Physical Science

The periodic table, developed initially by Mendeleev in 1869, organizes elements into a remarkably valuable framework to classify and organize many types of chemical behavior. Generally speaking, elements in vertical columns have similar chemical properties.  The table has found wide…
Read more

What do these two things have in common – the amazing ability of the gecko to stay attached to a window with only one toe and the ability of a spider to stay on the ceiling?  Give up?  Well, the…
Read more

Osmosis takes place by the diffusion of water molecules through a plasma membrane. The membrane controls the flow of objects moving through it, and most polar molecules such as sugars and proteins cannot move through the plasma membrane, even though…
Read more

Calcination began as the earth was formed from the nebulous gasses of the Milky Way. The molten core of the Earth was so hot that volcanoes erupted constantly and the Earth had no atmosphere. Thus, no life was possible. Eventually…
Read more

An important part of chemistry today is understanding the kinetics and reactions of gases. Over the past several hundred years, chemistry with gases has been studied extensively, and from this research, several laws have been developed. One of the more…
Read more

For thousands of years some of the greatest minds in history have attempted to classify all of the known substances in existence. Although many great thinkers had attempted this feat no one was able to come up with a satisfactory…
Read more

A solution such as salt water is a uniform mixture of one or more solutes (e.g., salt) in a solvent (water).  For this article we will assume the solvent is a liquid, but there are solid solutions as well.  The…
Read more

What could be more exciting that the finale of a fireworks display?  The endless bursts of color, the detonations, the feeling that the fireworks are going to envelop you – well, it just doesn’t get much better than the combination…
Read more

The title, “Understanding the Law of Conservation of Mass,” sounds very scientific and complex.  However, in reality, it’s really very simple.  The law of conservation of mass just says this, “Mass is neither created nor destroyed in any ordinary chemical…
Read more

Chemistry is an old science!  Born out of the alchemist’s lab, it has come to represent the study of interactions between matter and energy.  The sister science to physics, chemistry focuses more on the properties of substances and their atomic…
Read more