Student Guide to Writing a Chemistry Essay

Everything around us consists of specific materials and substances. Even people consist of particular substances that originate, evolve, and disappear in the eternal cycle of life. The science dealing with these transformations and examining the composition of everything in the world is chemistry.

That’s why chemistry is one of the fundamental sciences that enjoys unending popularity among thousands of enthusiastic students. Some of them want to work in the medical sphere, creating new medications and saving humanity from chronic illnesses. Others want to develop new cosmetics to help women preserve their beauty and vitality. The food industry, automotive industry, aerospace companies – nobody can do without chemistry. Thus, learners studying this subject need to master many rules, formulas, and chemical processes to give value through their knowledge and skills.

Obviously, Chemistry is not everyone’s cup of tea. By looking at Human Resources school essay examples, for instance, you might get a false impression that writing an essay is simple and manageable. Still, Chemistry is an exact science that doesn’t stand guesswork and creativity. Thus, you should keep specific rules, theories, and formulas in mind when writing it.

If you feel confused and unsure about how your Chemistry assignment should be written, it’s not wise to submit a mediocre or off-topic paper to your professor. Your grades are too important to leave them to chance and risk your GPA.

So, you can always get in touch with an experienced Chemistry writer to get a top-notch assignment completed in hours. We have a large team of such experts on standby 24/7, ready to give a helping hand to all students seeking academic support from pros.

Chemistry Essay Format

Overall, the Chemistry format doesn’t differ that much from that of essays on any other subject. The critical point you need to remember is that exact sciences differ from the humanities. Thus, you cannot take a Human Resources school essay or Human Resources management essay and use them as templates for writing about Chemistry.

This subject has its specific requirements, while the structure is still pretty universal. Every essay should include the following parts.

An Introduction

This part of an essay traditionally explains the overall context of the research and gives the readers an initial idea of what the student wants to examine. It poses the research question or challenges the readers with a specific research problem, thus focusing their attention on the pursuit of solutions.

A Body

The body of a chemistry paper should introduce the readers to all relevant terminology and provide solid argumentation from the author’s standpoint. It should dedicate one paragraph to one argument, thus giving a clear, logical flow to enhance the readers’ comprehension.

A Conclusion

The final section of a Chemistry paper should be dedicated to a brief summary of the content and a broader inference to the study’s significance for the broader chemistry area.

Thus, by following this format, you can quickly complete any Chemistry work the way your professor wants it to be done.

Write Chemistry Essay in 5 Steps

Creating any assignment should follow a set of specific steps, so we recap each of them to give you a solid basis for your essay’s creation.

#1 Topic Choice

Once you get an assignment on Chemistry, the first step is choosing a topic that relates to your current course materials and at the same time represents interest to you. Otherwise, you may find the writing process too dull and time-consuming.

#2 Research

Now it’s time to study what people say on your topic and how they approach your subject. It’s much easier to build an argument with a couple of reliable, reputable sources at hand.

#3 Outlining

Create a roadmap for your writing process; in this way, you won’t waste time on additional checks of the prompt, having clear guidance in front of your eyes.

#4 Writing

This part of your Chemistry homework won’t take too much time if you complete all the previous steps correctly. Please focus on the structure we’ve discussed above, and your paper will evolve hassle-free.

#5 Editing

Now it’s time to revisit the essay and look at the parts requiring improvement. Polish it in terms of grammar, style, and syntax, and your professor will surely give you a high grade.

Chemistry Topics

Topic selection is one of the critical bottlenecks that students face at the very beginning of their work on home tasks. The academic area is so broad and diverse that one can hardly narrow down the scope of research and focus on something specific. But we have a great set of Chemistry topics fitting any occasion. Feel free to choose from this list, and you’re sure to get a high grade for the paper you’ll prepare.

1. The chemical causes of food allergy.
2. The impact of pheromones on human beings.
3. The role of plastic packaging in the global warming processes.
4. The chemical composition of acid rains.
5. What causes human teeth to decay?
6. The difference in composition of branded drugs versus generic drugs.
7. The hidden mechanisms of avitaminosis.
8. The chemical basis of mood alteration in the human brain.
9. The legacy of women in chemistry studies and discoveries.
10. The composition of atoms.
11. The role of catalysts in chemical reactions.
12. How did humans perceive the composition of things before the advent of chemistry as a science?
13. Skills and knowledge required from a professional chemist.
14. The principles and processes behind radioactive decay.
15. The mechanism of photosynthesis.
16. Organic waste processing methods.
17. How can a layperson create a safe smoke bomb?
18. The chemical basis of burning fire.
19. How are the consumed nutrients reflected in the person’s hair composition?
20. Chemical compounds of drugs.
21. Chemical compounds causing the intoxicating effect of alcohol.
22. How does the soap create foam?
23. What are the chemical principles behind the conductivity of materials?
24. The principle of spectroscopy.
25. The contribution of nanoscience to advancements in chemistry.

