acid/base

Recently, Anne Schmidt and I published an article together in the Journal of Chemical Education.¹ The article outlines a titration activity that students can carry out at home using only store-bought items. The objective of the activity is to determine the amount of Mg(OH)₂ in milk of magnesia.

Co-Authored by Dean J. Campbell,* Bozana Lojpur,* and Rebecca Liu* *Bradley University, Peoria, Illinois

When introducing acid-base theory, the concept of indicators and their pH color changes is usually discussed. To illustrate some color transitions to students, a classroom demonstration has been devised based on a memorable scene from Disney’s 1964 movie Mary Poppins.

Co-authors: Rachel Barnard*, Samantha Cass, and Ryan Sweeder (*: corresponding author) Lyman Briggs College, Michigan State University

Recently as I was mowing my lawn, I noticed that some of the florets on white clover have a slight pink or purple color (Figure 1). Because anthocyanins often impart red, blue, and purple color to plants, fruits, and flowers,^1,2 I wondered if these tiny pink florets in white clover contained anthocyanins.

Zero is not nothing. Rather, it is the point between the lands of positive and negative.

After teaching the concepts and calculations for acid and base strength, concentration, percent ionization, and pH I noticed many of my students were struggling to make meaningful connections between these calculations.

Molecular kits are a large investment for a chemistry classroom and often they only get used once a year during a VSEPR activity. My students love to play with molecular kits as it reminds them of building with LEGOS.

Stoichiometry is one of the most fundamental topics in a high school chemistry course, but it is also one of the most challenging concepts for students to master.¹ Stoichiometry is abstract, making it challenging to learn and teach.² As with any abstract concept, activities that encourage conceptual thinking tend to promote a deepe

If you know me, you know that I love the Diet Coke and Mentos reaction. It’s so simple to carry out, but yields incredible results! Just drop a few Mentos candies into a bottle of a carbonated beverage and watch the magic take place! See video 1.