Learning Chemistry

[Squintz]

Is it possible to learn chemistry by reading forums and web pages or would one have to go to college. How would i learn how chemicals react and such when mixed or burned or whatever. YT seams to know all about all chemicals and such. Where could i start learning. Chemistry for dummies book maybe?

 

Supply links and such if it is possible to learn from the internet. I have taken chemistry in high school and i know that learning is not easy but id like to give it a try.

 

Also what type of money does the average chemist make and how easy is it for him or her to get a job?

[greg1917]

If you want to learn chemistry then study it in school and then study it in university/colllege. You'll never learn a subject by reading forums and internet pages as this involves no attendence of lectures, no tutoring, no labwork, no work experience, no experience of any kind whatsoever in fact.

 

there are far too many different types of jobs entailing some sort of chemistry knowledge to answer that succinctly. try looking at the jobs section of new scientist for some sort of idea about career opportunites, as well as any chemistry journals your high school chemistry department has.

[Skye]

You'd be better of buying textbooks if you have to learn it on your own. If you have a university nearby look at the noticeboards or bookshops for secondhand ones, or new if you have to.

 

This is from the MIT page that blike put up a while ago. They don't have much but hey they have organic chem and quantum machanics so it's all good fun.

 

http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/Chemistry/index.htm

[YT2095]

actualy I don`t All about All chemicals, I`ve just taken the time to learn ALOT about MOST chemicals that interested me. and that`s been through hard work and study, and plenty of experimentation to boot.

text books are great, classes are great too, and never be afraid to ask your teacher stuff, a good teacher will never turn you away if presented with a reasonable question (non that I`ve ever encountered anyway).

as for jobs, I couldn`t comment, I`m a contractor so self employed in a way, and I name my own price per job.

if you get a simple text book as sugested, and start at page one, then use the internet as a support tool for bits you may not understand, or simply wish to know more about, that`ll be a great start

[VendingMenace]

yo squintz, sup man.

 

Right off the bat, let me say that i am currently a doctoral student in inorganic chemisty, just so you know where i am comming from right now. As far as salsaries go, i get paid about $20,000 to be a student, most people get paid about $20,000-$40,000 to be a post-doc, and the average salary for a working doctor of chemistry seems to be $60,000-$80,000 or so. Of course it depends what disipline you are in (biochem, organic, inorganic, analitical, ect.). Most peole with bachelors decgrees seem to make $30,000-$40,000 a year. But i could be worng on all this, since i am not really in the job hunt right now.

 

As far as learning chemistry goes, it is possible to learn it on your own, as YT has demonstrated. But you will have to be REALLY dedicated to learning it as it will be boreing and frustrating at time, but do not let that deter you, chemistry, in the end, is alot of fun.

 

For learning on your own, books are probably the best way to go, they were written to be learned from, after all. The downside to this is that they are not intereactive the way that a chesitry lecture is. You cannot ask questions of the book. HOwever, you CAN ask questions of the people you know online that have chemistry knowledge (inculding some on this forum). Also, another problem with buying books is knowing what books to buy. You are pretty much stuck with buying textbooks, most of wich are, sadly, quite horrible as well as pretty expensive (upwards of $80 new). But if you ask enough people you can find a good book, and if you look enough you can find in for a good price.

 

Now as far as books go, for general chemistry the book of choice (at least in the university of califonia system) seems to be Chemistry molecules, matter, and change by atkins and jones. I myself have used this book and it is decent, a good introduction to college chemistry. I think currently it is in its fourth or fith edition, so you might find a used copy of an earlier edition for relatively cheap. Of course there is another option. DOVER has put out series of sicence textbooks that are extrememly cheap. The happen to carry one textbook by linus Pauling for about $20, but i think amazon has it new for about $14. I don't really know anything about htis book though, but luckily i am going to the library today, so i will check it out for you and see if i think it is any good. The key being to get a book that give a good knowledge of chemistry and is fun to read as well.

 

I don't really know what you want to know about chemistry or how much, but if you are really serious about learning about chemistry, then it is important that you have a good grasp on general chemistry, even though many of the things that you will learn are somwhat inaccrate, the concepts and modles are utlalized over and over again.

 

Again, if you get a book and start learning chemistry, i would encourage you to ask questions that you have of the peolpe in this forums. Asking questions is the best way to learn really, it just that you need a book to read so that you know what questions to ask I will certainly be willing to adress whatever questions you have on your way to understanding chemistry, and i am sure that many other people would be happy to contribute to your education as well.

[Skye]

How many pages how Paulings book are devoted to the chemistry of abscorbic acid?

[YT2095]

yeah but Vitamin C tastes so yummy in foods, (sure they`re not recipe books?) LOL

[Kedas]

The internet is handy when you have the question but not the answer.

It isn't when you don't have the question.

 

This doesn't mean you can't learn a lot from books/PDFs/(FAQs) by yourself.

