high school
Ionic Formula Wordle
Bring the fun of the viral word game "Wordle" into the chemistry classroom!
Is Chocolate Cake an Acid-Base Indicator? Testing a Student Claim
Recently, Josh Kenney took time from his regular scheduled chemistry curriculum to investigate a student's claim that chocolate cake was an acid-base indicator.
My Heart Beats for Chemistry
Tom Kuntzleman conducts a safer "mercury-like" beating heart experiment with an added splash of gratefulness.
Confidence with Competence
How to build confidence in your students and minimize aggression.
Radioactivity of Red-Orange Fiestaware
Finding demos related to nuclear chemistry that are interesting, relevant, and manageable is challenging. Melanie Harvey is both a chemistry professor and a ceramic artist. Using Fiestaware to talk about the historical use of radioisotopes is one of her favorite demonstrations.
Apply to participate in the 2022 VisChem Institute
Check out this exciting, in-person, NSF-funded, summer 2022 professional development institute for high school chemistry teachers. Priority application deadline: March 11, 2022.
Solutions with Kristen Vanderveen
Solutions are all around us in life and chemistry class! On February 10th, 2022, Kristen Vanderveen discussed solubility curves, molarity calculations, using particulate level modeling and simulations, making real world connections and so much more in this ChemBasics Talk. View a recording of her presentation and access materials she has suggested here.
Expanding on Self-Inflating Balloons: Activities Involving Moles, Gas Laws, and Thermochemistry
Balloons that inflate using carbon dioxide produced from the reaction of citric acid and sodium hydrogen carbonate can be used to demonstrate a number of aspects of chemistry. Gas laws were used with the balloons to illustrate limiting reactants, molar mass of gases, and rockets. The endothermic reaction in the balloon was visualized with an infrared camera, and the Green Chemistry aspects of these balloons were considered.
How to Make Simple Mole Calculations More Relatable
Explore a chemistry activity designed to have students measure quantities and calculate the moles and number of particles contained in the sample.