PODCAST · education
Professor Dave Explains
by Professor Dave Explains
Welcome! I have a knack for explaining stuff and I want to share some knowledge with you. I received a BA in chemistry from Carleton College, and performed graduate studies in both synthetic organic chemistry and science education at Cal State Northridge, receiving an MA in the latter. Prior to this I taught for about a decade in various high school and undergraduate settings, specializing in organic chemistry but also teaching general chemistry, physics, and biology. This channel is for students at the high school and undergraduate level, but it is also for members of the general public who just want to know more about the world and how things work. My goal is to increase science literacy in our society, so please share these tutorials with anyone that you think might enjoy them. Happy learning! Support my channel: https://www.patreon.com/professordaveexplains Check out my book "Is This Wi-Fi Or
Episodes
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IUPAC Nomenclature of Alkanes: Part 2
More help with IUPAC nomenclature! Here we look at branched chain alkanes and common names for alkyl substituents. Learn Organic Chemistry the easy way with Professor Dave!Watch the whole Organic Chemistry playlist: http://bit.ly/ProfDaveOrgChemGeneral Chemistry Tutorials:...
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Sabine Hossenfelder Joins the Eric Weinstein Damage Control Parade
At this point it is common knowledge that Eric Weinstein is a pointless fraud paid by Peter Thiel to spew propaganda all over the internet. As so many of us have long suspected, Sabine Hossenfelder is exactly that as well. This was made abundantly clear when Sabine recently joined the Eric...
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Roman Ordinal Numbers
We just learned about cardinal numbers. Those are the regular numbers that you would use to say how many things there are. But what about ordinal numbers? These describe a particular sequence. How do we say that somebody got fifth in the race, or won first prize in a contest? Ordinal numbers!…
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Numerical Methods for Solving Differential Equations
Solving differential equations can get pretty tricky, but in this modern age we have some tools that can be very useful. We can use computers to carry out sophisticated numerical methods that can solve any differential equation, no matter how complex. Let's learn how to use Euler's method, Heun's...
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Introduction to Chemistry
Hey, you! Yes, you there. Normal Jack or Jill. Do you want to learn science? What's that? Oh, you don't know anything about science? Yes, salt is salty. That's one thing, I guess. It doesn't matter. If you want to start from scratch, you've come to the right place. Learn chemistry first! There's…
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Grifter Tier List 2026 Expansion Pack!
Remember when I did a tier list to decide who the biggest scumbag is that I've debunked? Well that was a year ago, and I've debunked so many more people since then, so let's do it again! Place your bets, everyone!My first tier list video: https://youtu.be/xseZgXwVQrkWatch all my debunks:...
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Resonance Structures/Assigning Formal Charge
Resonance is pretty weird. Let Professor Dave explain it to you. He will discuss the resonance structures for the carbonate and nitrate ions, and also provide the simplest possible explanation for how assign formal charges to atoms within a molecule.Watch the whole Organic Chemistry playlist:...
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Reptilian Diversity Part 2: Form and Function of the Squamates
With three of the four orders of extant reptiles covered, it's time to move on to the fourth and largest, Squamata. This has all the lizards and snakes, and some other stuff. First let's go over their form and function.Script by Ryan HelcoskiWatch the whole Zoology playlist:...
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Introduction to Differential Equations
After learning calculus and linear algebra, it's time for differential equations! This is one of the most important topics in mathematics, especially for those who are interested in physics and engineering, as these equations show up anywhere that rates of change are described. Learn about...
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IUPAC Nomenclature of Haloalkanes and Alcohols
More IUPAC nomenclature! Here we look at alkanes with halogen and hydroxyl substituents. Dave loves alcohols. Learn Organic Chemistry the easy way with Professor Dave!Watch the whole Organic Chemistry playlist: http://bit.ly/ProfDaveOrgChemGeneral Chemistry Tutorials:...
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Practice Problem: Pendulum Velocity
Now you're really getting advanced with your building skills. Check out this pendulum. It's a good thing we know about potential energy and kinetic energy, because that will allow us to calculate the velocity of the pendulum at any instant. Give it a try!Try all of the Classical Physics Practice...
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Unicellular Life Part 2: Archaea and Protists
Everyone knows about bacteria, but there are tons of other unicellular species! Archaea are prokaryotes just like bacteria, but they live in some pretty weird places, which teaches us a lot about the kinds of conditions life can thrive in. Then there are a wide variety of unicellular eukaryotes,...
