How many of you could recite, word for word, a definition you learned in school? When you first memorized the definition, you could state “inertia is a property of matter”, or “density is mass over volume.” However, you struggled to apply it to a new situation and maybe you were unsure of how to construct a model of what it meant.
The AP Chemistry Exam is getting closer. What will you provide your students to review for the big day?
The author explains how she assigns roles for her students while completing laboratory work. The lab activity is designed to allow students to explore the use of indicators. It serves as an introduction to acids, bases and pH.
This post is the second installment in a series called “SBG Hacks". In this part, I will explain my automated reassessment system.
Did you know there is a simple test you can do to see if an alkaline battery is fresh or dead? All you need to do is bounce the bottom of a battery onto a hard, flat surface. Guess what causes this difference in bouncing ability between fresh and dead batteries? Chemistry, of course!
A common topic in chemistry discussion groups and forums is about the use of the terms “spontaneous reaction” versus “thermodynamic favorability”. This is a new activity for chemistry students who struggle with the correlation between changes in enthalpy, temperature, entropy, and the Gibbs free energy of a system; which relies on an analogy that most students will be familiar with.
My experience with the National Board Certification process was much like a Hero’s Journey plotline utilized in popular movies like Star Wars. Through my National Board Certification in Chemistry journey, I was able to navigate all the highs and lows to transform into a stronger teacher than I had ever thought possible.
Looking for Earth Day activities that connect chemistry and climate change? Check out this experiment, which demonstrates the warming influence CO2 has on our atmosphere.
In our freshman Chemistry laboratory course at Nicholls State University, tutorials (with embedded quizzes) are used as pre-lab assignments. The text and graphical information provide a sufficient basis to answer all the questions, but YouTube videos are embedded for students who may need additional help. The tutorials could be easily adapted for flipped instruction in high school and college lecture courses.
This assignment helps students realize that chemistry class is not just a place where we talk about and imagine stuff we can’t see, but the things we learn in chemistry are actually used in real life in lots of different ways.
