BKChem is a chemical drawing Ubuntu chemistry software that’s packed with features. It supports, according to the developer team website: bond-by-bond drawing, bond length and angle restrictions to assist with the drawing, ready to use templates of common rings, the ability to expand common groups from abbreviated to structural form, support for linear formulas, radicals & charges, arrows (several types – normal, retro, equilibrium, etc.), rich text, color support, simple vector graphics (rectangles, circles, polygons etc.). Another nice touch is the automatic validity check of the drawings.

Editing is also a breeze with unlimited undo and redo capabilities, aligning, scaling, rotation (2D, 3D), aligning of molecules so that particular bond is horizontal/vertical, rotation of molecular fragments around bonds (conformation changes), definition of personal preferred drawing style (bond lengths, widths, colors).

You’re not locked in if your school uses another software. BKChem has export capabilities for SVG (native data are transparently embedded into SVG file), OpenOffice Draw format, ODF (OpenOffice 2.0), Encapsulated PostScript, PDF, PNG, basic support for both CML1 and CML2, Molfiles and generation of SMILES.It can also import CML1 and CML2, Molfiles, SMILES (subset) and INChI (subset). BkChem is translated in English, French, Czech, Polish, German and Traditional Chinese translations.

Chemical Calculator or GChemCalc is another Ubuntu chemistry software app that’s a simple chemical calculator for determining molecular weights of a formula and their respective percentages, all really fast and easy. There’s not much to be said about it, except I use it all the time – simple is almost always better.

Kalzium provides you with all kinds of information about elements in the Periodic Table of the Elements. You can lookup information about the elements and also use visualizations to show them. It is free and licensed under the GNU Public License.

You can visualize the Periodic Table of the Elements by groups, blocks, and families. You can plot data for a range of elements for properties like the boiling point or the atomic mass and can go back in time and see what elements were known at a given data.

Kalzium is divided in a navigation panel on the left and the table view which shows the elements of the periodic table. The standard menu bar allows you to choose what you want to display and the status bar reports facts. You can hide the navigation panel by using the View->Show Sidebar menu.

When you move the mouse cursor on an element of the table, an overview of the current element in the Overview tab of the navigation panel will be displayed. You can choose  several views for the table: display the elements per families, per groups, per crystal structure, depending on their acidic behavior, etc. You can change all that in the menu bar in the View->Scheme menu. If you want to know facts about a precise element, click on it in the table and the information dialog will be displayed.You can also calculate the molecular mass of molecules with the tool in its sidebar. You can enter linear formulas to calculate their weight.

You can install any of the Ubuntu chemistry software applications discussed in this article by searching for their name in the Synaptic Package Manager, checking the box on the left of its name and clicking ”Apply Changes”. To launch Synaptic, choose System > Administration > Synaptic Package Manager.

Most educational software is readily available for other distributions such as Fedora or SuSE, in their respective package managers, so try searching for the application name. We describe the installation process for Ubuntu because it’s the most widely used of the bunch.

Another aspect worth noting are the custom made distributions, designed from the get-go to be used by students in an educational environment. We’ll get into the details of this in the upcoming eBook, a handy guide for setting up your kids with a computer.

You might want to check out some other posts related to Linux, Ubuntu or education, here on MakeUseOf. We have also published the “Newbie’s Getting Started Guide to Linux” ebook.

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New on MakeUseOf ? Get cheat sheets and cool PDF guides @ www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/

• SpeedCrunch – High Precision Freeware Desktop Calculator (16)
• Websites For Students: 10 Online Learning Tools (82)
• Mathway – A Step By Step Mathematics Problems Solver (14)
• 3 Cool Science Experiments You Can Do At Home (37)
• Studeous – Collaboration Suite for Teachers and Students (19)

Before we get started, you must activate Gmail Gadgets by navigating to Settings then Labs and enabling “Add any gadget by URL.”