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Dealing With a Dense Creationist (Featuring Aron Ra)
Sometimes I do these call-in shows where creationists try to explain to me how they aren't objectively wrong and brainwashed. It never goes well for them. Here we have a Torah enthusiast trying to defend the veracity of his scripture, while Aron Ra and I give him a few things to think about.…
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IUPAC Nomenclature of Cyclic Compounds
Look at the pretty shapes! One more bit of IUPAC nomenclature, this time for cyclic molecules. You know, like cyclohexane and what not.Watch the whole Organic Chemistry playlist: http://bit.ly/ProfDaveOrgChemGeneral Chemistry Tutorials: http://bit.ly/ProfDaveGenChemBiochemistry Tutorials:...
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Verifying Trigonometric Identities
Verifying trigonometric identities can be super fun! And also very frustrating when you can't figure them out. It can be tricky because there's no precise way to go about doing this, you have to just use your intuition, but let's go over some common strategies and identities that will more than...
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EPA Head Lee Zeldin is a Freaking Nightmare
Trump's second-term cabinet is the stuff of nightmares. I've talked about Bobby Kennedy's dismantling of HHS quite a bit, but it's not just public health that is in shambles under this administration. The environment is on the chopping block as well, especially under new EPA head Lee Zeldin. The...
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Conformational Analysis of Ethane and Butane - Newman Projections
Hooray for molecular models! Here we will examine the different conformations of ethane and butane, and discuss their relative energies. Also, Dave will show you how to draw Newman projections.Watch the whole Organic Chemistry playlist: http://bit.ly/ProfDaveOrgChemGeneral Chemistry Tutorials:...
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Expressing Time in Latin
How did the Ancient Romans tell time throughout the day? There are a few ways to do this. Let's learn about ablativus temporis, which describes the time when or within which an action occurred, as well as some other ways of expressing time in Latin.Script by Patrizia Farina, Professor of Italian…
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IUPAC Nomenclature of Alkenes and Alkynes
More IUPAC nomenclature! Now let's look at molecules with carbon-carbon double and triple bonds. We will look at alkynes of alkenes. Get it?Watch the whole Organic Chemistry playlist: http://bit.ly/ProfDaveOrgChemGeneral Chemistry Tutorials: http://bit.ly/ProfDaveGenChemBiochemistry Tutorials:...
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The Beginnings of Human Civilization
For a long time humans were hunter-gatherers. But at a certain point, human civilization began to flourish. This involved large cities of thousands of people, social stratification, trade specialization, and record-keeping. Agriculture was a big part of this transition as well. So what were the...
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Laplace Transforms Part 1: Solving Differential Equations
There is another important tool when it comes to solving differential equations, and that is the Laplace transform. This is an operator that we can apply to both sides of a differential equation in order to solve it in a fairly involved way. Let's get a closer look!Script by Lorcan NichollsWatch...
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Archeological Surveys
Before archeologists can excavate a site, they need to know where to dig. Surveys are the techniques used to find these places. What are the techniques used in archeological survey, as well as the technologies? What is LiDAR and how is that used? There is a lot to unpack here, so let's get a…
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Kyivan Rus' Part 2: Vladimir the Great and Yaroslav
We talked about the foundation and expansion of Kievan Rus, so now let's move forward and talk about some of its most historic rulers. The son of Prince Sviatoslav was named Vladimir the Great, who mass converted the citizens to Christianity. His son Yaroslav succeeded him, and established the...
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Aldol Condensation
It's time for enolate chemistry! Protons alpha to a carbonyl are so sassy. That's what allows for Aldol Condensation to occur.Watch the whole Organic Chemistry playlist: http://bit.ly/ProfDaveOrgChemGeneral Chemistry Tutorials: http://bit.ly/ProfDaveGenChemBiochemistry Tutorials:...
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Michael Button: Rising Pseudoarcheology Fraud
It's time to expose another worthless pseudoarcheology fraud! With some obvious targets out of the way, let's hit one of the newer rising stars, Michael Button. He's essentially a Graham Hancock clone. Same script full of lies, same accent, same demeanor, same everything. He seems to be hoping to...
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E1 Reaction
Here we examine the mechanism for the E1 reaction. Don't worry, it's just these four for now!Watch the whole Organic Chemistry playlist: http://bit.ly/ProfDaveOrgChemGeneral Chemistry Tutorials: http://bit.ly/ProfDaveGenChemBiochemistry Tutorials: http://bit.ly/ProfDaveBiochemBiology Tutorials:...
