Blogs

ChemEd X contributors offer their ideas and opinions on a broad spectrum of topics pertaining to chemical education.

Blogs at ChemEd X reflect the opinions of the contributors and are open to comments. Only selected contributors blog at ChemEd X. If you would like to blog regularly at ChemEd X, please use our Contribution form to request an invitation to do so from one of our editors.

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Mid-Year Reflections
// Tuesday, January 24, 2017 • Daniel Meyers
It’s the end of one semester and the beginning of another. Final exam week. For the first time in my teaching career, I had my grades caught up and posted prior to the beginning of final exams. This gave me time to reflect and plan ahead. Here are some highlights of the fall semester:
Concentration vs Rate of Reaction
Investigating the Effect of Concentration on Reaction Time
// Tuesday, January 24, 2017 • Ben Meacham
Whether you are introducing collision theory or something more demanding like reaction order, the reaction between sodium thiosulfate—Na2S2O3 and hydrochloric acid can provide a consistent, accurate, and engaging opportunity for investigating these topics.
bucket launch
Solution to Chemical Mystery #9: Liquid Nitrogen vs. Dry Ice
// Monday, January 16, 2017 • Tom Kuntzleman
In Chemical Mystery #9, a 5-gallon bucket is launched into the air using the energy released during gas explosions. These explosions result from gas pressure buildup inside a sealed 2 L soda pop bottle. Two slightly different methods of launching the bucket are used, and one works better than the other. Why does one method work better than the other?
AP Insight logo
Excellent Resource for Teaching Chemical Kinetics
// Sunday, January 15, 2017 • Allison Tarvin
College Board runs AP Insight, a website full of teaching and assessment tools for teachers and students of AP courses. The site focuses on specific "challenge areas" that tend to give students trouble on the exam. Chemical kinetics is one of the five challenge areas in AP Chemistry.
Bucket launch
Chemical Mystery #9: Liquid Nitrogen vs. Dry Ice
// Thursday, January 12, 2017 • Tom Kuntzleman
A favorite experiment of mine is the bucket launch. My students and I recently tried two variations on this experiment. Watch the video below and see if you can explain the differences we observed.