Many of you familiar with me will know I have a great affinity for academic competition and was more than a little bit upset when the International Chemistry Olympiad was scheduled for Karachi Pakistan in 2016.
Have you ever wondered what is the theoretically largest possible value for the atomic number of an element? Using some introductory physics and algebra, you can get your students thinking about this idea.
A description of a quick and easy lesson that is sure to add some spark into your next lesson on stoichiometry.
Build a propane gun for your students! Construction is inexpensive, easy, and the effects are spectacular.
“What are you reading?” This twist on the traditional icebreaker question kicked off a meeting session last summer. I was eager for the conversation to make its way around the table to me. On my plane ride the day before, I’d started The Martian by Andy Weir, and I was hooked.
Conducting experiments with liquid nitrogen experiments is a sure-fire way to energize many chemistry lessons. Unfortunately, getting access to liquid nitrogen can be a bit difficult.
The “bucket launch” is a fantastic experiment you can do if you have access to liquid nitrogen. Depending upon conditions, we have observed the bucket to launch anywhere from 80 to 160 feet high. See the video.
This worksheet asks students to do basic conversions of mass or molecules to moles and vice versa.
This worksheet is intended to be used as a "Guided Instructional Activity" (GIA). It asks students to find the molar mass of selected elements and write the molar mass as two equivalent fractions ("conversion factors") and as an equality. It is designed to help develop good habits in representing molar mass and other conversion factors, and to emphasize the idea that a conversion factor has a numerator and denominator that "name" identical quantities using different measures.
Physics teachers have AAPT, biology teachers have NABT, and starting this fall, chemistry teachers will have AACT. We are happy to announce that the American Association of Chemistry Teachers (AACT) will be accepting charter members starting on Aug. 4 at BCCE in Grand Rapids, Mich. But if you aren’t attending BCCE, you can join AACT by visiting teachchemistry.org on Aug. 4, and you’ll still have the status of charter member.
