In honor of the International Year of the Periodic Table: A familiarity with the chemistry of some of the elements more commonly encountered in everyday life is a valuable learning experience for all students. Chlorine is the seventh in this series of elements to be discussed as part of the Element of the Month program. #IYPT
This experiment in chemical kinetics can be conducted using materials as simple as a smartphone, hydrogen peroxide, sodium carbonate solution, and blue food dye! The experiment is useful when discussing the order of rate laws with respect to reactants.
Inspired by her young daughter and equipped with an education in chemistry, a mother publishes chemistry themed books and other resources for children.
Erica Jacobsen shares highlights from the November 2019 issue of the Journal of Chemical Education of special interest to our ChemEd X community.
The flipped classroom of today looks vastly different from its initial form. Originally, class time was primarily used to complete homework assignments; however, more effective active learning practices tend to dominate class time in modern applications of the model. Although the flipped classroom has improved over the years, several challenges persist.
Several resources are available to support teachers as they incorporate science practices into their curriuculum. The author shares how he and his colleagues focused on improving their coverage of the practice of planning and carrying out investigations.
Millions of years of evolution has endowed brown (Ursus arctos) and black (Ursus americanus) bears with the enviable metabolic capacity to starve themselves for a long period of time and still survive. Truly, bears are chemist extraordinaires and their hibernation chemistry overall is arguably without equal in the mammalian world. Let's take an introductory look at what's going on.
Ever wonder why some call precipitation reactions "double decomposition". Perhaps (or perhaps not) two (double) salts are sort of splitting apart (decomposing?) and then reforming with other radicals. But a solvent (usually water) is necessary to achieve the desired effect. But is adding water to a salt really decomposition?
The November 2019 issue of the Journal of Chemical Education is now available online to subscribers. Topics featured in this issue include: biochemistry and visualizations; fostering effective explanations and instructions; learning through games and contests; green chemistry; investigations involving light; discovery-based laboratories; innovations in teaching; chemistry teacher experiences; foundations of chemistry; from the archive: infrared imaging.
As high school teachers, we know that understanding how measurement works is crucial for lab skills and for understanding significant figures. We think measurement should be an easy topic for students to learn; especially because we know that teachers begin working with students in elementary school to teach these skills. However, I, and many other teachers, have spent countless hours teaching and reteaching a seemingly simple skill.
