New to chemistry

[Ethan1234]

I am 16 years old and i want to start doing chemistry with the help of my dad and i dont have tons of money what are some cheap very useful equipment i need to start and what should i start studying first.

[Sensei]

3 hours ago, Ethan1234 said:

I am 16 years old and i want to start doing chemistry with the help of my dad and i dont have tons of money what are some cheap very useful equipment i need to start and what should i start studying first.

Laboratory gllassware i.e. beakers, flasks, condensers. Entire starter kit set will cost couple hundred USD.

Vacuum pump costs ~ $500.

Here you have the list:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laboratory_glassware

You should read methods of separation to learn what equipment you will need:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Separation_process

 

[chenbeier]

Better is to go to a school for chemistry instead to do Experiments at home. I think it will be difficult to get chemicals  for normal persons anyway.

[exchemist]

9 hours ago, Ethan1234 said:

I am 16 years old and i want to start doing chemistry with the help of my dad and i dont have tons of money what are some cheap very useful equipment i need to start and what should i start studying first.

I agree with @chenbeierthat you need to learn at school. There is not a lot of point in just starting practical work if you don't really understand what you are doing.

Having said that, it is fun to do simple things at home to supplement what you learn at school. Learning about acids and bases is a good starting point, with immediate application domestically.  (Even little things like when you wash out a bowl that has had red fruit in it, the colour changes from red to purple, if you live in a hard water area, or how baking powder, or oven cleaner, works.). A bit of electrochemistry can also be fun. You can make a battery from copper and zinc rods and a lemon, or a potato. With a low voltage DC electricity supply, e.g. from a train set, you can electrolyse various solutions and see what you get. 

I would also recommend that you read up a bit about the types of chemical bonding before you start anything. You need to understand the difference between ionic and covalent bonding, and between molecules and giant structures, before you can get vary far.

And you ought to have a good look at the Periodic Table and see where the various chemical elements that you come across appear and what sort of properties they have. 

 

[studiot]

10 hours ago, Ethan1234 said:

I am 16 years old and i want to start doing chemistry with the help of my dad and i dont have tons of money what are some cheap very useful equipment i need to start and what should i start studying first.

Well you don't need a fancy laboratory or to spend lots of money.
Although you haven't given us much to go on, I hope you already have lots of enthusiasm and an enquiring mind.

Chemistry is fun and is about stuff and how it interacts with other stuff.
And there is lots of stuff all around you to play experiment with.

 

Starch, paper, soil, oil, water, iodine, air, calor gas, leaves...................................

You can start to look at why some are solid, some are liquid, some are gas and some are something in between (eg waxes).
What happens when you mix things; sometimes there are changes sometimes not.
And some changes are big and/or fast (combustion) some are small and/or slow (staining, corrosion, rusting)

I said paper because 'chromatography'  - look it up and find out what it means - is a very important technique (Covid lateral flow test) is a very important chemical technique that allow you to do some chemical analysis.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/chromatography-be-a-color-detective/

Electrochemistry is another area for experimenting and finding out, as exchemist has already mentioned.

Also growing crystals can be great fun and many suitable chemicals can be obtained from a chemist and kept in clean household jamjars.

Some simple (and cheap) instruments might be a pH (acidity) meter (from a fish tank supplier) a Thermometer, a multimeter and a simple U- tube pressure gauge (manometer).

 

Judging from the time of your posting you could be in the bush or outback or other remote place.
Also not sure what skills your dad has to help.

 

Edited June 25, 2021 by studiot

[Sensei]

7 hours ago, chenbeier said:

I think it will be difficult to get chemicals  for normal persons anyway.

Except everything around you is some kind of chemical or (usually) mixture of chemicals. Therefore to get pure chemical compound, you need to learn how to separate them.

@Ethan1234

For a fun starter project, prepare sodium acetate. In the kitchen you can find acetic acid (vinegar) and sodium bicarbonate (i.e. baking soda)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinegar

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_bicarbonate

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_acetate

 

[Ethan1234]

I am interested in learning how to get pure chemicals from diluted chemicals such as the diluted alcohol i would like to distill it to see how pure i can get it and id like to start experimenting with forms of sodium and there reactions  to metals and other chemicals or other forms of matter i just have a burning desire to learn and experiment  i am going to a technical school next year for dental assisting  to learn forms of dental care and than i want to go to college and get some form of science  degree. Thank you alk for the help i hope i can become something great and have a happy and successful life no one around me is even interested in learning but i am. I even love robotics and smalk forms of engineering