Every time we cook, clean, take a shower, drive a car, use a solvent, such as fingernail polish remover, or perform any of the countless everyday activities that involve complex chemical reactions we’re doing chemistry. You might even say

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Mole Concepts is considered by many students to be one of the toughest topic in GCE O Level Examinations as well as GCSE Examinations (according to a close friend which is coaching under GCSE). In fact, students tends to give up the whole chapters when they go for their preliminary as well as GCE O Level papers. Actually, Mole Concepts and Chemical Calculations are manageable topics and in fact we can score in it, if we know the strategy to do so. Concepts is important in this topic whereby memorization is at a bare minimal. Yes! No need to memorise much! Do subscribe to this feed if you want to learn more about Mole Concepts and how to score confidently for this topic.

Yesterday, we hear a wonderful news that the inaugural 2010 Youth Olympics Games will be hosted in Singapore. We won against a very experienced city, Moscow! Now all preparations from all sectors are taking place to make this historic sporting event a successful one.

SINGAPORE - Singapore erupted in celebration on Thursday after winning the right to host the inaugural Youth Olympics in 2010, with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong calling it a new era for Southeast Asian sport.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) awarded the Games to the

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Just a moment ago, i received a text SMS by my ex-student that i have coached last year asking me the following question: “Which one is counted as Low Melting Point, -108 degree Celsius or 259 degree Celsius?”

 It is from this question that i recalled that quite a number of students has problem the “-VE SIGN”.

We know that 5 is bigger than 3, and 259 is bigger than 108. We also know that 4 is bigger than 0.

 But it is when we consider the -ve sign that students have issue in their thought process to get the answer.

Halo Singapore students,

How was your common tests coming along? For those that didn’t do well, this is the time to sit down and reflect what you have done for the last few months? Is your studying methods correct? Is your time management effective enough?

A week ago, a enthusiastic lady called me up to seek indiviudal chemistry coaching and advise for her daughter that has borderline pass in her Secondary 3 (Grade 9) Chemistry examinations, and are preparing for GCE O Level this year. She mentioned a few times that it might be too late for her daughter to catch up on her Sec 3 work and ask me if she do well for her Sec 4 syllabus, will it suffice for her to pass O Levels. Her daughter’s aim is to study Tourism in higher education.

First, i would need to state that to do well for Sec 4 application chapters, you would need to have a strong foundation on

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