Home  >  Science Education  >  Chemistry

Category: Chemistry

November 22, 2016

Excel spreadsheet for calculating molar masses and percent composition

Over a decade ago I made a Quatro-Pro  spreadsheet to make quick calculations from masses on the periodic table. Well, now Excel rules the roost, so I created a similar version  using Excel. The fundamental element of the spreadsheet is that the cell with each mass is given a name that is the symbol for the element. So, for example,...
Categories Chemistry/Computers and the web/Science Education Comments: 2
July 31, 2015

How close are you? The “Why” behind Percent Error

There’s an old saying, “Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.” People would say this in response to someone saying “Well, I was close.” So, why does close count in horseshoes and hand grenades, and why is this the introduction to a science paper? Horseshoes: If you’ve never played before (I bet most of you haven’t), the goal is...
Categories Chemistry/Math education/Modeling/Physics/Science Education Comments: 0
March 27, 2014

If a nucleus is full of positively charged protons, why doesn’t it fly apart?

In my physical science class this week, I realized the textbook was introducing the structure of the atom and positive and negative charges, but not answering addressing the clear question that follows the presented information is “what the heck keeps all those protons together in the nucleus?” The book does get around to the nuclear forces, but not until many...
Categories Chemistry/Physics/Science Education Comments: 0