[Dudde]

but it's still easier with someone on hand who can, right away, help you figure out the answer, AND explain how they got that

[YT2095]

Mindset also plays a role with Chemistry I find.

if you consider the elements like LEGO bricks, and each one has it`s own unique characteristics. but essentialy it`s just lke playing LEGO with some basic rules. forget how daunting some formula may look, it often helps to re-write them! in terms of their basic components and how many of each (brick type)

take Ammonium Nitrate for example;

NH4NO3, it could look a little complicated at 1`st, but re-write it...

 

there`s 4 H`s

there`s 2 N`s that we can see

and 3 O`s

 

so I give you these elements (LEGO Bricks) what can you build out of them?

lets have a look, we start with N2 H4 O3

well I can make Nitric acid using 1 of the H`s and one of the N`s and all 3 of the O`s

 

making HNO3 and leaving me with 1 N and 3 H`s. can I make anything from them? Sure it makes Ammonia! NH3

 

now oddly enough, if I mix the Ammonia and Nitric acid I just made with my LEGO bricks, It reacts to make Ammonium Nitrate again

 

now lets look at what else we could have made, and let`s make STABLE compounds this time.

 

with N2H4O3 I can make some water, with 2 H`s and one O making H2O and leaving N2 H2 and 2 O`s.

what can I make from these? well I can make Another water molecule

leaving us with 2 N`s and one O

N2O is another compound (Nitrous Oxide)

so we have 2 water molecules and 1 Nitrous Oxide molecule

Oddly enough, that`s exatly what you get when you destroy Ammonim Nitrate when you heat it up

 

I often say with regards to chems "Lets Play", I don`t mean that as in who can drink a litre of Sulphuric acid the fastest, I mean "lets play" LEGO

I`m sure for some that totaly understand chem, this post is over simple, you already have your own Mindset to work these things out, but for those that don`t, try thinking of it this way to start with, `coz it`s just like playing with lego bricks

[VendingMenace]

yeah, YT, that is a fairly common approach to teaching why certain chemicals go together. cool

 

i also finally got around to looking at that Pauling general chem book, and i must say that it is quite thourough. If you actually whent through the darn thing you would have a good understanding of many things in chemistry. Things that are usually taught in freshmen chem, as well as some of hte things taught much later on.

 

However, the book does not have any fancy schmancy pictures and at time it moves pretty fast.

 

All and all, i think one could learn alot of chemistry from the book, but it would require quite a force of will to get through the thing as it is fairly dry and complex in some areas. So unless you are a superman, when it comes to your will, check out the atkins and jones book that i mentioned earlier, it is an easier read.

[YT2095]

yeah, it`s how I like to think of it

I`ll never forget the 1`st time I saw the Periodic table of elements, man that was such a cool day! I thought I`de found the "Holy Grail" I fell in love with it and practicaly memorised it (Nerdy I know), then spent the rest of my life to date actualy LEARNING it. I still discover new patterns and trends and especialy heplfull when your actualy familiar with these elements individualy (I guess you could say I know my lego bricks).

daft as it sounds, the same applies to electronics, the parts are just like the bricks only different rules and I enjoy that almost equaly as much

I think the key is MINDSET!

I wish I could do the same with Maths, most of these equasions makes me wanna run (as I`m sure it does with most of the population).

My Point.... its all about HOW you look at it

[wolfson]

I would start off by learning The Acid/Base raections with metals (group 1-2 of the Periodic table of elements), once that has begun to sick in then try Acid/Base reactions with tranisional metals (groups 3 period 1-3) by this time the P.T.E. should have started to understand the elemnets and why the do/don't react with Acids and Bases. Take Sodium + Hydrochloric acid = Sodium Chloride with by products of hydrogen. This gives of a "pop and fizz" reaction find out why.

[YT2095]

REDOX... the root of ALL chemistry

the number `8` is especialy significant too, the reason will become apparent later

[MolecularMan14]

Linus's book was called the nature of the chemical bond...I think...my dad has a few 1st edition copies, but I havnt had a chance to read them...I'll get to it...eventually

[budullewraagh]

aw man! that book is out of print now! i dont have one:(

[SurfSciGuy]

My advice is do maths as well - it's a big lie that you can do chemistry at college without maths. I'd just like to say that not all chemistry is synthesis, I'm a chemist and I do spectroscopy and atomic adsorption (of a kind). Things every chemist has to know are Thermodynamics and Kinetics (i.e. what makes reactions go) these subjects are usually taught as physical chemistry, but at the end of the day if you don't know why reactions go then you're a bit stuffed in whatever field of chemistry you choose. I'd heartily recommend any of Peter Atkins' books - they all cover topics that highlight underlying physical concepts in the chemical sciences and are important reading for all chemical scientists.

[MulderMan]

you cant learn a awful lot about chemistry out of a text book, you either need practical exp or someone to explian it in detail to you. Im 14 (just bout to start my gcse's) and i dont know how id cope without asking all my 'reasonable' questions to teachers. but sometimes it does feel like they hold me back with stuff I WANT to learn, but i just do that at home anyway. wolfson ive spent all year doing acid's and bases, sick of it but its fascinating. i dont know why they teach kids that alkalines are the 'opposite' of acids!