How to Start a Chemistry Essay

Starting a Chemistry assignment is always a challenge, especially if you’re new to the topic or have some doubts about the content it should include. Unlike a Human Resources plan essay, it should be based on a specific chemical topic and feature some predetermined chemical reactions or properties of the examined substances. Thus, it’s impossible to treat this task light-heartedly, focusing on cold hard facts and formulas instead of subjective thoughts and ideas.

Our tips for Chemistry students are as follows:

• Try to find argumentative Chemistry topics so that the content may be composed with your individual tone and style, reflecting your personality.
• Research the subject extensively to find reliable evidence and avoid confusing the readers and the professor.
• Check more than one Chemistry example online to see how other students have approached this subject before you. They have already passed this test, so their takeaways – both right and wrong things – can serve as valuable educational material for you.

Once you follow these tips, Chemistry writing shouldn’t be much of a challenge to you. But anyway, if you experience issues with essay writing, Human Resources or Chemistry (or any other subject), you can get prompt and professional assistance from our experts.

Don’t hesitate to contact them in case of any academic trouble, and they will do an exemplary job researching, writing, and editing your assignments on any subject.

Example #1: Nickel manufacture, recycle and its Environmental Impacts

Article 1

Nickel occurs naturally as oxides, silicates and sulphides. It is strong, lustrous and silvery white in color. Nickel sulfide processing is mainly used for treating nickel ores which involves concentration, smelting and refining (Environment Australia, 1999). First, Nickel from sulphide ore is separated using froth flotation and magnetic process. The product obtained is further processed using sherritـGordon process. The sulphide ore can also be treated with hydrogen where they are volatized in the kiln. It is then reacted with carbon monoxide at a temperature of about 60° C forming Nickel Carbonyl gas which decomposes on the surface of the Nickel pellet until they reach the desired size (Gold ore crusher, n.d.).
Approximately four tonnes of nickel scraps are collected yearly and recycled. The scrap is stainless steel scrap from machinery, equipment and consumer goods. Most of the recycled Nickel is in the form of steel scrap, batteries, bronzes, chemical leachates, liquor, dust, catalyst and coinage. These scraps are separated from other parts, for example, assembled nickel which is then processed to materials of similar composition, therefore, used as new products.
Nickel is released into the environment by waste incinerator and power plants. It can also penetrate into the surface water as part of waste water. When nickel compounds are released in the environment they are adsorbed to sediments thus becoming immobile. In acidic soil nickel is more mobile, therefore, it rinse out the ground water. High concentration of nickel in sandy soil damages plants and diminishes the growth rate of algae on surface water. It can also cause cancer in animal when it exceeds the set standard concentration. Therefore, there is need to regulate nickel uses, according to its physical and chemical characteristics. There should be regulations in order to protect workers and other members of the public on the possible effect on their health. Moreover, the environment should be protected by the introduction of the emission levels (Environment Australia, 1999).

Article 2

What i learnt is Nickel has become very important recently, due to increasing industrial and commercial importance. Moreover, due to its excellent properties including strength at higher temperatures, ductility and corrosion resistance, it is used as a raw material to make products. This information was very important because I learned that nickel can be reused again, therefore, I should always preserve the old batteries and other nickel containing scraps for recycling. However, Nickel may cause environmental effect including health and safety effects. Therefore, I should take precautions when handling nickel product due to its toxicity.
The problem encountered while working in a group was that there was argument about how the task would be performed. It took a lot of time to decide on how to perform the task. There were different ideas whether the members should perform the assignment together or individually. When we finally formalised the meeting, each member was assigned a task to perform.
Hine (2000) suggests that sharing discussion helps in transforming how a person reflects. Group work helped us to have broader ideas since tasks were shared and also good leadership leads to excellent results. Being in team work facilitated learning and enhanced my understanding on the topic. In addition team work experience helped me to understand my strengths and weakness in a team.

