inquiry-based discovery learning

Global Experiments

With millions of teachers and students facing remote-learning because of COVID-19, a global experiment may be a great way to engage students at home.

A Multi-Colored Equilibrium Experiment

Solutions of copper (II) dissolved in acetone are easy to prepare, and can display orange, yellow, green, and blue color depending upon conditions. Such solutions allow for a variety of demonstrations and experiments that illustrate principles of chemical equilibrium. 

Seeing Chemistry in a Different Light—FLIR Thermal Cameras in the Classroom

Before trying to use a piece of equipment, it’s worthwhile to have a basic understanding of how it works. To put it simply, FLIR cameras primarily deal with the infrared part of the EMR spectrum. The camera detects infrared energy and converts it into an electrical signal, which is then processed to produce a thermal image on a video monitor. 

VisChem Summer Institute

High School Teacher Opportunity: Summer is the ultimate time to recharge the teaching batteries. Professional development during the summer can be a great chance to stop and reflect. It provides time that does not exist during the school year to develop new and better ideas to help students.

Measurement, Uncertainty, and Significant Figures 

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.

The Liquid Nitrogen Cloud

Have you ever seen the liquid nitrogen cloud? Do you wonder how the cloud forms when hot water is thrown onto liquid nitrogen? This post explores the liquid nitrogen cloud and possible explanations for its formation.

Measuring Surface Tension to Investigate Intermolecular Forces

Like most concepts in chemistry, intermolecular forces takes a bit of imagination and critical thinking to fully comprehend and apply when explaining a variety of situations. Though demonstrating the presence of these forces in a simple and explicit manner can easily be done, I wanted to change how I introduced IMFs a bit this year by focusing on a more data-to-concepts approach.