Blogs

ChemEd X contributors offer their ideas and opinions on a broad spectrum of topics pertaining to chemical education.

Blogs at ChemEd X reflect the opinions of the contributors and are open to comments. Only selected contributors blog at ChemEd X. If you would like to blog regularly at ChemEd X, please use our Contribution form to request an invitation to do so from one of our editors.

by Ariel Serkin
Mon, 03/13/2023 - 15:05

Congratulations on becoming a PAEMST finalist. Now what? After the grueling application process, you realize that you now have to write an addendum. Here are some tidbits to help you navigate this hectic week.

Recent activity: 1 year 7 months ago
by Dean Campbell
Wed, 03/08/2023 - 15:57

Laser cutters can be used to cut and engrave a variety of thin materials. Compact discs, composed of layers of polycarbonate plastic and aluminum metal, were explored for their ability to be shaped with a laser cutter. The laser can successfully cut and engrave the compact discs into the shape of snowflake. However, each disc must first be coated with a material like glue in order to protect the plastic from discoloration and the byproducts from cutting the plastic that can accumulate on the disc surface.  

Recent activity: 1 year 7 months ago
by Josh Kenney
Thu, 03/02/2023 - 14:30

As an advanced language model trained by OpenAI, ChatGPT has the potential to revolutionize the way you teach chemistry. In this blog post, Josh Kenney and Ben Meacham explore 10 ways that ChatGPT can make teaching chemistry easier and more engaging for both you and your students.

Comments: 2
Recent activity: 1 year 6 months ago
by Tom Kuntzleman
Tue, 02/28/2023 - 12:49

Diffusion of HCl(g) from concentrated solutions of HCl can be used to illustrate some chemistry related to the train accident in Ohio.

Recent activity: 4 months 3 weeks ago
by Josh Kenney
Mon, 02/27/2023 - 09:31

In a classic demonstration of energy conservation, smashing two large steel ball bearings generates sufficient heat to burn a hole through a piece of paper. Josh Kenney found this demonstration underwhelming because the paper doesn't look burned. So, he upgraded the experiment by covering the paper in Elmer's Color Changing Glue. Now, a spectacular color change reveals the increase in heat!

Recent activity: 1 year 8 months ago
by Michael Jansen
Tue, 02/21/2023 - 08:31

Michael Jansen offers one of his favorite demos - producing liquid CO2 from dry ice.

Recent activity: 1 year 7 months ago
by Josh Kenney
Tue, 01/24/2023 - 15:42

TikTok and YouTube Shorts are video sharing platforms for short-form, vertical aspect videos. Both of these services are growing more quickly in popularity compared to more traditional video formats. Josh Kenney shares some of the ways that he is using short-form videos in his chemistry class and shares a free resource (an exam review worksheet that links to a YouTube Shorts playlist through a QR code).

Recent activity: 1 year 9 months ago
by Dean Campbell
Mon, 01/23/2023 - 14:11

Egg cartons and small objects such as milk jug caps or plastic eggs can be used to illustrate chemical concepts. The egg cartons can be cut into trays to represent atoms or to represent energy levels associated with atomic orbitals. The plastic caps or eggs distributed among the dimples of the trays can be used to represent electrons or pairs of electrons.

Recent activity: 1 year 9 months ago
by Tom Kuntzleman
Wed, 01/04/2023 - 09:56

Some metals and metal alloys undergo a transition to brittleness at cold temperature. This phenomenon likely contributed to the demise of the Titanic.

Recent activity: 7 months 1 week ago
by Dean Campbell
Tue, 01/03/2023 - 08:05

Describing the number density of molecules involved in chemistry demonstrations while presenting those demonstrations can help to convey concepts such as the small size of molecules and how the distance between molecules can vary during change of physical state.

Recent activity: 1 year 10 months ago