Now navigate to Settings > Gadgets to add new gadgets to your Gmail account:

All of the Gadgets listed must be installed by URL. Simply copy the URLs below and paste into your Gmail Gadgets settings box and press “Add.”

1. TwitterGadget makes it easy to view and update your Twitter account without visiting the Twitter homepage.

The URL for the Twitter Gadget is: http://www.twittergadget.com/gadget_gmail.xml

2. Wikipedia Search helps you search Wikipedia directly from Gmail – whether it’s for research or just for fun.

The URL for Wikipedia Search is: http://www.google.com/ig/modules/wikipedia.xml

3. Use FriendFeed? Get the FriendFeed Gmail Gadget, so you can keep track of your friends on this popular Social networking/sharing service.

The URL for the FriendFeed Gadget is: http://friendfeed.com/embed/googlegadget/spec

4. A must-have gadget for those of us who communicate regularly with people around the world is the World Clock gadget. It has locations all around the world and continuously updates the time, so you know when it’s bedtime in Paris and not to expect a speedy response to your emails!

The URL for the World Clock Gadget is: http://gad.getpla.net/poly/clock.xml

5. Track the current trends on Digg with the Digg Gadget. Features include selecting stories by sub-section and access to your settings.

The URL for the Digg Gadget is: http://digg.com/goog/ig.xml

6. The Facebook Gadget can be added directly to Gmail by adding this handy gadget. Do a lot of things you’d normally do at Facebook.com directly from your sidebar. The URL for Facebook Gadget is: http://www.brianngo.net/ig/facebook.xml

7. Quickly shorten links with the Bit.ly URL Shortener Gadget. Whether you are emailing links or sending to friends via Google Chat, shorten long URLs with the Bit.ly URL shortener gadget.

The URL for the Bit.ly URL Shortener Gadget is: http://hosting.gmodules.com/ig/gadgets/file/107368512201818821991/bitly-shortener.xml

8. MySpace can also be accessed via Google Gadget. Install this gadget and log in to your MySpace account to access friends, notes and more.

The URL for the MySpace Gadget is: http://hosting.gmodules.com/ig/gadgets/file/100080069921643878012/myspace.xml

9. Use the Google Calculator to perform simple and complex math problems or convert weights from metric to English or vice versa right from Gmail.

The URL for the Google Calculator Gadget is: http://calebegg.com/calc.xml

10. And just for fun, add the Chuck Norris facts Gadget to Gmail. Get a couple of laughs a day and some funny facts to share with friends.

The URL for the Chuck Norris Facts Gadget is: http://marsupialmusic.net/stu/scripts/chucknorris.xml

Which Google gadgets sit on YOUR Gmail sidebar?   Let us know in the comments.

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New on MakeUseOf ? Get cheat sheets and cool PDF guides @ www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/

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Thus I was rather irritated when I heard that my dad had to complete training for his job to learn new things. I remember I asked him when one would be done learning and the essence of what he said was of course never. Bummer!

Some 20 years later I’m still a student and I know I’ll never get done learning. So hang in there and enjoy it! Here are my favorite websites for students.

1. Chemistry

Dynamic Periodic Table

This periodic table helps in keeping elements apart. You can highlight them by their aggregate state (solid, liquid, gas, unknown) or group (nonmetals with subgroups and metals with subgroups). Clicking on an element or group will launch a separate window with the matching Wikipedia article.

Periodic Table of the Elements

This periodic table is more compact than the previous one and it’s great for a quick summary for each element. As can be seen in the screenshot below, all elements are represented by a matching image and clicking on it launches a small information window.

2. Biology

Foldit

Foldit is not really a tool you’ll need for your everyday biology class. BUT it can help you understand something about proteins AND help scientists at the same time. Basically it’s a game and it’s your task to build protein molecules based on previously described structures.

Simon has reviewed the tool in detail in his article Foldit – Solve Puzzles for Science.

3. Mathematics

Mathway

This is an online tool that will help solve your maths challenges. Just enter the “problem statement”, select a subject and hit solve for the solution including the steps taken to get there.

