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Have you ever seen the soap boat experiment? Check out the video.
Do you or anyone you know advise an ACS Chem Club? I have heard of it over the past few years, but I have been busy and didn’t want to add another thing to my plate. When I found out that there are no requirements of what or how much we have to do as a group, I decided that I could give it a try. I appreciate that ACS provides some great resources. You can find many ideas on the ACS web site.
The Grand Valley State University organizers of BCCE 2014 are working to make the August 3-7, 2014 conference a valuable experience for the high school chemistry teacher.
It is not too early to think about National Chemistry Week which is coming up October 20 - 26. This year's theme is "Energy: Now and Forever". Did you know there is a poetry contest and information about participating in community outreach activities on the ACS web site? Visit www.acs.org/ncw for more information.
A few weeks ago, I presented at ChemEd 2013 "Flipping with Chemistry Apps". One app that I use in my HS chemistry class on the iPad is the app Building Atoms, Ions, and Isotopes HD Lite.
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.
Photoelectron Spectroscopy or PES is a topic included in the redesigned AP Chemistry curriculum. I have heard quite a bit of discussion surrounding this addition. It has caused panic in some teachers because they never learned it themselves, have never taught it before and/or they have no materials to teach the topic. I have been spending some time searching for a lesson plan for my own class
As we head back to school it is exciting to think about putting some new ideas into practice this year. As a high school chemistry teacher, my first days back are full of getting to know my students and building a safe, fun (at least sometimes!), positive learning environment.
Some students of mine and I have published two papers in the Journal of Chemical Education that describe how stunt people use chemistry to safely set themselves ablaze while filming action movie scenes. The secret behind this stunt lies in the use of superabsorbent polymer (SAP) gels. To pull off this trick...
Greg Rushton and I attended and presented at CHEMED in Waterloo July 28th through August 1st. We enjoyed the ice cream and frozen snacks at the JCE sponsored Ice Cream Social Monday evening. We presented JCE resources for AP Chemistry on Tuesday and JCE resources for General Chemistry on Wednesday. The resources and links from those meetings are linked here.