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Chemistry

76 lessons across 7 eras, from 300 BC to today. Tap any question to read its lesson.

  1. 300 BC – AD 1700

    Era 1: Alchemy and the first separations

    1. Distillation in AlexandriaHow is one liquid separated from another?Completed
    2. Chinese alchemy and the elixir of lifeWhat was found while seeking immortality?Completed
    3. The discovery of gunpowderWhy does a mixture explode?Completed
    4. Jabir ibn Hayyan and the laboratoryCan an experiment be described to someone else?Completed
    5. Al-Razi classifies substancesHow many kinds of substance are there?Completed
    6. The search for the philosopher's stoneCan lead be turned into gold?Completed
    7. Agricola and miningHow do you get metal out of rock?Completed
    8. The chemistry of glassHow does sand become transparent?Completed
    9. Paracelsus and the doseWhat makes a poison a medicine?Completed
    10. Brand and the discovery of phosphorusWhere did the substance that glows in the dark come from?Completed
    11. Boyle defines the elementWhat does "element" mean?Completed
  2. 1750 – 1820

    Era 2: The quantitative revolution

    1. Black and "fixed air"Are there different kinds of air?Completed
    2. Cavendish and inflammable airIs water an element?Completed
    3. Priestley, Scheele and oxygenWhich gas makes burning possible?Completed
    4. Lavoisier overturns phlogistonDoes a burning thing get heavier or lighter?Completed
    5. Conservation of massDoes matter ever disappear?Completed
    6. Lavoisier gives chemistry its namesHow should substances be named?Completed
    7. Proust and definite proportionsIs a compound always the same?Completed
    8. Dalton's atomic theoryWhy do they always combine in the same proportions?Completed
    9. Gay-Lussac and gas volumesWhy do gases combine in whole-number ratios?Completed
    10. Boyle, Charles and the gas lawsWhat happens when you squeeze a gas?Completed
    11. Avogadro and moleculesHow many particles are in the same volume?Completed
    12. Berzelius and the symbols of the elementsHow did chemistry build its own alphabet?Completed
  3. 1800 – 1915

    Era 3: Periodic order

    1. Davy splits elements with electricityCan electricity break matter apart?Completed
    2. Daguerre and the chemistry of photographyHow is light recorded on a surface?Completed
    3. Döbereiner's triads and Newlands' octavesDo the elements repeat?Completed
    4. Mendeleev and the empty boxesCan an undiscovered element be described?Completed
    5. Gallium confirms the predictionHow does a prediction become proof?Completed
    6. Bunsen, Kirchhoff and the flame testDoes colour give an element away?Completed
    7. Ramsay and the noble gasesCould the table be missing a column?Completed
    8. Nobel and dynamiteCan an explosive be tamed?Completed
    9. Bessemer and steelHow did iron become steel?Completed
    10. Tsvet and chromatographyHow is a mixture separated into its parts?Completed
    11. The Curies and radioactivityWhy do some substances give off radiation on their own?Completed
    12. Moseley and atomic numberWhat is the table's true order?Completed
  4. 1850 – 1950

    Era 4: Reaction and equilibrium

    1. Arrhenius and ionsWhat does salt turn into in water?Completed
    2. Theories of acids and basesWhat exactly is an acid?Completed
    3. Sørensen and pHHow is acidity turned into a number?Completed
    4. Van 't Hoff and osmosisWhy does water pass through a membrane on its own?Completed
    5. Le Chatelier and equilibriumCan a reaction go backwards?Completed
    6. Gibbs and free energyWhy does a reaction happen on its own?Completed
    7. Nernst and electrochemistryWhy does a battery produce a voltage?Completed
    8. Reaction rate and activation energyWhy do some reactions wait for a spark?Completed
    9. Catalysis and surfacesHow does a substance speed up a reaction?Completed
    10. Haber–Bosch and ammoniaCan fertiliser be made from air?Completed
    11. Combustion and fuelsHow do we pull energy out of a bond?Completed
  5. 1897 – 1960

    Era 5: Inside the atom and the bond

    1. Thomson and the electronCan the atom be divided?Completed
    2. Lewis and the electron pairWhy don't atoms let go of each other?Completed
    3. The ionic–covalent distinctionWhy does salt dissolve in water?Completed
    4. Pauling and electronegativityHow unequal can a bond be?Completed
    5. VSEPR and the shape of a moleculeWhy isn't a molecule flat?Completed
    6. The hydrogen bond and the oddities of waterWhy doesn't ice sink in water?Completed
    7. Bragg and X-ray crystallographyCan we see where the atoms are?Completed
    8. Metallic bonding and alloysWhy is metal both a conductor and malleable?Completed
    9. Seaborg and synthetic elementsCan elements be added to the end of the table?Completed
    10. Libby and radiocarbon datingHow old is a bone?Completed
  6. 1828 – present

    Era 6: Building the molecule

    1. Wöhler and the synthesis of ureaCan the stuff of living things be made in a lab?Completed
    2. Kekulé and the benzene ringHow are six carbons arranged?Completed
    3. Isomers and the oddity of carbonCan the same atoms make different substances?Completed
    4. Pasteur and the handedness of crystalsCan two molecules be mirror images?Completed
    5. Perkin and the first synthetic dyeCan colour be made in a factory?Completed
    6. Ehrlich and the magic bulletCan a drug choose its target?Completed
    7. The birth of aspirinHow does a plant become a pill?Completed
    8. Bakelite and the first plasticCan we make a material that doesn't exist in nature?Completed
    9. Nylon and polymer chainsHow is a long molecule knitted together?Completed
    10. Ziegler–Natta and the ordered polymerHow is a chain knitted neatly?Completed
    11. Sanger reads the proteinCan a molecule's letters be read?Completed
    12. The buckyball and grapheneHow many different shapes can carbon take?Completed
  7. 1950 – present

    Era 7: Chemistry and the planet

    1. Molina, Rowland and the ozone holeCan a spray can punch a hole in the sky?Completed
    2. The Keeling curve and greenhouse gasesHow is the carbon in the air measured?Completed
    3. The nitrogen cycle and the Green RevolutionHow many people can the Earth feed?Completed
    4. Goodenough and the lithium-ion batteryHow is energy carried?Completed
    5. The chemistry of water treatmentHow does dirty water become drinkable?Completed
    6. Green chemistry and atom economyCan a reaction be done with less waste?Completed
    7. Plastics and the chemistry of recyclingCan a polymer be taken apart again?Completed
    8. Carbon captureCan CO₂ be taken back out of the air?Completed