Chemical Mystery #19: Multi-colored Mixture
Tom Kuntzleman | Mon, 01/31/2022 - 16:06
Can you use your knowledge of chemistry to figure out what is going on in Chemical Mystery #19?
high school chemistry
POGIL Fundamentals Workshop
Melissa Hemling | