hermanntrude

yes, the reaction npts is referring to is the burning of magnesium/aluminum, which is also very hot and hard to stop, but actually nothing very much when compared to the thermite reaction

I think the best answer so far is from captain panic. However, you're right that it would be rather difficult to explain that to a first-grader, although perhaps less difficult than we imagine. I was often astounded at the things younger children can grasp when an adult would question the concept to death. Possibly the best first-grader way to write it would be to explain that things get a bit fuzzy at the atomic scale, and it's hard to say exactly where the edge of a particle is or even where the particle itself is or where it's going. tell them it's an awesome question and one that people are still investigating now and that if they want to know more the should study quantum mechanics when they get older (or in their spare time if they're particularly precocious). And yes, elmejor, Please don't answer people's questions unless two criteria are met: 1) the question hasn't already been answered fully 2) the best answer you can give is complimentary to the answers already given or better than those already given.

also bear in mind the thermite reaction is extremely dangerous. basically once it starts it will melt almost anything and nothing will put the fire out until it runs out of reactants.

I think it's safe to assume this question was asked by a biologist. Only a biologist would leave so many vital parts of the question out.

nah it's a solution of the ionic liquid. I think that as long as it's fairly dilute we should be OK to only consider the pKa in water

you're gonna need some pKa data, i suspect

I gave a presentation on this article once as a required literature presentation. It surprised my superiors because at the start it seemed a lot like it was frivolous and uneccessary, but the fact is that the purpose of the study was twofold: 1) to prove that pretty much any molecular shape can be achieved with skilled synthesis 2) to popularise chemistry and organic chemistry particularly. the study was very successful. I was very impressed with the hat-changing syntheses with microwaves I wouldnt call this art. I would call it a publicity stunt and a very well executed one

i know. no offence meant. it just upsets me that the world at large seems to think it's some kind of magic trick rather than bothering to think

you know those old metal pencil sharpeners? they're made entirely from magnesium. you can tell because they're extremely light. The only parts which arent magnesium are the screw and the blade.

I hate that phrase. It misleads people, makes them think there's ice involved. There isnt. this is simply a crystallisation

you can't get through a chemistry course just approaching each problem by throwing an equation at it. You have to fully understand the meanings of the various properties and variables involved in each question. For instance, to find the total mass you might be just given the masses of all the substances involved. In which case, just add them up. You might be given the mass of one of them and the number of moles of the other, in which case you'd first have to calculate the mass of the latter and add it to the mass of the former. You might be given pressures and volumes and temperatures, in which case you might have to use the ideal gas law... there are LOTS of different ways to find the total mass of a mixture. see? please, for your sake, don't see each question as an equation. see it as a real life situation, try to understand it

you can also try running your tlc's on alumina instead of silica... tends to be less damaging to products

I think you're looking at this question wrongly. The choice of topics is a personal one. Which do YOU think is most interesting? my personal favourite would be either future transportation or "god particles", although i'd never call it that... i'd call it the Higg's boson.

elmejor, i'd like to give you some advice now. first, why not go and introduce yourself in the introductions thread if you havent already done so. welcome to the forum second, when answering people's questions, check to see how old the questions are and whether they've already been answered. We value your responses but this one particularly was unhelpful. the question was already answered fully, and your response was only confusing the issue

not necessarily. I'd be prepared to bet there's a better way... probably witting reactions or something... or grignard

that method wouldnt do a damned thing. The question said E-4-octene, not octane. read the question! I feel like a loop-tape telling people to read the question. Although you could take your octane and try to dehydrogenate it. But it'd be a crappy method... probably less than 1% yield. Not sure of a better method, though.

it doesnt have to be platinum for a simple electrolysis. Anything conductive will do the job as long as it's not too reactive.

zinc or any fairly reactive metal (google activity series to see which metals react with acids, but be careful not to use a metal which is TOO reactive!) should do just fine. Zinc is fairly common, although i'm not sure how you would identify it by sight... i expect a junkyard would have loads of zinc for free or cheap. The acid you would probably be better off using HCl, just because it's a bit safer and less messy. You can buy HCl at stores for specialised purposes... i expect one of our home-chemists could tell you what they sell it for. i just buy it from my suppliers.

I think you are on the right track. Which solvent (ethanol or water) is more likely to rip a proton (H+) off of acetic acid? Which product is more stable ([ce]CH3CH2OH2+[/ce] or [ce]H3O+[/ce])?

always try to find old papers. Most universities and colleges post examples of papers on their websites. I've just finished going through last year's paper with my students and i'm delighted to discover that today's paper is VERY similar to it. My stomach is in knots too, and i'm giving the exam, not taking it!

there's a fun experiment where you can extract DNA from any squishy fruit. Strawberries is the easiest... the only trouble is you dont have any way to prove it's DNA. Also you can make your own sodium acetate and supersaturate it. the resulting solution will crystallise rapidly (in seconds), which can be fun. youtube "sodium acetate" and you'll see more.

grow stuff which absorbs arsenic for a few years but throw it all away. Then re-test the soil... it should be an efficient way of cleaning the soil.

use double spacing. that'll help. Also 13point text. it looks just like 12 but takes up more space. If you got into a fight I assume you caused some injury or you wouldnt be in court. even in self defence, violence can be wrong. I learned that the hard way.

i'm sorry but a question like "how do these numbers compare?" can't be answered in any way other than telling you the answer, which we dont do here. It seems too simple a question... perhaps you mean something else? It's like comparing 326 to 384.

oh yes... i forgot that equation