The Self-Carving Pumpkin: It's Not Just for Halloween!
Tom Kuntzleman | Tue, 05/02/2023 - 18:48
Learn the chemistry behind the reaction between calcium carbide and water...melon...?!
thermochemistry
A Short Activity for Introducing Thermochemistry
Michael Jansen | Thu, 02/23/2023 - 09:00
This activity is an interesting way to engage students before formally beginning the study of Thermochemistry. Students experiment and compare the use of 1% milk and half & half cream in coffee.
The Chemistry of Lightning
Tom Kuntzleman | Tue, 09/20/2022 - 09:42
Learn a bit about the chemical reactions that occur during a lightning strike, and how you can demonstrate these reactions in your classroom.
Using My Marbles: Connecting Surface Area and Calorimetry with Temperature Curves and Thermochromic Cups
Dean Campbell | Sat, 07/30/2022 - 15:02
The importance of surface area can be illustrated by adding spherical solids at known sizes and temperature to other substances at different temperatures and then monitoring the rates of temperature changes of the system over time. Larger spheres (with less surface area per sample) exchanged heat with water more slowly than smaller spheres, and less thermally conductive glass spheres exchanged heat with water more slowly than iron spheres. Additional, more colorful demonstrations are described in which small glass spheres cool thermochromic plastic cups more quickly than larger glass spheres.
Thermochemistry Interactive Notebook Unit
Nora Walsh | Sun, 06/19/2022 - 12:47
Nora Walsh shares the outline of the interactive notebook pages she uses for her thermochemistry unit. All of the documents and foldables are available for download.
Seashell Chemistry
Tom Kuntzleman | Thu, 05/26/2022 - 14:15
Placing dry ice in limewater is a great demonstration to accompany discussions on a variety of chemical topics, including the impact of ocean acidification on marine organisms that depend upon the formation of CaCO3.
Exploring The “Two-Faced” Thionin Reaction
Tom Kuntzleman | Tue, 04/19/2022 - 11:44
The "Two-Faced" thionin reaction involves causing a purple solution to fade to colorless by shining light on the solution. I wondered if it could be demonstrated the color of light that caused this transition.
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.
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.
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.