Water Tower Reservoir Analogy of a Buffer
Joseph Lomax | Sun, 05/01/2022 - 14:50
In this blog the author describes how three components of a water tower reservoir is analogous to an acid-base buffer system.
acid/base
Is Chocolate Cake an Acid-Base Indicator? Testing a Student Claim
Josh Kenney | Mon, 02/28/2022 - 10:21
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.
Expanding on Self-Inflating Balloons: Activities Involving Moles, Gas Laws, and Thermochemistry
Dean Campbell | Thu, 02/10/2022 - 08:42
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.
Solution to Chemical Mystery #19: Multi-colored Mixture
Tom Kuntzleman | Sun, 02/06/2022 - 13:22
Did you figure out how to create a multi-colored mixture? Check out the solution to Chemical Mystery #19: Multi-colored Mixture!
A Demo A Day: Demonstrations and Props Used in My General Chemistry Class
Dean Campbell | Mon, 01/17/2022 - 17:43
This blog post includes short descriptions of demonstrations and props that Dean Campbell has used while teaching his collegiate General Chemistry I course.
Food Dyes as Acid-Base Indicators
Tom Kuntzleman | Sun, 11/28/2021 - 10:51
Natural food dyes are being sold online and in stores that can be used as acid-base indicators. These dyes open up a host of possibilities for at-home and in-class. For example, these food dyes can be used as indicators in the quantitative titration of the Mg(OH)2 in milk of magnesia.
Thermal Paper as a Polarity and Acidity Detector
Dean Campbell | Thu, 10/28/2021 - 14:09
Thermal paper such as that used for point of sale receipts typically functions by darkening when exposed to heat. The pigment system used in this paper also darkens when exposed to solvents of intermediate polarity and acids. This enables thermal paper to be used as an inexpensive sort of indicator paper for a variety of demonstrations.
Recreating the Mary Poppins Colored Medicine Scene with Acid-Base Indicators
Nick Thomas | Mon, 09/27/2021 - 13:21
When introducing acid-base theory, the concept of indicators and their pH color changes is usually discussed. To illustrate some color transitions to students, a classroom demonstration has been devised based on a memorable scene from Disney’s 1964 movie Mary Poppins.
A Highly-Scaffolded Activity for Helping Students Generate Exam Review Questions and See Patterns in Quantitative Problem Solving
Rachel Barnard | Wed, 07/28/2021 - 12:30
Helping students develop abstract understanding is a universal goal. This article describes an activity that involves students developing and then solving novel quantitative chemistry problems following a MadLibsTM style framework.
Clover Color Chemistry
Tom Kuntzleman | Sat, 07/03/2021 - 16:07
Summertime means doing chemistry experiments with flowers found growing in the yard...