Reference List

Environment Australia, 1999, Emission estimation technique manual for nickel concentrating, smelting, and refining: National Pollutant Inventory, 65 p. http://www.npi.gov.au/handbooks/approved_handbooks/pubs/fnickel. (Accessed May 20, 2014.)
Hine, A. (2000). Mirroring effective education though mentoring, metacognition and self reflection. Paper presented to Australian Association for Research in Education Conference, Sydney. http://www.aare.edu.au/00pap/hin00017.html. (Retrieved May 21, 2014)
How is nickel ore processed in Perth, Australia. (n.d.). – Gold Ore Crusher. http://www.goldorecrusher.com/mining-knowledge/how-is-nickel-ore-processed-in-perth-australia. (Retrieved May 21, 2014.)

Example #2: Microwave Organic Synthesis

Name:
Institution:
Microwave Organic Synthesis
Abstract

For the past few decades, Electromagnetic microwave radiation has been widely used to provide heat for the synthesis of organics. The technology uses two main basic mechanisms; conduction and dipolar polarization. The technique provides a simple, fast, efficient and the most economical way of synthesizing organic molecules, which has seen chemists shift from the traditional heating methods. This article focuses on the generation of a microwave, as well as its importance in organic synthesis.

Introduction

A microwave is a form of electromagnetic energy. The use of microwave assisted organic synthesis technique has made the building of small molecules fast, making it a valuable tool that accelerates the discovery and development of drugs. Unlike other forms of radiation such as gamma and X-rays, microwave energy does not alter the compound’s molecular structure because of its non-ionizing thermal activation. The heating effect is as a result of dielectric polarization of the molecules. When the molecules are irradiated with microwaves, they get aligned with the applied electric field. The electric field keeps on changing rapidly, forcing the particles to realign constantly with the changing field, and in the process, energy is absorbed. The dielectric constant determines the ability of a compound to convert the microwave energy into heat energy. The higher the dielectric constant, the rapid the heating process (E.Karthikeyan, 2011).

Microwave Heating

Microwave heating uses the electromagnetic transformation ability of some solids and liquids that transform the radiation into heat that drives the chemical reactions. This technique is important for reactions that are not suitable for the conventional heating.
Advantages of Microwave heating over the traditional heating:

• Increased speed
• High efficiency
• Reduced side reactions
• High purity in the final product
• Improved reproducibility
• Reduced heat loss to the environment
• Reduced wastage of the reaction vessel
• Economical
• Green Technologies

Solvents that are used in chemical synthesis are environmentally unfriendly when they are disposed. The microwave irradiation technology has overcome this problem since the technique enables performing of reactions without the use of solvents. In conjunction with mineral-supported catalyzed reactions, the microwave irradiation has provided a clean chemical process with several advantages.

Dry media Reactions

There has been increased campaign for use of environmentally friendly reagents and procedures. The microwave heating completes various reactions under solvent-free conditions on solid supports.

Microwave Synthesis

Microwave heating of organic compounds ha s eliminated the use fire in synthetic chemistry that has led to ‘dry media’ reactions. The technology has also been exploited other related fields such as synthesis of polymers, biochemical processes, nanotechnology and material science.

Microwave Synthesis on Solid Supports

Microwave heating is used in carrying out ‘dry media’ reactions on solid supports. This is demonstrated in transformations such as condensation, protection, de-protection, oxidation and reduction reactions. A variety of industrial compounds and intermediates are prepared by this clean, solvent-free approach. The organic compounds in these reactions absorb microwaves, and the solid support restricts their transmission (E.Karthikeyan, 2011).

Other Applications

Industrial applications of microwave heating process include; drying of pharmaceutical powders, pasteurization of foods, preparation of hydrogen cyanide and chlorination plants. Other exploitations of the of microwave heating include creation of improved crystallinity in intercalation compounds, production of organometallic compounds and polymer curing (E.Karthikeyan, 2011).

Example #3: Summary of the Article “Preparation and Characterization of Ceria Nanospheres by Microwave-Hydrothermal Method”

Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation

Summary of the Article “Preparation and Characterization of Ceria Nanospheres by Microwave-Hydrothermal Method”

Introduction

In their experimental research “Preparation and characterization of ceria nanospheres by microwave-hydrothermal method,” Santos and his colleagues (Santos et al., 2008) outline the microwave-hydrothermal method that enables the synthesis of cerium compounds at faster rates and at reduced temperatures. According to the authors, a nanocrystalline CeO2 powder is used as nanomaterial in catalysts, optical devices, polishing materials, and oxygen sensors, among other applications (Santos et al., 2008). In addition, they assert other methods have been developed for the synthesis of the ultra-fine CeO2 powder, and they include co-precipitation, organometallic decomposition, conventional hydrothermal, flow method, and their newly developed microwave-hydrothermal methods. In their method, they have used ammonium hydroxide (NH4OH), (NH4)2Ce(NO3)6, and a surfactant (PEG) to synthesize ultra-fine CeO2. CeO2 powder produced by microwave-hydrothermal method has narrow size distribution with a uniform spherical morphology.

