Sciencemadness Discussion Board

How do you get started?

llOPPOTATOll - 6-2-2017 at 13:00

I am not taking chemistry in school however I am interested in chemistry, how would i learn chemistry chemistry for dummies?

Whould a IKA cmag hs7 be a good hotplate

aga - 6-2-2017 at 14:23

Welcome to the forum !

To get started in Chemistry you need to Get Started in Chemistry.

Forget hotplates for now, just go grab some vinegar and sodium bicarbonate, add the bicarbonate a little at a time and then come and tell us what happened.

Better still, research the reaction and tell us what Chemistry happened, and what the products were.

Texium - 6-2-2017 at 14:45

aga's sarcasm aside, the point here is that if you don't tell us what your interests are in greater detail, what you already know, and what you're hoping to get out of the hobby, we won't be able to help you much. There's a wide range of areas in chemistry that are accessible to amateurs.

If you're a complete beginner, I'd recommend getting started with some simple inorganic chemistry experiments like those you would do in a high school or first year college general chemistry lab. I would recommend getting both a used general chemistry textbook to learn some rudimentary theory, and a lab manual or two to familiarize yourself with lab techniques and some simple experiments with clear instructions. Robert Bruce Thompson's guide to amateur chemistry experiments is also a great place to start.

I understand it can be rather overwhelming when you're just getting started. If you have more questions, feel free to ask away here.

aga - 6-2-2017 at 14:57

There was no sarcasm, stated, implied nor intended !

zts16's advice is still very good - Research, Read lots, then Try.

Ask lots of questions if you have ANY doubts at all.

Alternatively, try one of the chemical reactions that zts suggested.
(this last part is 100% sarcasm) ;)

j_sum1 - 6-2-2017 at 15:16

A good doorway in is to become an OTC junkie. When you visit your supermarket or hardware store, begin reading labels on stuff and find out what you can get over the counter. Then ask some questions and do some research related to what you might be able to do with those items.

That way you can develop your interest and skills with minimal expense and minimal equipment. You also begin to build up a store of useful reagents. Then when your interest propels you in a particular direction you can pursue that.

Some projects that I think are good for beginners are:
natural acid-base indicators
disassembly of batteries and isolation of useful elements/compounds
crystal growing
electrolysis
copper chemistry (there are some great resources available on this. Look up the copper carnival on this site.)
some simple extractions -- acetyl salicylic acid, paracetemol, extractions from plants, steam distillations
begin an element collection

But a whole lot depends on what your interests are. I always find it curious when someone expresses an interest in chemistry but does not really state what in particular they are interested in.

Chemetix - 7-2-2017 at 03:51

Passion and creativity will get you a whole lot further than a chemistry manual; personal bias here, but when you want to achieve something you'll find a way. A whole lot of learning comes along for the ride when you tackle something big and are determined.

Melgar - 7-2-2017 at 10:29

Dissolving metals to form their salts, then using them as catalysts, or electroplating them onto other things, or just growing crystals with them can be pretty cool. For a while, I had beakers of nickel, copper, carbon steel (iron), zinc, silver, and gold-plated silicon wafers leaching in various acids to give their corresponding salts. Even now, I just learned that old French 1-franc coins are pure nickel, and have one on my radiator in a bright green acid solution. I also have some stainless steel dissolving, that's a mixture of iron, nickel, and probably chromium, which I'd like to attempt to separate the metals from.

WGTR - 7-2-2017 at 10:53

I started out on the kitchen counter, with a small roll of wire, some batteries, and some baking soda. Probably like most kids, I was fascinated with how one could make a flammable gas out of water, and started with electrolysis. I lit off countless glasses full of home-made hydrogen. When I was much older, I became interested in chemistry as a means to an end, since I wanted to electroplate some things myself to save money (the saving money thing never seems to work, BTW). After that the hobby took on a life of its own.

Amos - 7-2-2017 at 10:55

Read. Read everything. Read this forum, read wikipedia articles about chemical compounds and reactions and follow links in the articles; etc. Read labels on household products.

When you've got some ideas about what you want to make or what goal you want to accomplish, set about doing so by acquiring the proper apparatus and reagents. Feel free to ask the forum for help but always use the search engine first, because you're most likely not the first of us to try making a particular compound.

There are multiple lists for where to buy reagents over the counter, though they often focus on what you can find in the U.S.; here's one:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_commonly_available_che...

YouTube channels you should take a look at are Chem Player, Doug's Lab, Nile Red, UC235, and NurdRage, among many others

Always buy more than you need of a given reagent. You're bound to find more uses for it later. It's often good to prepare reagents that you need in larger amounts, too, as long as you're confident with the synthesis.

