Why are carrots orange?
The short answer is because they contain the pigments β-carotene and lycopene which strongly absorb visible light in the blue-green
Author: Sarah Parkes
Explaining the reactivity of substituted benzenes
What happens when a substituted benzene such as chlorobenzene or methyl benzene undergoes an electrophilic substitution reaction? There are two
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Friedel-Crafts reactions in benzene
Friedel-Crafts reactions allow us to add alkyl and acyl groups to benzene providing a way of adding carbon atoms to
Electrophilic substitution reactions of benzene
At first sight benzene seems surprisingly unreactive for an unsaturated hydrocarbon. Benzene does not decolourise bromine water when shaken with
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How do enzymes catalyse reactions?
Enzymes are proteins that catalyse virtually all the biochemical reactions happening in the body, working at body temperature (37°C) and
What is optical isomerism?
Optical isomerism is a type of stereoisomerism in which the optical isomer has a chiral centre and does not possess
Understanding the structure of proteins
The primary structure of a protein is simply the sequence of amino acids in a polypeptide chain, but these polypeptide
Amino acids and polypeptides
Amino acids are the building blocks of polypeptide chains which fold into 3D protein structures. Proteins are biopolymers that play
The chemistry of fats, oils and soap
Fats and oils have the same basic chemical structure – they are all esters of propane-1,2,3-triol (glycerol) bonded to long
Bioplastic vs. biodegradable plastic – what’s the difference?
It is estimated that approximately 6300 Mt of plastic waste has been generated since the 1950s, of which around 9%
Continue readingBioplastic vs. biodegradable plastic – what’s the difference?