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Dark Matter and Dark Energy: Possibilities and Projections
We've all heard of dark matter and dark energy. But what are they? What do we know about them? Have we ruled out any possibilities? Why do we believe they exist in the first place? Let's talk about it!Script by Andrew Mattson, Physics PhD Student at Johns Hopkins UniversityWatch the whole Modern...
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Three-Dimensional Shapes Part 1: Types, Calculating Surface Area
Enough of this two-dimensional, stuck in one plane rubbish! The real world has three spatial dimensions! Technically more, but we very clearly interact with three all the time, so it's time to start talking about three-dimensional shapes like pyramids and prisms and cylinders and cones, and the...
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The Italian Calendar: Seasons, Months of the Year, and Days of the Week
We humans have built a lot of time-based social constructs for ourselves. Some are based on things we can observe, like the seasons, and one year being the cycle that repeates them. But things like months and days are completely arbitrary. Nevertheless, we have to learn them in order to…
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Ozonolysis
Ozonolysis? Ozone is in the sky, right? That thing that shields us from UV light? That's right friend, but ozone is also used in the lab to cleave carbon-carbon double bonds. Check it out if you don't believe me. Watch the whole Organic Chemistry playlist: http://bit.ly/ProfDaveOrgChemGeneral...
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Adding and Subtracting Polynomials
We just learned what polynomials are, but that's not going to be enough! We have to learn how to add, subtract, multiply, and divide them. Let's start with the easy operations, addition and subtraction!Watch the whole Mathematics playlist: http://bit.ly/ProfDaveMathClassical Physics Tutorials:...
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SpudCell: Newest Breakthrough in Synthetic Biology (Featuring Kate Adamala)
Have you seen the headlines about SpudCell? It's the newest breakthrough in synthetic biology, a synthetic cell with some interesting properties, including cell division. Is it alive? What can we learn from it? Let's go over some basic information, and then talk to Kate Adamala, the researcher...
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Nucleophiles, Electrophiles, Leaving Groups, and the SN2 Reaction
This is it! The start of the very scary reaction mechanisms! Take it easy, chief. First we will define nucleophiles, electrophiles, and leaving groups. Then, we will examine the mechanism, transition state, and stereospecificity of the SN2 reaction. Push those electrons!Watch the whole Organic...
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Adjectives of the Third Declension in Latin
We've learned the easier adjectives of the first class, which follow the first and second declensions, but there are many adjectives that follow the third declension. This group is a little more complex, and they can be divided into three different subgroups depending on how many terminations…
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The Eastern Mediterranean Part 2: The Israelite Monarchy (1000 – 500 BCE)
Continuing with the Israelites, let's examine the Israelite monarchy, which according to scripture began with Saul, who was followed by David, and Solomon. What can we say about these figures and this time period? How did the monarchy evolve over time? Let's get a closer look!Script by Peter...
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Protecting the Crime Scene, Recognizing and Searching For Evidence
Now that we have an understanding of the principles of forensic science, we can begin to examine crime scene investigation. CSI involves many steps, but the first three are protecting the crime scene, recognizing evidence, and searching for evidence. Let's go over some details regarding these…
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Ortho/Meta/Para Directors
What's this ortho/meta/para business you've been hearing so much about? Why is benzene ruining your life? Don't worry, 16 minutes or so from now it will all make sense. From directing groups to activating and deactivating groups. It has to do with electron donating groups and electron withdrawing...
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Reacting to Bill Wurtz's "history of the entire world, i guess"
Grab your copy of "The Book" today by using the code PROFESSORDAVE10 at the following link: https://mdsh.io/z4kkc59aoyHave you ever seen Bill Wurtz's "history of the entire world, i guess"? It's a freaking masterpiece. If you have seen it, watch me react to it and explain a ton of the science…
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Exposing Discovery Institute Part 10: Casey Luskin Again (Because He's Such a Loser Fraud)
How did I let a whole year slip by without dumping on the douchebags at Discovery Institute? It's time to get this playlist going again, and we're going to start with that complete asshat who kicked off this series, Casey Luskin. He's been lying even more than usual lately, about junk DNA and...
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Diels-Alder Cycloaddition
The mechanism and stereochemistry of the Diels-Alder reaction are examined here. This cycloaddition is one of the coolest reactions in organic chemistry. You'll see.Watch the whole Organic Chemistry playlist: http://bit.ly/ProfDaveOrgChemGeneral Chemistry Tutorials:...