Varun previously wrote about Mathway – A Step By Step Mathematics Problems Solver.

SpeedCrunch (Windows, Mac, Linux)

Unlike Mathway, this is a very powerful desktop calculator that contains a ton of helpful libraries for various maths problems.

Damien just recently introduced this tool in all its depth, so check out his piece SpeedCrunch – High Precision Freeware Desktop Calculator.

4. Languages

LiveMocha

This is a social network for learning languages. While you are helping others to improve their skills in your native language, they may help you improve a foreign language you are struggling with. They may even help you with your French homework.

Saikat wrote a thorough review of LiveMocha – Small The Coffee & Learn The Lingo.

VerbaLearn

With VerbaLearn you can improve your English vocabulary with online study sessions. The tool learns with you, keeping a record of your progress and weaknesses. You can listen to your study list offline to better memorize the words and practice the pronunciation and online you can read examples of how the word is being used.

The tool was recently introduced by Tim: Practice Your Vocabulary With VerbaLearn.

Bullfighter (MS Word and Powerpoint plugin)

Similar To VerbaLearn, this tool is designed to improve your use of the English language. The tool will analyze your texts for jargon. The higher your Bull Composite score, the higher the chance people will actually understand what you are trying to say.

James has written about Bullfighter – Simplify Your Writing & Gain Results.

5. Literature

wePapers

On this website people can share and expand their knowledge for free. You can read the material others have provided and upload your own papers to contribute to the community.

Zotero (Firefox extension)

When composing an assignment or a thesis you have to reveal your sources. Zotero is a Firefox extension that can help you keep track of your references and organize a citation bibliography for Open Office or MS Word documents.

Mixed Literature Resources

Struggling to find cheap college text books? These resources collected by Nick may help: The Top 5 Sites To Find Your College Textbooks. Are you a medical student who’s looking for resources online? Have a look through Jackson’s list of The Best Reference Sites For Medical Students. Maybe you need to improve your writing and homework? I wrote about 7 Online Resources To Help You Improve Your Writing and Where To Research Material For Your Homework.

Finally, you may also find Ken’s article on 10+ Web Tools To Save Your Butt In School very helpful.

How do you use the internet to get through school?

Picture credits: amr_safey

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

New on MakeUseOf ? Get cheat sheets and cool PDF guides @ www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/

• SpeedCrunch – High Precision Freeware Desktop Calculator (16)
• Mathway – A Step By Step Mathematics Problems Solver (14)
• Where To Research Material For Your Homework (8)
• The Best Free Algebra Homework Help Websites (10)
• Studeous – Collaboration Suite for Teachers and Students (19)

SpeedCrunch is a high precision and powerful freeware desktop calculator for Windows, Mac and Linux. It is easy to use and is loaded with plenty of useful features and functions (as in mathematics functions).

Useful libraries

SpeedCrunch comes loaded with various libraries that you can use immediately:

Math book – A small library that contains the formula for 2D/3D objects and quadratic equations.

Constants library – If you have difficulties remembering the value for atomic mass or astronomical units, don’t worry, it is all documented in the constants library. This library contains most of the constant values you will ever need.

Functions – provides you with access to frequently used functions such as abs, acos, bin etc.

Ease of use

There are plenty of features that make SpeedCrunch very user-friendly and very easy to use. First, there is the evaluate-as-you-type feature that calculates the result when you are typing the expression. Even before you press Enter, the result may already appear in the status bar.

SpeedCrunch also supports smart correction and automatic completion so you can type and evaluate your mathematical expression quickly and accurately. In the event that you typed the wrong expression, there is the syntax highlighting that highlights the error and prompts you to make the correction.

Big memory bank

For advanced calculation, you will need to use variables to hold calculation results. SpeedCrunch allows you to define as many variables as you want. There are also pre-defined variables such as pi that you can use off- hand.

In term of precision, SpeedCrunch is able to hold up to 50 decimals of precision. When dealing with intense and complex calculation, this high precision ensures that you get less rounding errors in the end.

