Organic chemistry was when I fell in love with chemistry. Also known as Chem 210 at the University of Michigan, it was the first time I actually started to connect what was going on at the nanoscopic level to the macroscopic world. Since then, I’ve been hooked.
Looking for an easy, hands-on experiment to use in your classroom at the beginning of the school year? In the June, 2013 issue of the Journal of Chemical Education, Isao Ikemoto and Kouichi Saitou describe a simple experiment to demonstrate the electrolytic dissolution of copper ions from a copper electrode. This experiment can be conducted using only items that are easily obtained around the home or in grocery stores.
Students proceed through a prior knowledge activity, practice creating and using a voltaic cell and use of a model designed to simulate the particulate level activity within a voltaic cell. The teacher checks for student understanding at specific points as groups work together. A discussion follows to help clarify ideas.
About one 60 minute class period for lab and manipulative procedure.