The WEIRDEST Chemical Reaction I've Ever Seen!
Tom Kuntzleman | Sat, 09/07/2024 - 11:17
This chemical reaction is just plain weird...but also beautiful!
curriculum
Bronsted-Lowry Balloon Blast Brain Break
Melissa Hemling | Mon, 06/03/2024 - 13:32
Discover how a simple brain break activity, involving water balloon tosses, creatively reinforces the principles of Brønsted-Lowry acids and bases, making chemistry engaging and accessible for students.
Balancing Forces - A Magnetic Chess Brain Break
Melissa Hemling | Thu, 05/16/2024 - 07:50
Use magnetic chess as a brain break during chemistry class to help introduce potential energy versus interparticle distance graphs in a memorable way!
Refresh and Reinforce: Water Maze Challenge Brain Break Activity
Melissa Hemling | Mon, 09/18/2023 - 08:42
Brain Breaks are powerful tools in education, supported by research showing improved focus, retention, community building, and reduced stress among students. When structured using chemistry principles, like in the Water Maze Race, brain breaks can also introduce or reinforce fundamental chemistry concepts.
Not Playing with a Full Deck: Ideas For Electron-Counting Chemical Card Games
Dean Campbell | Fri, 08/04/2023 - 14:00
Ordinary playing cards can be used in games where the cards model valence electrons in atoms. These games could provide players with a fun and active way to practice counting valence electrons in simple chemical structures.
AP Chemistry with WE Service
Melissa Hemling | Fri, 03/24/2023 - 16:17
The AP with WE Service program is one way to incorporate service-learning into your AP course to improve student understanding of content and help develop the leaders of tomorrow.
Hatching Ideas to use Egg Cartons to Represent Electron Arrangements
Dean Campbell | Mon, 01/23/2023 - 14:11
Egg cartons and small objects such as milk jug caps or plastic eggs can be used to illustrate chemical concepts. The egg cartons can be cut into trays to represent atoms or to represent energy levels associated with atomic orbitals. The plastic caps or eggs distributed among the dimples of the trays can be used to represent electrons or pairs of electrons.
Seawater Chemistry and Global Trade: Part 4
Scott Donnelly | Wed, 06/22/2022 - 14:32
Continuation of the practical application of chemistry to seemingly something unrelated- global maritime trade. In this classroom activity students predict the buoyancy (and hence stability) of a merchant cargo ship based on interpretation of seawater surface salinity values. Like in the first three posts, the question types are conceptual.
Seawater Chemistry and Global Trade: Part 3
Scott Donnelly | Sun, 06/12/2022 - 15:36
This is the third post in a series dealing with seawater chemistry and global maritime trade. This classroom activity introduces the concept of salinity and tasks students to predict the range of salinities in certain regions of the ocean (coastal and open water, all four hemispheres, high and lower latitudes). Enjoy...
Seawater Chemistry and Global Trade- Part 2
Scott Donnelly | Mon, 06/06/2022 - 20:07
This is the second blog post describing a classroom activity relating seawater chemistry to oceanic shipping. Included are questions that challenge students to apply conclusions drawn from observations to making predictions.