How different factors can affect how quickly a reaction happens is a common topic in the chemistry curriculum. This graphic serves as a convenient summary for teachers and students alike of what these different factors are, and how and why they affect the rate of a reaction. However, it’s not only of interest to those teaching or learning about chemistry; as we’ll see, knowledge of these factors can have some everyday applications too!
Most of the chemical symbols for elements in the periodic table make perfect sense; there are a small selection, however, that seem to bear no relation to their element’s name. After the periodic table of rejected element names a few days ago, questions about these elements came up, so here’s a look at their confusing symbols, along with the reasons behind them.
Extremium, catium, cyclonium and pandemonium: elements that you won’t find in the periodic table in classrooms and laboratories. However, they’re all names that have been suggested but rejected for elements in years gone by. This table takes a look at some of the different names that have been suggested or used in the past for various elements; below, we examine their origins, and the reasons for their rejection.
Drug testing was in the news on Friday – though this time it wasn’t the usual sports doping headlines, but instead news of the clinical trial of a drug gone tragically wrong in France. Of the 90 people given the drug in a phase 1 clinical trial, one has been left with permanent brain damage, and another five are still hospitalised. What is a phase 1 clinical trial? That’s what this graphic aims to explain, as well as outlining the whole drug discovery process.
If you take even the slightest interest in chemistry news, you’ll probably already have heard about the official confirmation of the discovery of four new elements, which even achieved widespread coverage in mainstream news outlets. IUPAC (the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry) sneaked out the news just before New Year’s Eve without much prior warning, and without a great deal of fanfare, though some had already predicted that an announcement of the sort was imminent. So what do we actually know about these new elements?
Diamonds might purportedly be ‘a girl’s best friend’, but they’re also quite interesting from a chemical perspective. You could be forgiven for thinking that there’s not a whole lot to them; after all, they’re simply one of the possible forms of carbon, formed at high pressure beneath the Earth’s surface. However, there are a number of factors that can affect their appearance, and several of these are rooted in chemistry.
