In this activity, students work in groups to apply their knowledge of intermolecular forces to identify nucleobase pairs; use a foldable paper model to mimic DNA replication, DNA transcription, and RNA translation; and decode a secret message.
When using standard thermodynamic values, the chemical reaction whereby ATP is converted to ADP is found to have a positive value for ΔG. This would imply the reaction REQUIRES energy. However, analyzing the process under physiological conditions shows that ΔG is in fact negative, as expected.
What happens when chemistry and illusion collide? In The Disappearing Rainbow, a simple acid–base demonstration transforms into a spellbinding performance. With a single pour, colorless liquids bloom into a vibrant rainbow—then vanish in an instant. Now, with the arrival of the “Assassin’s water bottle,” this classic demo gets a modern twist that makes the magic easier (and cleaner) than ever.
This post offers a case study of magnesium citrate used as a pharmaceutical. How does adding a dry white powder to water form aqueous magnesium citrate? To understand what occurs requires students to name chemical compounds, balance chemical equations, calculate theoretical yields, limiting and excess reagents, and use elemental percentage composition. A student question set is available as a resource.
Curcumin, found in the spice turmeric, varies from yellow in acidic conditions to orange-red in basic conditions. This enables curcumin to be used in many acid-base demonstrations and incorporate ideas such as hidden messages and mechanochemistry.
Microtitrations can be used as a stand-alone lesson or as an introduction to more complex titrations. Done without expensive glassware and materials, this alternative to buret titrations is easy to implement in most classroom situations.
You're going to love this new color variation on the Density Bottle experiment!
Light absorbance and fluorescence were studied for a sample of the Chicago River that had been dyed green for St. Patrick’s Day. The sample had weak green fluorescence, showing that the intense green appearance of the river was in part due to the long path length of light through the water. The ability of the green color to partition into 1-octanol was also explored.
Join us at ChemEd 2025 this July at the Colorado School of Mines. Check out this post to learn about all the exciting opportunities!
Short descriptions of demonstrations that can be connected to glaciers. Many of these examples are suitable for use in high school and collegiate General Chemistry courses and other courses such as Environmental Chemistry.