Experimental

In this method, they dissolved (NH4)2Ce(NO3)6 and PEG in water, then added NH4OH until a pH 9 was obtained. The resultant solution transferred into an autoclave and heated in a domestic microwave at 130oC for 20 minutes. The CeO2 powder obtained was washed with deionized water and subsequently dried at 80oC. The dried powder was further treated by calcination at 500oC at different periods of 1, 2, and 4h. The fully treated particles were analyzed by X-ray powder for its characteristics. They used Scherrer equation (d=kλ/βcosθ) to determine the crystallite size of CeO2. The morphology of CeO2 particles was characterized by field-emission gun (FEG/STEM mode). A Netzsch-409 STA was used to analyze TG-DTA. They further used a Bruker Equinox-55 instrument to record the FT-IR spectra. In addition, Roman spectra were recorded with Bruker RFS-100/S Raman spectrometer. They also used YAG laser as to provide excitation for the experiment with its power maintains at 150 mW.

Results and discussions

The curves in Fig.1 show the TG-DTA analyses of ceria powder. TG curves show a weight loss of about 11 %, which shows hydration has taken place. The mass loss is as a result of decomposition of Ce(OH)3 (9.95%) or Ce(OH)4/CeO2.2H2O (17.3%), which leads to partial hydration of ceria phases. Only 90% of weight loss occurs at 500oC. However, 650oC may be needed for a complete dehydration. In addition, DTA curve indicates an endothermic weight loss at 86oC. The endothermic weight loss is because of water absorbed by ceria powder. An exothermic peak between 270-350oC correlates to weight loss due to the crystallization of an amorphous phase. Fig.2 shows the characteristics of calcined ceria powder. The patterns were uniform across all conditions in the experiment. The peaks in the figure are a pure cubicflourite structure of CeO2. Moreover, the intensive diffraction peak is at 2θ=28.660° originating from [111] lattice plane of fcc CeO2. The ceria powders are of smaller sizes as indicated by the broadening of the peaks. After the calcination, XRD peaks became sharper with time while FWHM reduced; an indication the calcination process accelerates the crystallinity of CeO2. According to them, the calcination temperature further affects crystalline sizes of ceria powder. The authors agreed that when all conditions for synthesis of CeO2 are met, particle agglomeration due to van der Waal’s forces leads to the formation of ultra-fine CeO2 particles.

Fig.4 provides Raman and FTIR spectral characteristics of CeO2 powder sample. According to the authors, the high intense band observed in the sample corresponds to the oxygen-hydrogen and hydrogen bonds in the water molecules within the crystals. The presence of residual water and the hydroxyl group do not depend on the synthesis method. As a result, they are present in any ceria powder and eliminated by heat treatment. Furthermore, the formation of hydrated ceria powder (CeO2.nH2O) involves the formation of complexes through the hydroxylation and deprotonation of metal ions.

Conclusions

In conclusions, the authors report a simple microwave-hydrothermal method to synthesize a pure CeO2 at 130oC for 20 minutes. They also concluded that the methods not only save time and apply low temperature, but it also enables the control of morphological and structural properties. They also confirmed the material can be used as nanomaterial in several fields such as catalyst and electrical materials.

References

Santos, M.L.D. et al. (2008). Preparation and characterization of ceria nanospheres by microwave-hydrothermal method. Materials Letters, 60, 4509-4511. doi:10.1016/j.matlet.2008.08.011

Example #4: Summary, Synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles for microwave-induced rapid catalytic decplorization of congo red dye.

Zuas, O. , Budiman H. and Hamin , N. originally published in Advanced Material Letters
2013 ( 4 (0) pp 662-667

This article is concerned with the problem of finding methods of rapidly removing dye from waste water on an industrial scale.

The article begins by describing the experiment set up by researchers in the Indonesian Institute of Science when seeking a solution to this global problem among industrialised nations, and in particular among companies who use dyes such as congo red in their industrial processes and who then need to remove this dye in the most suitable way possible, and taking into account that this needs to be done before the dye is released into the nearby water sources, where its presence is so harmful.

At the time of this experiment the removal of industrial dye from waste water was already possible using catalytic oxidation methods, as these researchers concede, citing six instances where this had been attempted. The thinking behind this particular research was that it seemed likely that by combining methods already in use with microwave technology the results could be improved.

