To explain how the world works, scientists occasionally have an idea that — upon further testing — turns out to be wrong. From rays that carry coldness instead of heat, to a neighboring star that causes regular mass extinctions on Earth,...

In this video Paul Andersen explains the importance of intermolecular forces in chemistry. Intermolecular forces exist between dipoles (like hydrogen bonds), between dipoles and induced dipoles (like Ar and HCl) and between induced...

At the heart of alchemy was the quest to turn ordinary metals into gold. Despite the hopelessness of that goal, alchemists still made a lot of discoveries that formed the foundation of modern chemistry and medicine.

Crash Course Chemistry Consultant, Dr. Heiko Langner talks to Hank about lab safety, geochemical research, and cleaning up super fund sites. Afterward, Jessi Knudsen from Animal Wonders joins them with Zapper, the Alexandrian Parakeet....

Everything is made of chemicals, including the human body, but there are some especially weird ones

In a neutralization reaction (or acid-base reaction) a proton is transferred from the Brinsted--Lowry acid to the Brinsted--Lowry base. Water is amphoteric and so it can serve as either an acid or a base in a neutralization reaction. ...

Hank takes us through the bowels of the human digestive system and explains why it's all about surface area.

When we venture to new places, we need navigational tools to guide us. In organic chemistry, those are reaction mechanisms! In this episode of Crash Course Organic Chemistry, we’ll learn all about how to write reaction mechanisms. Having...

It's a common misconception that stomach ulcers are caused by emotional upset, psychological distress, or spicy food. Yet no convincing study has ever demonstrated that these factors directly cause ulcer disease. So what does cause...

We have learned over the past few weeks that gases have real-life constraints on how they move here in the non-ideal world. As with most things in chemistry (and also in life) how a gas moves is more complex than it at first...

What do the smells of feet, armpits, vomit, and goats all have in common? (Besides being super gross…) Carboxylic acids! Despite being responsible for some of our least favorite odors, carboxylic acids are also super useful in organic...

In this video Paul Andersen describes the intermolecular forces associated with dipoles. A dipole is a molecule that has split charge. Dipole may form associations with other dipoles, induced dipoles or ions. An important type of...

Nearly 200 years ago, Alexis St. Martin was shot in the stomach. He was saved by local army doctor William Beaumont, but had to live out his remaining years with a gaping hole in the stomach -- allowing Beaumont to learn a lot...

We get it, learning so many different organic reactions is probably giving you a headache, but hopefully this episode can help! We’re getting even deeper into carboxylic acid derivatives, some of which are used in common headache...

In this video Paul Andersen explains how redox reactions are driven by the movement of electrons from the substance that is oxidized to the substance that is reduced. Oxidation is the loss of electrons and reduction is the gaining of...

Acids are widely considered to be the scariest chemical compounds of all, but bases can be just as powerful. Most powerful of all are a special class of pH scale-defying bases called superbases!

Last week, Hank talked about how stuff mixes together in solutions. Today, and for the next few weeks, he will talk about the actual reactions happening in those solutions - atoms reorganizing themselves to create whole new...

In this video Paul Andersen explains the important properties of solutions. A solution can be either a solid, liquid or gas but it must be homogeneous in nature. The solutes can not be separated with a filter and so either...

In this video Paul Andersen explains how acid-base chemistry can be understood in terms of equilibrium. Water is present in all acid-base chemistry and is amphoteric in nature. The Ka and Kb values can be used to determine the strength...

In this video Paul Andersen explains how covalent bonds form between atoms that are sharing electrons. Atoms that have the same electronegativity create nonpolar covalent bonds. The bond energy and bond length can be determined by...

Today's episode dives into the HOW of enthalpy. How we calculate it, and how we determine it experimentally...even if our determinations here at Crash Course Chemistry are somewhat shoddy.

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Paul Andersen explains pH as the power of hydrogen. He explains how increases in the hydronium ion (or hydrogen ion) concentration can lower the pH and create acids. He also explains how the reverse is true. An analysis of a strong...

We take a deep dive to understand how chemistry works at a fundamental level. All chemistry is about electrons. They are the primary drivers responsible for an atom’s behavior in chemical reactions, or more precisely the way...

DIY SCI host Steve Spangler demonstrates how you can dissolve an egg's shell to make a naked egg!