Chemistry Time: Factors Affecting the Rate of a Chemical Reaction
In this Activity, students use effervescent antacid tablets such as Alka Seltzer, and baking soda and vinegar, to investigate factors that determine how fast chemical reactions occur.
Reaction Rates
Cabbage Patch Chemistry
In this Activity, students investigate the fermentation process by making sauerkraut and test the effect of changing one variable in the sauerkraut-making process. The Activity involves students for an entire month, the length of the fermentation process.
The Effects of Temperature on Lightsticks
In this Activity, students observe and compare the behavior of three lightsticks that are exposed to three different temperature ranges (cold, room temperature, and hot). The Activity could be used early in the school year to give students practice in making detailed observations and devising reasonable explanations for those observations. It illustrates the use of qualitative vs.
Soup or Salad? Investigating the Action of Enzymes in Fruit on Gelatin
In this Activity, students observe gelatin samples treated with substances that may or may not have an enzymatic effect on the protein in the gelatin. Substances used are fresh pineapple, canned pineapple, fresh pineapple that has been frozen and microwaved, and meat tenderizer.
Blueprint Photography by the Cyanotype Process
In this Activity, students prepare cyanotype paper and use it to "photograph" different items using sunlight. This Activity demonstrates catalysis of chemical reactions by ultraviolet (UV) light using one of the earliest photographic processes, the cyanotype process. It is useful as an introduction to the damaging effects of UV radiation on living organisms and the role of sunscreens.
Putting UV-Sensitive Beads to the Test
In this Activity, students observe UV-sensitive beads that have been melted into flat disks, explore the temperature behavior of the disks, and then use the disks to investigate the effectiveness of different sunscreens. The Activity shows applications of chemistry in the real world.
Tick Tock, a Vitamin C Clock
In this Activity, students make a chemical clock using chemicals found in the supermarket: vitamin C tablets, tincture of iodine (2%), hydrogen peroxide (3%), and liquid laundry starch. They investigate what happens to the speed of the clock when the reactant solutions are made more or less dilute.