General

Items tagged with the safety:general tag have some safety concerns that may be also described more specifically by additional safety terms

Subject

General Safety

For Laboratory Work: Please refer to the ACS Guidelines for Chemical Laboratory Safety in Secondary Schools (2016).  

For Demonstrations: Please refer to the ACS Division of Chemical Education Safety Guidelines for Chemical Demonstrations.

Other Safety resources

RAMP: Recognize hazards; Assess the risks of hazards; Minimize the risks of hazards; Prepare for emergencies

 

Gummy Bear Demo
Get More Empirical Mileage from the Gummy Bear Demonstration
// Tuesday, April 7, 2026 • Michael Jansen
The “gummy bear” demonstration is a mainstay in 11 (Honors) Chemistry. It is visually stimulating, sure to excite the most jaded, social media-addicted teenager. This article provides a thorough, thought-provoking analysis of the products. It will deepen students’ understanding of the importance of empirical observations, and of good ol’ fashioned thinking.
Recrystallization in the Organic Chemistry Laboratory.
// Monday, November 17, 2025 • Daniel Rivera
Implementing a Process-Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL) style recrystallization activity provides students with an opportunity to actively engage in the learning process while reinforcing key chemical concepts such as polarity, solubility, and purification techniques.
Assassin's Bottle title card
Ramping Up the Disappearing Rainbow with the Assassin’s Water Bottle
// Tuesday, September 16, 2025 • Tom Kuntzleman
The disappearing rainbow1 is a wonderful chemistry demonstration previously featured here on ChemEdX.2-4 In this experiment, a colorless solution of NaOH is poured into a row of flasks, each containing a different acid–base indicator.
turmeric
Three Turmeric Treats
// Wednesday, July 16, 2025 • Dean Campbell
Dean Campbell*, Ali Patel, Kathryn Campbell *Bradley University, Peoria, Illinois
egg carton models
Egg-lectrons and McLewis Structures
// Friday, February 28, 2025 • Dean Campbell
  Egg-lectrons and McLewis Structures: More Representations of Electron Arrangements in Atoms and Molecules Co-Authored with Ali Patel* *Bradley University, Peoria, Illinois