Structures of Fragrance Molecules
Let’s look at a more complicated example, (‐)‐citronellol (C10H20O), which has a fresh, floral and clean rose smell and is used in perfumes and insect repellents. From the skeletal structure …
Course: Exploring Everyday Chemistry
Shapes of Organic Compounds
Organic compounds are 3‐dimensional and their shapes depend on the preferred spatial arrangement of the covalent bonds. The shapes of organic compounds are best viewed with the aid of molecular …
Health Risks of Perfumed Chemicals
Extensive use of air-fresheners and body sprays, mixed with the decreased airflow of increasingly insulated homes, and the closing of windows in colder months, results in a heavily fragranced atmosphere. …
The Prevalence of Organic Compounds
There are so many organic compounds because carbon likes to form bonds to lots of elements. It has four outer electrons, which it likes to share. For example, in methane …
Introduction to the course
Welcome to the course! During each week of the course, we will use real-life examples to show you how an understanding of the structure and shape of organic compounds can …
Fun Chemistry Experiment: How to Make a Natural Plastic
We are going to make a natural plastic using proteins. Casein is a mixture of proteins found in cow’s milk which can be extracted through the following method and then …
Understanding the Role of Polymers in Sports Drinks
The global sports nutrition industry is estimated to grow to a net worth of around $81.5 billion by 2023. Aggressive marketing, changing consumer preferences and the increase in social media …
Chemistry Activity: Modelling Polymers with Paperclips
Chemists often build molecular models using plastic rods and balls to represent different atoms and their bonding. It can often be easier to visualise the symmetry, shape and potential bonding …
Chemistry in sport including stadiums
Welcome back to the course and our fourth and final week of study, which explores chemistry in sport! Modern construction materials have transformed the design and performance of sports venues, …
Chemistry of Coffee: Understanding Decaffeination Processes
Caffeine is a compound that is known worldwide due to its presence in many, widely consumed, foods and drinks; it has many natural sources, including coffee beans, cocoa beans and …
Chemistry in Food: Understanding Antioxidants
Antioxidants are very important in maintaining the health of the human body. They play a vital role in stopping, or reducing, the oxidation of other biomolecules. What is oxidation? Oxidation …
Tools of the trade: a further look into free radicals
The mechanism of the reaction between phenol and a H–O• radical is shown below. For the abstraction of the hydrogen atom (in pink) by the hydroxyl radical (in green), the …
Tea and taste
Tea chemistry is complicated. Harvested from the bushy Camellia sinensis plant, tea leaves are mostly comprised of water. When plucked, the leaves begin to lose water and wilt, which is …
The Chemistry of Beer: Maintaining Flavour Stability
Trying to maintain the flavour stability of beer begins before the bottles even leave the brewery. Due to the presence of hop-bitter compounds, ethanol and acidic compounds (such as propanoic …
The Stages of Brewing Beer
Beer is a fermented aqueous drink that is made from four main ingredients: water, hop, yeast and barley malt. Barley malt is sometimes partly made from rice, corn or wheat, …