Keep a notebook. Your memory and your notes are great assets when it comes to thinking on your feet and recognizing the many patterns and nuances in chemistry that you might not learn from a textbook.

PirateDocBrown - 7-2-2017 at 14:52

The pre-chemistry knowledge:

A good understanding of algebra, including solving practical equations.
The metric system
The structure and composition of the atom.
Energy, heat, kinetic energy of molecules, pressure, electricity

Chemical principles:

The ordering of the periodic table, and the implications of its structure. simple quantum mechanics
Chemical bonding
phase changes
application of math in stoichiometry
equilibrium
reduction and oxidation
octet rule, behavior of lone pairs
organic functional groups, at least what they are
acid-base, Bronsted vs Lewis
ligands, hydrogen bonds

practical stuff:

lab safety
measurement, temperature, weight, volume
addition and decantation
heating methods
filtration
reflux
distillation - simple, fractional, steam, vacuum
extraction and washing
crystallization
solvent selection and use
thin film chromatography
chromatographic separation


[Edited on 2/7/17 by PirateDocBrown]

chemplayer... - 8-2-2017 at 02:59

Challenge yourself to find OTC sodium hydroxide (drain un-blocker crystals), DCCA/TCCA (bleach tablets or pool tablets), dilute hydrochloric acid (stone cleaner or 'muriatic acid'), an ammonium salt (from batteries or perhaps from some fertilisers, e.g. ammonium sulfate), sodium bicarbonate (bicarbonate of soda), and aluminium foil.

Start with a test tube or small beaker and do a set of experiments where you mix together a small quantity of every permutation of 2 of the above. Add a little water to dissolve solids if you need. Remember to take care and use gloves and goggles just in case! Monitor if there is any colour change, any obvious reaction, any gas produced (smell cautiously), any temperature change, or any other observation. 14 experiments in total.

Then start to ask why? Look up everything and research what's going on. If something didn't happen, then ask why as well.

If you are still interested and feel excited after that, then start learning about stoichiometry, atoms, molecules, electrons, and everything else above...

Sulaiman - 8-2-2017 at 04:39

I suggest

1) get some comfortable eye protection and use it EVERY time you do chemistry

2) get a used chemistry set via eBay,
look for 'unused present' condition, especially around this time of year.
(e.g. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Merit-Chemistry-Set-No-1A-1960s-70... )

by the time you finish playing with the chemistry set you will have probably,
learned a lot, have some quite useful equipment and chemicals, and have more questions than answers ... welcome :)

P.S. for the spirit lamp you will need to make a visit to a hardware store,
make it one that also sells drain unblockers (sulfuric acid or sodium hydroxide), brick/concrete cleaner (muriatic/hydrochloric acid) for now I suggest that you avoid chlorine bleach, but 'oxy' bleach powder ........ ........
so do a little research before you go shopping, OTC sourcing of chemical reagents is almost 'fun'
Do not buy corrosive/toxic/flammable materials before you have prepared a place to store them.

one good starting 'reagent' is distilled water, buy, or distill your own (not quite as simple as it sounds),
I believe that de-ionised water is also suitable for most needs.
Most experiments can be done with tap water, but a few are sensitive to contaminants such as metal and halide ions.

[Edited on 8-2-2017 by Sulaiman]

llOPPOTATOll - 8-2-2017 at 16:11

ok thx guys i have sole earlenmyer flasks and beakers and testtubes gloves ect another thing i would like to know is wast disposel some people say put it in the drain some say get waste management?


Texium - 8-2-2017 at 16:32

Depends on what you're disposing of. Heavy metals and persistent organic toxins shouldn't be poured down the drain. Collect these in waste containers. Volatile organic solvents generally shouldn't be dumped down the drain either but they can be evaporated easily.

JJay - 8-2-2017 at 16:42

I like to neutralize things and dispose of them in the trash or down the drain normally, but for things that can't be disposed of that way, you can take them directly to your local landfill and explain what they are. They have designated areas for various types of waste.

If you're trying to dispose of something that the local sanitation department won't take, most areas have environmental remediation / recycling companies that can dispose of anything for a fee and will even pay you for some types of waste.

llOPPOTATOll - 8-2-2017 at 17:36

I just did the backing soda and vinegar, but i did a twist the vinegar and baking soda bubbled up.The twist was that i filled a test tube with water and placed it over a bowl vertical and captured the gas than i threw a match in the test tube and the match went out. I also observed that the test tube got colder.

[Edited on 9-2-2017 by llOPPOTATOll]

JJay - 8-2-2017 at 17:40

You can actually pour that down the drain, but it's a good candidate for taking to the landfill to get acquainted with the process and to get them accustomed to the idea that they are going to be disposing of stuff for a local chemist. That way, things will be a lot less awkward when you have to dispose of a container of aluminum oxide tainted with mercury and random organic substances.

