Average Chem Tournament Experience

Chemistry exam massacre in progress! This poor student transformed lead hydroxide into "Something Hydroxide," confidently labeled calcium cyanide (which would literally kill everyone in the room if it existed in that quantity), reduced lithium phosphate to simply "LiPO4," and somehow decided dinitrogen pentoxide was "H₂O₅" (water with... extra oxygen?). The tin chloride answer is actually correct, which feels like accidentally getting one bullseye while blindfolded and spinning. The professor probably wasn't sure whether to laugh, cry, or call poison control after seeing these creative interpretations of basic chemical nomenclature.

That green explosion? IT'S B oron! Chemistry professors love their explosive puns almost as much as they love dangerous demonstrations! Boron compounds (like boric acid) burn with that distinctive green flame, which is why your inorganic chem professor probably giggled maniacally while pointing at the periodic table. Every chemist knows the real reason we study elements is for the pretty colors they make when they combust! Safety goggles? Optional. Bad element jokes? MANDATORY.

Imagine a world where molecules don't bump into each other, volume doesn't matter, and PV=nRT works EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. 🤯 Chemistry students would throw parties! Physics equations would fit on a sticky note! No more correction factors or Van der Waals equations making our homework three pages longer. The dream of every science student trapped in thermodynamics hell - a universe where reality doesn't ruin our beautiful, simple theories!

The first panel shows NNN = No Nut November (rejected), but the second panel reveals NNN = 6.022·10 23 Nut November (approved)! That's Avogadro's number—the number of atoms in one mole of a substance. Chemistry students everywhere are nodding knowingly while calculating just how many nuts that would be. Talk about a mole -titude of nuts! Technically impossible but theoretically hilarious for anyone who's survived basic chemistry class.

The great chemical deception has been exposed! What we've been led to believe are groundbreaking reactions in scientific stock photos are actually just food coloring, water, and the theatrical fog machine of science—dry ice. Real chemists are facepalming everywhere because actual chemical reactions rarely look this Instagram-worthy. Most real lab work involves clear liquids turning slightly less clear, or maybe changing from colorless to faintly yellow if you're having an exciting day. Meanwhile, stock photographers are over here creating their own fantasy chemistry universe where every reaction must involve at least three neon colors and enough smoke to make a 1980s music video director jealous.

The ultimate scientific flex! This Venn diagram perfectly captures the academic food chain where physicists reign supreme. According to this diagram, physicists can mock engineers, get paid well, AND be better than chemists—the STEM field trifecta! Meanwhile, mathematicians are stuck just mocking engineers, engineers can't win Nobel Prizes, and chemists... well, they're apparently everyone's punching bag. The center suggests that the ultimate achievement in science is being better than chemists. Whoever made this was definitely a physicist with an axe to grind and a superiority complex the size of a supermassive black hole. The interdepartmental shade is strong with this one!