Ethanedioic Acid

Formula: HOOCCOOH·2H2O
Also known as oxalic acid.
It is a colourless, crystalline, toxic organic compound belonging to the family of dicarboxylic acids; melting at 187 C; soluble in water, alcohol, and ether. It occurs in the form of its metal salts (usually calcium or potassium) in many plants. Oxalic acid is the only possible compound in which two carboxyl groups are joined directly; for this reason oxalic acid is one of the strongest acids in organic compounds. Unlike other carboxylic acids, oxalic acid (and formic acid) is readily oxidized and combine with calcium, iron, sodium, magnesium, or potassium to form less soluble salts called oxalates. Oxalic acid and oxalates are useful as reducing agents for photography, bleaching, and rust removal.

Physical & Chemical Properties (Dihydrate)
Physical State: white crystals
Melting Point: 101 - 102 C
Boiling Point: 149 - 160 C (sublimes)

Applications: Purifying agent, Precipitating agent, Bleaching agent, Metal treatment, Grinding agent, Waste water treatment, Reducing agent

Today,we had introductory lesson on atomic structure. From this lesson,i learn what is the term orbital, isotopic,isotonic and isoelectronic means. I've also learn what is principal quantum shell is. Not to forget,i learn how to draw the orbitals on a graph. I think atomic structure is an interesting topic and i am looking forward for the next lesson. =D

my future career would either be a psychologist or a lawyer. both are in the areas of helping people. people are my passion and i would want to help them in any ways that i can. :)

So what is psychology?
Psychology is the study of people: how they think, how they act, react and interact. Psychology is concerned with all aspects of behaviour and the thoughts, feelings and motivation underlying such behaviour' (British Psychological Society). The field of psychology encompasses both research, through which we learn fundamental principles about human and animal behaviour, and practice, where psychologists work directly with adults and children. Research helps to guide practising psychologists about the most suitable ways of assisting people with their problems. In psychology there are a number of distinct specialisations. Within each specialty there are psychologists who work primarily as researchers, others who work primarily as practitioners and also some who do both.

Personal Qualities:
Professional and competent
Mature, emotionally resilient, caring and compassionate
Passionate about helping and working with people
Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
Independent worker and good team player
Investigative mind, with logical, analytical approach to problem solving
Teachable, willing to learn and to upgrade skills constantly
Patient, empathetic, able to persevere and manage oneself in stressful situations
Analytical, possess 'helicopter' perspective.

Requirements
3rd Language, chemistry and mathematics are necessary in order for me to qualify for this career. Other than that,we will be required to have a minimum qualification of a good honours degree (i.e. Second Upper or better) in psychology from a recognised university. Having a master's or Ph.D. in psychology is an advantage too.

So what do lawyers do?
Lawyers do many different things. Litigation lawyers represent their clients' interests in court. Corporate lawyers assist their clients in terms of drafting agreements, incorporating companies, resolving commercial disputes, and more. Different lawyers have their particular areas of specialisation, for example intellectual property, family law, information technology, criminal litigation, etc.

Personal Qualities
Integrity
Good interpersonal skills
Good communication skills
Logical and analytical mind
Attention to detail
Diligence
Stamina
Ability to think on their feet

Requirements
3rd Language is needed to qualify for this career. Other than that, we must have a Bachelor of Law (LL.B) degree. This degree can be from the National University of Singapore (minimum Lower Second Class Honours), or a prescribed qualification from one of the list of recognised overseas universities approved by the Ministry of Law.

so there you have it. =) after realising at how my post looks like, im wondering.. am i like the only one who blogged on career this long and wordy??

so my purpose here is to blog on my strength and weakness in chemistry. honestly,i don't think i am good in chemistry. it is more like my weak subject. although i have weaknesses in some area of the topics, there are still a few things that i am good at :)

my weakness in chemistry are topics like atom,moles and stoichiometry, organic chemistry and speed of reaction. perhaps this include the memorizing of facts and applying them to the questions. my strength are in topics such as kinetic particle theory and chemical bonding and also balancing of chemical equations.

during the long break, i didn't even touch my chemistry book so much of the information are long forgotten. even so,i will try my best to read through back the o level stuff and understand them especially in my area of weaknesses. :D

Atoms, Moles and Stoichiometry

I learnt that SI (Systeme International) system of units is used as a common system of units for the ease of communication. I've also learnt the SI base units, eg. length (m), mass (kg), the non-SI units used in chemistry, eg. mass (u), pressure (bar or atm), the derived units, eg. energy (J), electric charge (C), and prefixes. There are rules that we have to take note of.
Rules for addition and subtraction:
final value must have only as many decimals as original value.
Rules for multiplication and division:
final value can only have as many significant figures as original value.
5 rules determining the number of significant figures in a number:
1) non-zero digits
2) any zeros btw 2 sig. digits
3) any zeros to the right of decimal point & at the end of number
4) zeros to left of the 1st non-zero digit are not significant
5) zeros in a number without decimal point may or may not be significant.

Binary Covalent Nomenclature Tutorial

For this tutorial,i learnt:
- that pure substances which consist of two nonmetallic elements are known as binary covalent compounds. Example are such as water and methane.

- the steps to write out the names for binary covalent compounds. Example, the name for the formula N2O3 is dinitrogen trioxide.

Below are some general forms that binary covalent compounds have:

prefix (name of nonmetal) prefix (root of name of nonmetal) ide

(e.g. dinitrogen pentoxide)
or (name of nonmetal) prefix (root of name of nonmetal) ide (e.g. carbon dioxide)
or (name of nonmetal) (root of nonmetal) ide (e.g. hydrogen fluoride)

- converting the systematic name of a binary covalent compound to the formula. It is the reverse of the steps for writing names from chemical formulas.

Steps: Write the symbols for the elements in the order mentioned in the name.
Write subscripts indicated by the prefixes.

Cation Names and Formulas Tutorial

I learnt that:
- nonmetallic atoms attract electrons more strongly than metallic atoms, therefore nonmetals tend to gain electrons to form anions.

- the Roman numeral in each name represents the charge on the ion and allows us to distinguish between more than one possible charge.

- there is only one common polyatomic ion. Its formula is NH4+, and its name is ammonium.

Anion Names and Formulas Tutorial

I learnt that:
- monatomic anions are named by adding -ide to the root of the name of the nonmetal that forms the anion. Examples: hydride ion (H-), nitride ion (N3- ), phosphide ion (P3-)

- some polyatomic anions are formed by the attachment of one or more hydrogen atoms. If an anion has a charge of -2 or -3, it can gain one or two H+ ions and still retain a negative charge. Example, carbonate, CO32-, can gain an H+ ion to form HCO3-.

- polyatomic ions are named with the word hydrogen in front of the name of the anion if there is one H+ ion attached and dihydrogen in front of the name of the anion if two H+ ions are attached. Example, HCO3- is hydrogen carbonate ion.

Ionic Nomenclature Tutorial

I learnt that:
- binary ionic compounds are ionic compounds containing a metal and a nonmetal. General formula: MaAb (M represents symbol of metallic element, A represents symbol of nonmetallic element, lowercase 'a' and 'b' represent subscripts)

- polyatomic ions can take the place of monatomic anions, so formulas that contain a symbol for a metallic element and the formula for a polyatomic ion represent ionic compounds.

- ammonium ions, NH4+, can take the place of metallic cations in an ionic compound. Hence chemical formulas that contain the formula for ammonium with either a symbol for a nonmetallic element or a formula for a polyatomic ion represent ionic compounds.