Chemical Mystery #8: Go Blue!
Tom Kuntzleman | Fri, 11/04/2016 - 13:36
Addition of a white solid to a green solution causes the solution to separate into some truly beautiful colors...
two-year college
Transforming Misconceptions into Positive Learning Tools
Catelyn Tweeten | Wed, 11/02/2016 - 19:16
“What we Call Misconceptions May be Necessary Stepping Stones Toward Making Sense of the World” is an article identifying how misconceptions can be turned into sense-making exercises and classroom conversations to help students come to meaningful, and eventually “correct” views of scientific concepts.
Hydrate Labs, Microscale Chemistry and Cage Fighting....
Chad Husting | Tue, 11/01/2016 - 19:56
For years my students would heat the hydrates in glassware, burn themselves, break the glassware and splatter salts and thus their data, all over the lab bench. A few years ago Bob Worley came up with a great microscale technique. Essentially, it takes a used bottle cap without the plastic and this is used as the dish. Next, there is about a three inch machine screw that goes through a drilled hole in the cap. A nut is placed on the screw to hold everything in place and cheap pliers are used to hold the entire assembly over the flame.
The Hindenburg
Doug Ragan | Sun, 10/23/2016 - 23:43
I have always been intrigued by the story of the Hindenburg, the iconic airship that caught fire on May 6, 1937. The accident killed 35 of the 100 passengers and crewmembers on board. As a chemistry teacher, I discuss this from a chemical standpoint and the fact that the airship was filled with hydrogen, a flammable gas, rather than helium, a non-flammable gas, as today’s modern airships are.
The Mystery of the Burning Water: An Update
Lowell Thomson | Mon, 10/17/2016 - 08:02
Tom Kuntzleman loves to share chemical mysteries and that inspired me to create a list of mysteries that are appropriate for the main topics covered in IB Chemistry. In this blog post I'd like to share some detail about how I modified the mystery of the burning water.
Extension Activity with Isotopes Matter
Michelle Okroy | Sun, 10/09/2016 - 14:33
After receiving positive feedback from Peter Mahaffy, the IUPAC project co-chair of Isotopes Matter, I decided to add an additional component to the original isotope assignment I posted. The second component of the assignment focuses on the applications of both radioactive and stable isotopes using the interactive IUPAC periodic table.
Kool-aid, Cotton, and Intermolecular Forces
Tom Kuntzleman | Tue, 10/04/2016 - 19:59
Red dye #40 found in strawberry Kool-Aid and various cloth fibers can be used in a very simple experiment that can teach students about intermolecular forces. A video is included that describes the experiment and analysis of results.
Practicums in Chemistry
Lauren Stewart | Sat, 10/01/2016 - 15:16
The purpose of a lab practicum is to assess a student’s understanding of the content by completing a hands-on challenge. These assessments focus more on problem-solving skills than technique.
Titration of an Esterification Reaction to Determine Equilibrium Constant
Lowell Thomson | Wed, 09/21/2016 - 08:44
This activity was submitted for a 2016 ChemEd X Call for Contributions soliciting input regarding the big ideas being put forth by organizations like AP. The author shares a lab activity that relies on connections - between stoichiometry, esterification, equilibrium, kinetics, titrations and uncertainty of calculations. He also shares the resources he created.
Identifying Organic Functional Groups Activity
Michael Morgan | Mon, 09/12/2016 - 15:53
In a previous post I talked about an equation balancing lab that I have been doing with my students involving building molecular models. This time I would like to focus on another lab that I have developed for my model kits.