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.
What real world examples are made known to students when discussing freezing point depression? What about brinicles, also known as "Icy Fingers of Death"? A brinicle (from brine + ice) is a finger-like formation of supercooled brine solution that grows downward underneath sea ice. Intrigued? Cool (pun intended). Keep reading to find out more!
Food chemistry is an interesting and fun class for students. Read the article for some suggestions about resources along with an outline of a unit developed around water in cooking.
Make ice cream in a baggie to emphasize energy changes, direction of energy transfer, dissolution and colligative properties.
In this Activity, students investigate a classic chemistry demonstration that uses the phenomenon of freezing-point depression to lift an ice cube out of a glass of water with a thread. They first test how adding salt, pepper, cream, and sugar to cold water affects the temperature.
In this Activity, students test two chemical deicers, rock salt (sodium chloride) and calcium chloride, to determine which melts ice better and whether it is worth the extra cost to buy a more expensive deicer. They perform three tests comparing the two deicers, predict which will be more effective at melting through a thin disk of ice, and then test their prediction.
