When molecules collide, chemical reactions can occur -- causing major structural changes akin to getting a new arm on your face! George Zaidan and Charles Morton playfully imagine chemical systems as busy city streets, and the colliding molecules within them as your average, limb-swapping joes.
Improve your understanding of molecular properties with this lesson on the fascinating property of chirality. Your hands are the secret to understanding the strange similarity between two molecules that look almost exactly alike, but are not perfect mirror images.
What do macaroni salad and gasoline have in common? They are made of exactly the same stuff -- specifically, the same atoms, just rearranged. So, while we put the former in our mouths and the latter in our cars, they are really just variations on the same atomic theme. Josh Kurz breaks macaroni salad down to its smallest chemical components.
To see more chemistry lessons, view our playlist Actions and Reactions.
Here are some good, detailed resources on atomic structure:
http://www.chemguide.co.uk/atoms/bonding/shapes.html
http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/chemistry/5-111-principles-of-chemical-science-fall-2008/video-lectures/lecture-13/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keHS-CASZfc
http://www.chemguide.co.uk/atoms/bonding/doublebonds.html

Next Section »