LibGuides: Chemistry: Web Resources

Suggested Web Sites

Chemistry Tutorials

American Chemical Society
Chemistry educational resources including news, blogs, podcasts, videos, and safety standards and guidelines.
Chemguide
Designed to help students understand the basic concepts of chemistry.
Khan Academy - Chemistry
Videos, tutorials, and quizzes on basic chemistry concepts.
Openstax Chemistry
Open textbook describing basic chemistry concepts.
Periodic Table - Royal Society of Chemistry
Interactive periodic table containing properties of the elements, including information from various multimedia sources.
Periodic Videos
Short videos about each element.
Tyler DeWitt Chemistry
Detailed tutorials of beginner to advanced chemistry concepts.

Chemistry Exercises

PhET Simulations
Practice basic chemistry concepts using these simulation exercises.

Chemical Information and Safety

ChemSpider
ChemSpider is a free chemical structure database providing fast text and structure search access to over 100 million structures from hundreds of data sources.
ChemRxiv
Research from a broad range of fields related to the chemical sciences shared online ahead of formal peer review and publication.
Common Chemistry
Information on nearly 500,000 chemical substances including common and frequently regulated chemicals, and those relevant to high school and undergraduate chemistry classes.
NIST Chemistry WebBook
National Institute of Standards and Technology general and physical information, including spectra.

1. Currency:

When was the website last updated?
Is the information out of date? Is there more recent information about the topic that is available?
Do the links appear to be working? And, are they related to the topic/s of the website?

2. Relevancy:

What is the purpose of the information source? Is the information source intended to inform, advocate, sell, slander, etc? Is it ironic (a satire or a parody)? How can you tell what its purpose is?
How well does the information source relate to your topic? Does it only address one part of your topic, or is it more broadly related? Do you need additional information sources to address different parts of your topic?

3. Authority:

What person or group is responsible for the information in your source?
Can you find contact information for that person or group?
Is the author or organization a qualified source, or an expert in their field? What credentials and/or affiliations listed on the source show evidence of authority?
What type of domain name does the website have (.com, .org., .edu, .gov, .net)? Or, does it have some other domain?

4. Objectivity/Bias:

Who is the intended audience for the information source (student, professional, general etc.)? What helped you decide who the intended audience is?
Does the information source have a bias? If so, describe the position taken on the issue.
If is appears the information source has a bias, what is an example of the loaded language that helps you recognize it?
Are the statements, opinions, and/or statistics given in the information source supported with references?