Dean Campbell uses demonstrations and props to illustrate concepts while teaching his collegiate Materials Chemistry course. Many of the examples described are also suitable for use in high school and collegiate General Chemistry courses.
What is some of the chemistry involved in the formation of ice clouds when boiling water is thrown into icy air?
Discover the secrets behind flame-shaped highlighter markings that not only disappear and reappear but also glow and flicker under the influence of acids, bases, and UV lights.
Try out this though-provoking capstone demonstration for the Chemical Reactions unit!
Igniting paper towels that have been soaked in concentrated potassium nitrate and allowed to dry yields a flame reminiscent of that produced by guncotton. Repeating this experiment with other metal nitrates produces flames with different colors, plus a few other chemical surprises! This series of experiments is fascinating and connects to a wide variety of chemical topics including combustion, redox reactions, chemical thermodynamics, and flame tests. You don't want to miss this one!
Regularly dimpled trays such as those used in food packaging can be used to represent layers of atoms in solid structures. For example, the square array of dimples in transparent plastic mini quiche trays can be used to depict layers within cubic or tetragonal unit cells. Multiple solid structures and ways to represent those structures are described.
Find out more about Nicholls State University Department of Chemistry's recruiting program involving a Roadshow and Field Days and its impact on diversity in the chemistry program.
The floating soap bubble is an impressive experiment that is surprisingly easy to carry out.
Josh Kenney shares three simple and inexpensive demonstrations using Elmer’s glue.
Part 4 of Colourful Chemistry of Canning explores how to make gold in an old tin can!
