An AI chemistry tutor for equations, moles and bonding

• Atomic structure: protons, neutrons and electrons, isotopes, electron configuration.
• The periodic table: groups and periods, trends in reactivity, metals and non-metals.
• Bonding and structure: ionic, covalent and metallic bonding, and how structure explains properties like melting point.
• Equations: writing and balancing equations, state symbols, ionic equations.
• Quantitative chemistry: moles, molar mass, concentration, limiting reagents and percentage yield.
• Reactions: rates of reaction, energy changes, equilibrium, acids and bases, redox.
• Organic chemistry basics: hydrocarbons, functional groups and naming.

You can paste a question from your homework, describe the part you don't understand, or ask for a quick quiz before a test.

Methane burns in oxygen to make carbon dioxide and water. The unbalanced equation is:

$\text{CH}_4 + \text{O}_2 \rightarrow \text{CO}_2 + \text{H}_2\text{O}$

1. Count atoms on each side. Left: 1 C, 4 H, 2 O. Right: 1 C, 2 H, 3 O.
2. Balance carbon first. There's 1 carbon on each side, so it's already balanced.
3. Balance hydrogen. There are 4 H on the left, so you need $2\text{H}_2\text{O}$ on the right.
4. Balance oxygen last. The right now has $2 + 2 = 4$ oxygen atoms, so you need $2\text{O}_2$ on the left.

$\text{CH}_4 + 2\text{O}_2 \rightarrow \text{CO}_2 + 2\text{H}_2\text{O}$

In a session, the tutor stops after each step and asks you to do the next count yourself. Then it might give you a similar one to try, such as propane: $\text{C}_3\text{H}_8 + 5\text{O}_2 \rightarrow 3\text{CO}_2 + 4\text{H}_2\text{O}$ (try covering the numbers first).

How many moles are in $9.0\ \text{g}$ of water, and how many molecules is that?

1. Molar mass of water: $2 \times 1.0 + 16.0 = 18.0\ \text{g/mol}$ (using the relative atomic masses on most data sheets).
2. Moles: $n = \dfrac{m}{M} = \dfrac{9.0}{18.0} = 0.50\ \text{mol}$.
3. Molecules: multiply by the Avogadro constant, $6.02 \times 10^{23}\ \text{mol}^{-1}$: $0.50 \times 6.02 \times 10^{23} = 3.01 \times 10^{23}$ molecules.

The tutor checks units and significant figures with you, because that's where many marks are lost. If your course uses slightly different data values, tell it, and it will use yours.

• It checks understanding as it goes. Each explanation ends with one short question for you to answer.
• It points to the first mistake. If your mole calculation goes wrong, it shows you the line where it went wrong instead of redoing everything.
• It connects ideas. For example, why ionic compounds have high melting points, linked back to the forces between ions.
• It works with your handwriting. Write a calculation on the whiteboard and ask it to check your work.
• It remembers. If you found limiting reagents tricky last week, today's lesson can start there.

Tell the tutor what your test covers and when it is. It can make a short revision plan and quiz you one question at a time, focusing on what you get wrong. Testing yourself and spreading revision over several days are the two study methods with the strongest research support; our guide on how to study for a test explains how to use them.

It can't watch you do practical work or check lab safety: follow your teacher's instructions for anything in the lab. AI tutors can also make mistakes, so for anything that counts, compare with your textbook, your course's data sheet or your teacher. TutorAura explains its reasoning so you can spot anything that doesn't look right, and you can always ask it to check again.