first-year undergraduate

By Tom Kuntzleman, Tori Talaski, and Quincy Banini Want a great experiment to have your students perform during the Halloween Season? Try this one that involves an orange to black color change:  

In May, my wife and I bought our first house. It’s a charming 1970s ranch that was in good shape and not a fixer upper; however, there have been a good amount of maintenance projects on the to-do list.

The blue to white color change that occurs in the foam of Scrubbing Bubbles or KABOOM Brand cleaners has always fascinated me.  Many times I have wondered how this color change takes place.

In Chemical Mystery #5, I used chemistry to give the illusion that water can be lit on fire. The trick involves the use of hexane (C₆H₁₄) which is flammable, less dense than water, and immiscible with water. In the video below you can see how to set up and carry out this demonstration.

The video below displays a neat trick you can do for your students. What do you suppose is the secret behind this trick? Hint: It has to do with chemistry!