For your enjoyment, we present lists of chemically-related words that end in the letters “-cation” but do not actually refer to the positively-charged chemical species. The lists are available for download in the Supporting Information.
Did you know that sand can be converted into a mixture of gases that spontaneously ignites in air? The procedures involved are relatively simple to perform, spectacular to observe, and relate to a rich assortment of chemical principles.
Thin sheets of polystyrene can be patterned with permanent markers to represent repeating units of the polymer and then shrunk down in size using heat. The shrunken models of the repeating units can be connected with a string and then flipped into positions to demonstrate different types of polymer tacticity.
Addition of a small amount of azobenzene to eicosane can lower its melting point to where it can be melted by body heat. This can be used in demonstrations and classroom activities related to freezing point depression and phase diagrams.
Interested in expanding your instructional portfolio? What about getting involved with CUREs (Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences)? If so, check it out some more.
Some explorations and explanations regarding superconductors and the quantum levitation (also known as quantum locking) experiment.
The May 2021 issue of the Journal of Chemical Education is now available online to subscribers. Topics featured in this issue include: teaching biochemistry, assessment, learning to think like a scientist, environmental chemistry, forensic chemistry, surface chemistry, solution mixing, organic chemistry laboratory experiments and activities, computer-based experiences, research on promoting student success, from the archives: systems thinking.
The blossoms of eastern skunk cabbage produce heat for a couple of weeks in early spring. This heat, which can be detected using an infrared camera, results from oxidation of carbohydrates. The mechanisms behind this process can be used to introduce energy transduction during classroom discussions of thermochemistry.
Service animals will continue to become more common in chemical laboratories. It is important that chemistry faculty and departments are prepared to safely accomodate students with service dogs in laboratory courses.
Teaching about hypervalent structures is problematic. This post discusses a simple and quick way in determining the number of lone pairs on a hypervalent central p-block atom.
