You may have observed a red to blue color change when you rinse your bowl after eating frozen blueberries. Sounds like an acid-base reaction, doesn’t it? Well, read on to learn about the blueberry surprise!
Simple chemical tests are described that can indicate the presence of certain metals in coins. A wide variety of chemical concepts are involved. The experiments described are a natural fit for the 2019 National Chemistry Week theme of "Marvelous Metals!"
The solution to Chemical Mystery #15: The Leaky Cup is shown here.
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!
Erica Jacobsen shares highlights from the December 2018 issue of the Journal of Chemical Education.
The solution to Chemical Mystery #13: Bye Bye Blue! is presented. This experiment is useful to demonstrate to students when discussing acid-base indicators, neutralization reactions, or the acidity of carbon dioxide when it dissolves in water.
A simple, but tricky experiment is displayed. Can you figure out how the trick was done?
A new event called "The Mole"was unveiled at BCCE 2018. I told the story of how one of my students discovered how to make marshmallows spark in the microwave oven.
What happens if you cool a Scrub Daddy sponge in liquid nitrogen (or dry ice) and subsequently strike it with a hammer? Let's find out!
The science behind the incredibly popular Scrub Daddy sponge is investigated. Part of the appeal of the Scrub Daddy sponge is that it changes from soft to hard depending upon temperature. This allows a single sponge to be transformed into a hard scrubber or soft sponge, depending upon the temperature of water into which it is placed.
