In this Activity, students make slurries of breakfast cereal and water and use a magnetic wand to collect elemental iron filings that are present in some cereals. They determine the mass of iron collected and then calculate the "recommended daily allowance" (RDA) in each cereal. An extension uses qualitative tests to confirm that the material collected is actually iron.
In this Activity, students use a commercial cement mix to produce concrete. They investigate how changing key variables such as concentrations, curing temperatures, and the addition of various substances affects properties such as setting time, hardness, and plasticity.
In this Activity, students compare several different window cleaner recipes to determine the purpose each ingredient in a window cleaner serves. They use different combinations of water (solvent), isopropyl alcohol (wetting agent), and ammonia (grease cutter). They then develop their own "New and Improved" recipe to test its performance against commercial window cleaner.
In this Activity, students make a cross-linked polymer called "gluep" using white glue and borax solution. They then investigate its properties, and "un-gluep" and "re-gluep" it using vinegar and baking soda. This Activity can be used in discussions of polymers or properties of liquids and solids. It demonstrates the composition and alternative use of a common household product.
In this Activity, students extract sodium zeolite A from powdered laundry detergent and examine its properties. The Activity helps students to apply their chemical knowledge to the realm of consumer products. It could be used as a lead-in for a discussion of environmental issues and water chemistry.
In this Activity, students use written clues to determine the identities of 12 chemical compounds. They write the name and chemical formula for each compound, and find a consumer product in which each compound is present. This Activity increases student awareness of the presence of a variety of chemical compounds in a range of common consumer products.
In this Activity, students make their own version of "Fizzies", a carbonated drink product. Students use different combinations of powdered drink mix, citric acid, baking soda, and water to try to create a good-tasting beverage. The Activity enables students to see the practical benefits of stoichiometry when they use it to develop a product they can immediately consume.
In this Activity, students observe UV-sensitive beads that have been melted into flat disks, explore the temperature behavior of the disks, and then use the disks to investigate the effectiveness of different sunscreens. The Activity shows applications of chemistry in the real world.
In this Activity, students make a chemical clock using chemicals found in the supermarket: vitamin C tablets, tincture of iodine (2%), hydrogen peroxide (3%), and liquid laundry starch. They investigate what happens to the speed of the clock when the reactant solutions are made more or less dilute.
In this Activity, students investigate a classic chemistry demonstration that uses the phenomenon of freezing-point depression to lift an ice cube out of a glass of water with a thread. They first test how adding salt, pepper, cream, and sugar to cold water affects the temperature.