In addition, SpeedCrunch records all your calculations and place them in its history. Whenever you need to re-enter the same expression, simply load up the history panel and select the one that you entered previously. If you are doing a lot of intense calculations, this is going to be very helpful.

Other features

In access of the above features, SpeedCrunch allows you to save your session so that you can resume from where you stopped the last time. Your history and variables will be intact the next time you load up the session.

An extra feature that plays no part in the mathematical calculations, but is still useful, is the language localization. In fact, SpeedCrunch supports 22 languages and you can switch to your favorite language easily.

SpeedCrunch in Chinese

Conclusion

If you are looking for a desktop calculator to handle complex mathematical calculations, SpeedCrunch would make a good choice. One thing that it is missing is the lack of a graphing ability for people to plot graphs and perform graphical calculations. Other than that, I have no complaints about this app.

Do you know of a similar better app?

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

New on MakeUseOf ? Get cheat sheets and cool PDF guides @ www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/

• Websites For Students: 10 Online Learning Tools (82)
• 3 Useful Ubuntu Apps for Chemistry Students (7)
• Mathway – A Step By Step Mathematics Problems Solver (14)
• 3 Cool Science Experiments You Can Do At Home (37)
• The Best Free Algebra Homework Help Websites (10)

So here is a piece of the Internet that actually helps you solve math problems. Nope its not a calculator and you don’t even need to know the formulae. All you need to solve a problem is the “Problem Statement”. Too good to be true? Lets have a look:

Head on over to Mathway . Enter your problem, select the subject and then just hit solve. Not only will you get the solution to the problem but also the steps that were taken to reach the solution. Cool ha? Take that Mr Maths Teacher!

Lets try and solve (tan(x) – sin(x)) / (sec²(x) – 1 ) . Ya I know you’ve figured it out already and yes the answer is cos(x) but head on over here and see how Mathway actually offers you a step by step solution. Here is a snippet:

If you need a little extra control you might want to check out the other features. You can choose from amongst “Basic Maths, Pre-Algebra, Algebra, Trigonometry, Precalculus, Calculus” to specify the category of your problem. Choosing the category provides you with a set of commonly used symbols for those types of problems, so you don’t have to worry about entering that definite integral from -1 to 1 or that Limit x tends to infinity! Just click on the appropriate page and it provides you with the symbols you may require to enter your problems!

The site also offers a number of solved examples ranging from calculating the area of the circle to calculating Eigen vectors, to evaluating integrals to Infinite series. You can click on a solved example and get a sample step by step solution for that type of problem with the option to get more detailed explanations of any step.

Mathway also offers the option of plotting graphs of functions ranging from polynomials to trigonometric functions to inequalities and a number of other ones. Once you choose the required function you want to graph, you can choose the graphing options and the graph appears. From here in one can share the problem or embed the graph in any webpage.

The last section is the Glossary which offers definitions of common mathematical terms. The site is a good alternative for something like mathematica though not as powerful, but then its free and is still in beta.

Of course there will be problems that Mathway won’t be able to solve and it will make occasional mistakes, but you can definitely use it as a reference. In fact it is not totally accurate I believe – while solving a problem it said 1\0 – 1\0 is 0 (to be fair, I got this when I was testing it with a pretty advanced limits problem). That said, with step by step solved examples and the ability to solve your own mathematical problems there is no reason to be afraid of Maths!!

I am a great fan of such helpful sites and software, do you use other software and sites that help you with your studies or computations? Let everyone know in the comments.

Good Luck with your studies. Study Smart (not hard)!

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

New on MakeUseOf ? Get cheat sheets and cool PDF guides @ www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/

• Websites For Students: 10 Online Learning Tools (82)
• Studeous – Collaboration Suite for Teachers and Students (19)
• SpeedCrunch – High Precision Freeware Desktop Calculator (16)
• Practice Your Vocabulary With VerbaLearn (14)
• Notely Helps Students Get Organized Online (10)