While various tools and instruments are utilized in the classroom environment to increase the interactive and hands-on approach to learning, visualizing molecules, compounds, and other chemical structures can be daunting to the inexperienced. One app aimed at increasing the ease-of-learning is MEL Chemistry, a highly accessible app which assists students in developing skills and knowledge in the field of chemistry.
Developed by MEL Science, the app is equipped with a special mode that allows users to transform any chemical structural formula in a chemistry book into a realistic 3D model. MEL Chemistry is capable of transforming the mobile device into a “virtual microscope” that can be used to explore molecular models. Giving unprecedented access to visuals of chemical compounds, the animations provided by MEL Chemistry helps students to better understand what stands behind the chemical formulas that are found on paper. The app supports all iOS devices, ensuring that whether the user is on a phone in the classroom or tablet in a laboratory setting, the app is accessible regardless of environment.
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For users of MEL Chemistry, visualizing chemistry in ways that have not been possible in the past is made easy. With the level of detail that is available through the zooming function, students and professionals in the realm of chemistry can learn in highly unique ways that will bring the understanding of the world of atoms and molecules to a completely new level. The three dimensional structure of molecules is an often neglected subject although it is the foundation of chemistry. Molecules exist in three dimension, they react or form bigger complexes in the three dimensional space. Some complex terms, like chirality, cannot be interpreted without understanding the real 3D shape of molecules. For those who learn visually, the app provides a perfect solution to the complex terms and numbers that are utilized to identify different elements and compounds. The virtual reality mode is supported only on smartphones that have a gyroscopic sensor.
The MEL Chemistry app also contains videos of experiments; these experiments can be even tried at home if someone subscribed for the Mel Chemistry kit. The kit includes all necessary equipment and material and of course contains safe reagents only, so you will not burn your house down. Additionally to the videos, the app contains complete information about each experiment performed including: interesting facts, safety and disposal information, and even science behind the experiment to give a complete learning experience to its users in all aspects of chemistry. Furthermore, the app has the feature of showing structures of many of the most commonly studied molecules to include organic and inorganic molecules including Citric acid, Ascorbic acid, Sucrose, Sodium Carbonate, Sodium, Calcium Hydroxide and many more. Besides single molecule visualization, crystal structures of inorganic compounds can be investigated.
As the team is highly consumer oriented, for chemical compounds and molecules that are not included in the preloaded list of elements, users can contact the MEL Science team to request an update to the app that would add the desired molecule. Available for free on the App Store, the app is a must-have for students and professionals in the field of chemistry alike. Offering a new way to study chemistry, MEL Chemistry provides details regarding chemistry and molecules that make learning more visual and interactive.