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Italian Vocabulary: Parts of the Body
Vocabulary is always fun! Today let's go over the parts of the body. You know, head and arms and stomach, that kind of stuff. That way if you get hurt in Italy, you'll know what to tell the doctor!Script by Patrizia Farina, Professor of Italian at Western Connecticut State University and Purchase...
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Reptilian Diversity Part 3: Classifying the Squamates
To wrap things up with the reptiles, let's classify the squamates. We've got snakes, lizards, geckos, all kinds of stuff. Let's check out their diversity!Script by Ryan HelcoskiWatch the whole Zoology playlist: http://bit.ly/ProfDaveZooGeneral Chemistry Tutorials:...
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Proving the Pythagorean Theorem
We learned about the Pythagorean Theorem, but where did it come from? How do we know it's definitely true? What if old Pythag just made it up off the top of his mystical skull? Lucky for us, in math we can proof that things are definitely true, and there are tons of ways to prove that the...
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Hydrohalogenation, Hydration, Dihalogenation
Three more of these babies. Isn't it neat how you can tell what the reaction is doing just from the name of it? Scientists are cool like that. Look out for rogue bromonium ions. Hydrohalogenation, hydration, and dihalogenation are here to stay.Watch the whole Organic Chemistry playlist:...
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Grignard Reaction
Don't get your Grignard wet! It's like a Mogwai. Do you want Grignard Gremlins running around? I didn't think so. Check this out so you know what's up with Grignards.Watch the whole Organic Chemistry playlist: http://bit.ly/ProfDaveOrgChemGeneral Chemistry Tutorials:...
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Braindead Flat Earthers Have to Give Me $200,000!
Click this link here: https://boot.dev/?promo=PROFESSORDAVE and use my code PROFESSORDAVE to get 25% off your first payment for boot.dev!Let's make fun of some flat earthers for a little bit, shall we? I know it's your comfort food and Daddy loves to deliver. This time a couple idiots have…
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Eukaryotic Cells Part 2: Plant Cells
It's not just animals that are made of cells, it's plants too! Plant cells are very similar to animal cells, but they have some stuff that animal cells don't, like chloroplasts, that allow for photosynthesis. Let's take a tour through a plant cell now!Watch the whole Biology/Genetics playlist:...
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The Haber-Bosch Process: Industrial Ammonia Synthesis
We just finished looking at some catalytic hydrogenation reactions, so let's look at another extremely important application of hydrogen gas. Ammonia is a critically important compound for many reasons, particularly fertilizer production to maintain global agricultural needs. We can synthesize...
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Choosing Between SN1/SN2/E1/E2 Mechanisms
This is it! This is what you've been freaking out about in class! How the hell do you choose the mechanism that's gonna happen? Is it SN2, SN1, E2, or E1? Woe is you, what will you do. Why not listen to Professor Dave? He's got the hottest chemistry tips in town. That cute boy or girl in class…
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Common Latin Phrases Everyone Should Know
You've all heard phrases like "carpe diem", or "cave canem", right? Well there are a bunch of Latin phrases just like that, and using them can make you sound smart! Let's learn as many as we can together, shall we?Script by Patrizia Farina, Professor of Italian at Western Connecticut State...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Welcome! I have a knack for explaining stuff and I want to share some knowledge with you.
I received a BA in chemistry from Carleton College, and performed graduate studies in both synthetic organic chemistry and science education at Cal State Northridge, receiving an MA in the latter. Prior to this I taught for about a decade in various high school and undergraduate settings, specializing in organic chemistry but also teaching general chemistry, physics, and biology.
This channel is for students at the high school and undergraduate level, but it is also for members of the general public who just want to know more about the world and how things work. My goal is to increase science literacy in our society, so please share these tutorials with anyone that you think might enjoy them. Happy learning!
Support my channel: https://www.patreon.com/professordaveexplains
Check out my book "Is This Wi-Fi Or
HOSTED BY
Professor Dave Explains
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Professor Dave Explains currently has 666 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Professor Dave Explains about?
Welcome! I have a knack for explaining stuff and I want to share some knowledge with you. I received a BA in chemistry from Carleton College, and performed graduate studies in both synthetic organic chemistry and science education at Cal State Northridge, receiving an MA in the latter. Prior to...
How often does Professor Dave Explains release new episodes?
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