MrHomeScientist - 9-2-2017 at 13:49

Good first experiment, llOPPOTATOll ! You made some excellent observations. If you haven't already, try and find the equation for the reaction you did. You can use that to calculate exactly how much of each chemical you need to add to get a complete reaction; it's called stoichiometry. Get familiar with it - I use it every day in the lab!
Also for that equation, take a look at what the products are. Then you can research how dangerous what you produced is, and from there decide how to dispose of it. In this case, the products are totally benign and can be poured down the drain (I actually use that reaction to clean my pipes!).

It's great you're thinking about proper disposal; I feel like many people don't. A general rule of thumb I use is to convert any waste into an insoluble form; those are usually less toxic since they can't get into your body as easily. For example: I have a beaker of copper sulfate solution to get rid of. I can't pour that down the drain because it's very toxic to fish. So instead I add baking soda to precipitate (basic) copper carbonate, an insoluble green powder. This can be thrown away, or saved as a convenient source of copper for other reactions. When your trash gets incinerated, the copper carbonate converts to black copper oxide, which is found in nature as the mineral tenorite.

Of course this doesn't always apply. Heavy metals like mercury, lead, and vanadium are dangerous enough that they should be taken to a waste disposal site no matter what compound they end up in. Again, you'll need to research on a case-by-case basis. I take my waste to the local landfill, and while they look at me a little strangely they still accept it.

Rhodanide - 10-2-2017 at 07:58

Quote: Originally posted by llOPPOTATOll  
I just did the backing soda and vinegar, but i did a twist the vinegar and baking soda bubbled up.The twist was that i filled a test tube with water and placed it over a bowl vertical and captured the gas than i threw a match in the test tube and the match went out. I also observed that the test tube got colder.

[Edited on 9-2-2017 by llOPPOTATOll]


Nice work, friend!
Like most things, getting proficient at chem takes time and dedication.
Do easy, safe and appropriate experiments at first like I did (This is half true, my first "experiment" was making Napalm [PS-Petrol] :P)
and then you can work your way up to doing more advanced experiments which you find interesting. I recommend the book that zts mentioned, it's an excellent place to start learning! If you do choose to do any experiment, make sure to use the appropriate safely precautions, at least!
Good luck on whatever you choose to do, and feel free to ask any more questions on this forum. It's what we're here for!

Melgar - 11-2-2017 at 15:50

For disposing of most aqueous (water-based) waste that I know doesn't have anything too toxic in it, but I still wouldn't want to pour it down the drain, I used to put it in an old bleach bottle. Then when the bottle was about two-thirds full, I'd add cement to fill it the rest of the way, mix it up, and throw it out with the regular trash. Most really bad-smelling chemicals are acidic, unless they're amines or ammonia, and concrete is basic.

As far as chemicals that you might expect to be safe but are not, it's good to know what chemicals are important NOT to mix. Chlorine bleach and ammonia is the most well-known combination to avoid; acetone and hydrogen peroxide is another one. Even though some people put chlorine bleach on everything, because it works so well at killing germs, it effectively kills almost anything else too. And if you mix it with acid, you'll soon have a cloud of chlorine gas to deal with, which is no fun, believe me.

JJay - 11-2-2017 at 16:13

Oh yeah, be careful with mixing acid and TCCA. I did that following some procedure I found online a while back without slow addition or anything, and eliminating the gas cloud caused by the subsequent runaway really wasn't an entire barrel of monkeys. I was doing this in a test tube, so it didn't cause any significant problems.

NEMO-Chemistry - 13-2-2017 at 17:27

Not the best site, but wide age and experience range. http://www.bbc.co.uk/search?q=chemistry&filter=bitesize

Used alot in UK Schools.

I love this site, it can take ages to find what your after though, good tip is also mooch through the teacher material, they tend to have alot more notes on experiments. Obviously the this site has some cred. http://www.rsc.org/Learn-Chemistry

Bookwise............ebay is a good place, look for monster books seller. Some chem books are 1p each and 33 postage, but they allow you to pick up! wish i lived near them :D.

Ammonium Chloride is an interesting chemical and good for endothermic reactions. Use small scale to start with, things like Chlorine etc are manageable if you stick to test tube amounts.

Archenemy_6 - 13-2-2017 at 17:53

I am just getting started myself and purchased a steam distillation kit just to get a few glassware items and I've been watching these Khan academy videos on YouTube over chemistry. I remember some things from high school but in the past week I've been learning a lot going through the basics. Once I'm done with that I'll probably go to something more organic chemistry related.
Also when looking for products OTC I usually try and Google the MSDS if it doesn't have what you're looking for on the label