After an introduction to atomic structure, the next unit in my interactive notebook is on the Periodic Table. We explore the vocabulary and patterns on the periodic table, and examine how electrons tie into those patterns.
"Who Poisoned Veronica Merriweather?" is a fun application of formula stoichiometry for students who are placed in the role of a CSI lab sleuth helping to interpret chemical data to identify a murderer.
“In this world, nothing is certain except death and taxes” - Benjamin Franklin. To this quotation I would have to also add the certainty of a high number of absences during COVID times. Indeed, I cannot think of a day this year where all my students were present in class. Absence was at an all time high this year due to COVID-19,
The inaugural ChemEd X Journal Club Meeting was held virtually on April 7, 2022 to discuss the article, "Curricular Materials on the Chemistry of Pottery, Including Thermodynamic Calculations for Redox Reactions in the 3-Stage Firing Process of Athenian Black- and Red-Figure Vases Produced from the Sixth-Fourth Centuries BCE" (Journal of Chemical
“There is nothing more classy nor powerful than showing forgiveness and grace to someone.” As mentioned in my first similarly styled article, my senior students were rather severely negatively impacted by the pandemic through no fault of their own nor t
In the pre-COVID era, I observed that my students varied in terms of their range of ability. During COVID this has been observed seemingly multiple fold as there were many students with huge gaps in their science knowledge and lab skills – please see Part 1 of this series of articles,
By the time we get into the atomic structure portion of my class, things are well under way. The students know me and my expectations, I have learned their names, and we have our classroom dance well-choreographed. This unit is short in terms of the notebook – just a two page spread. But these two pages contain a lot of information.
“Be flexible and have a great sense of humour” has always been my philosophy of life, especially so when teaching during COVID times. As many times as COVID seems to have mutated these past few years I feel I have also adapted and changed most everything I do.
A recent blog post, Flash Rocks from Green Chemistry and LEGO Brick Perspectives, described “flash rocks,” which are stones that produce flashes of visible light when rubbed or struck together.1,2 The stones are typically composed of many q
In June AP Chemistry readers either traveled to Salt Lake City or worked online from home to read and score student responses from the 2022 exam. I attended the in-person Reading and served as a table leader for a group of at-home readers. I enjoyed the opportunity to do the following.