An experiment was designed and then set up by these researchers in which the synthesis of nanoparticles was achieved using co-precipitation and then calcining for 4 hours at 500C. Resulting data showed well-formed crystals with a high degree of purity. The crystals were then tested for decolorization of the dye by using microwave irradiation. After a short contact time the results were that in 90.63 rate of efficiency the dye was decolorised under particular conditions as specified in the article .The researchers were concerned with the primary concentration of the particular dye, the amount of contact time and the dosage of the catalysts. It was felt by the researchers that because the catalytic effect was obvious it must be that when the ZnO nanoparticles met the microwave technology this produced a synergistic effect in decolorizing the dye with a high degradation rate achieved quite rapidly. This would mean that such technology is usable as an alternative method when trying to remove industrial dyes from waste water, and so dealing with relative ease with a world-wide problem, in that water is being polluted by the use of dyes in industry. This isn’t just about the coloring of water, but the fact that when these dyes are present this has a negative effect upon aquatic ecosystems, as well as the human populations which rely upon them. There is therefore a need to alleviate this problem, preferably in a way that is easy to set up, and which is both effective and cost efficient. There is also the fact that the industrial companies involved have a responsibility to the wider world , and in this case in particular to those who utilise the water into which their used dye materials are dispersed, whether as who rely on the water, but also to the many forms of life within the water which might be adversely affected if dyes are present in quantity.

For these reasons a number of attempts, cited by these authors, have attempted to find viable solutions to this global problem of the industrial age. The authors describe in detail such things as the reagents used ; the synthesis of ZnO nano-particles; the characterization of the synthesized ZnO nan-particles and the catalytic evaluation of the synthesized ZnO nano-particles. The article described a number of other methods which have been tried to achieve similar results. These include catalytic wet oxidation using modified Y zeolite as a catalyst, as described by Kondru et al in 2009. Also mentioned is photo catalysis, as described by Erdemoglu et al in 2008 and sonocatalysis as described by Wang et al (2008), as well as methods such as the biological ones, using fungi to eliminate these dyes in waste water. ( Battacharya et al, 2011). If left alone the dyes undergo biological changes when in a watery environment and this includes using up oxygen dissolved in the water, so decreasing the levels of dissolved oxygen and depriving creatures which would use this oxygen, so cutting down on numbers and types of biodiversity in particular environments. The fact that so many other attempts have been made to come up with a viable solution to the problem of dye polluting the water supply after industrial usage suggests not only the wide spread problems caused to the water systems , but also that those methods already tried were none of them completely effective.

The results of their particular experiment using microwaves are described in great detail, including such things as the diffraction peaks of the crystals created; the evaluation of the microwaves of the synthesized ZnO nano-particles; the effect of the initial concentration of the congo red dye used and the effect of the ZnO dosages used followed by the effects of various contact times tried, so this was a very complex experiment, or rather a series of similar experiments with a number of possible variables and so a series of results. So they were comparing the decolorization under a number of different treatment processes.

The authors concluded, having carried out all these experiments and having carefully evaluated the results, that the experiments showed that the use of microwave technology was linked to a process whereby the use of synthesized ZnO nano-particles was enhanced when used in aqueous solutions to remove congo red dye. They see this as a potentially possible method to ease the pollution caused by the present practice of releasing industrial dyes into the water supply as contaminated waste water. It also gives one more choice of possible treatment available to environmentalists as they seek to combat the adverse results of industrialisation upon aquatic environments in a variety of situations around the world.

References

Battacharya, S. Das, A., Mangai, G., Vignesh, K. and Sangeetha,J.,( 2011) Micoremediation
of Congo Red Dye by Filamentous Fungi, Brazilian Journal of Microbiology , 42 (4)
p 1526
Erdemoglu, S., Asku, S., Sayilkan, S., Izbi, B., Astilturk, M., Sayilkan, H., Frimmel, F. and
Gucer, S.,(2008), Journal of Hazardous Material 155 (3) page 469
Kondru , A., Kumar , P., Chand, S, ( 2009) Catalytic wet peroxide oxidation of azo dye
(Congo red) using modified Y zeolite as catalyst, Journal of Hazardous Material, 166
( 1) 342 – 347
Wang, J., Jiang, Y., Zhang, Z., Zhao, S., Zhang .G., Ma, T. and Sun W., ( 2007) Investigation
on the sonocatalytic degradation of congo red as catalysed by nanometer rutile TiO2
powder and various influencing factors, Desalination, 216 p 196- 208