Chemical Mystery #19: Multi-colored Mixture
Tom Kuntzleman | Mon, 01/31/2022 - 16:06
Can you use your knowledge of chemistry to figure out what is going on in Chemical Mystery #19?
Reactions
Simple Distillation
Chad Husting | Mon, 01/24/2022 - 19:07
This is a simple small-scale distillation that can be used several different ways.
Exploring Chemical Reactions with Sarah English
Deanna Cullen | Wed, 01/19/2022 - 10:55
Chemical Reactions is a topic that unites a number of skills from formula writing, balancing equations, predicting products and solubility to name a few. On January 13th, 2022, Sarah English shared her unit covering chemical reactions in this ChemBasics Talk. You can view a recording of her presentation and access materials she has suggested.
Generating explosive gases from sand
Tom Kuntzleman | Fri, 01/07/2022 - 12:16
Did you know that sand can be converted into a mixture of gases that spontaneously ignites in air? The procedures involved are relatively simple to perform, spectacular to observe, and relate to a rich assortment of chemical principles.
Lithium Battery Flame
Tom Kuntzleman | Mon, 09/27/2021 - 16:42
Inspired by a recent article in the Journal of Chemical Education, Tom Kuntzleman attempted to extract lithium from a coin battery, and to use the extracted lithium to produce a pink flame.
The Empirical Formula of Magnesium Oxide Lab: A Successful Failure, Next Steps—and an Important Lesson
Michael Jansen | Mon, 08/16/2021 - 16:01
Michael Jansen reflects on a very common empirical formula lab that asks students to determine the empirical formula of MgxOy. He then explains how he continues to use it as a "successful failure", how he demonstrates an alternate procedure and leads his students to an important lesson.
Lab Practicals, Final Exams and a Silver Lining to a Tough Year
Chad Husting | Wed, 06/16/2021 - 08:09
A lab practical with an escape room story turned out to be a great final exam.
Simple formation of metal mirrors
Tom Kuntzleman | Mon, 05/10/2021 - 09:57
Beautiful, metallic mirrors of copper or silver can easily be formed in test tubes. Simply add the appropriate metal salt to a test tube, and heat! These reactions should be performed in a fume hood.
Labs, Pandemics and the Future
Chad Husting | Wed, 04/21/2021 - 08:23
Chad Husting shares a microscale Reactions Lab and outlines his goals and plans for labs in his classroom as he prepares for next school year.
Bubbly BBs and Vaccinated Mentos: Chemical Illustrations to Promote Public Health Measures
Dean Campbell | Mon, 02/01/2021 - 10:35
The authors revisit "flattening the curve" demonstrations published during 2020 to see how they could represent the impact of vaccinations on the COVID 19 battlefront. These demonstrations do not demonstrate the mechanisms of vaccines themselves, but are rather analogies to their potential effect on a population. In these analogies, gas production still represents illness, but this time people are represented by objects added to the solutions which either enable gas production (unvaccinated individuals) or do not enable gas production (vaccinated individuals). These simple experiments are best used as stand-alone demonstrations, and links to videos are included in this writeup.