Latest articles, blogs, and events from the chemical education community

I teach chemistry at an early college high school (Early College Alliance at Eastern Michigan University)(link), where students dual enroll in college classes as they earn their high school diploma. There are numerous benefits for early college students.

The major constituent of a KoolAid or a similar non-carbonated soft drink will probably be either citric acid, malic acid, or a mixture of the two acids. Either of these two weak fruit acids provides a pleasant taste and an acidity level that makes the drink palatable.

Can Alkaline Water Change Body pH?

This post shares something very special – my favorite ever foldable. I designed it a few years ago to help students see the relationships that exist in the Combined Gas Law. This foldable is used differently than most – instead of starting with closed flaps, you start with all of the flaps OPEN. The effect is transformative.

When students study atomic theory, they learn that protons and neutrons are in the nucleus and electrons are found in an electron cloud outside the nucleus. Therefore, when they are introduced to nuclear chemistry, some students have a hard time understanding that an electron can come FROM THE NUCLEUS! A beta particle is a free electron that i

In a previously published work¹, I described an activity. In part it goes:

If you have seen some of my previous webinars*, you probably have heard me mention that I use interactive notebooks in my chemistry I classes. Today, I’m going to share the first of many units: stoichiometry. Keep an eye out because gas laws and thermochemistry will be coming very soon!

Many chemistry teachers use models and diagrams to help students describe how matter behaves at the particle level.

The chemical reaction between violet-colored thionin and iron (II) ions produces a leucothionin, a colorless compound (Equation 1).^1,2

I still love the first day of a course, even after almost 36 years in this business. But I don’t love wasting student-energy and excitement droning through course expectations, mark-allocations and the like. Now, more than ever, face-time cannot be taken for granted or frittered away.

Like me, you may have just finished binge-watching the newest “social season” of Netflix’s hit drama “Bridgerton.” But a new season is upon us - AP Review Season!  One part of the review season is practicing old AP Chemistry Free Response questions.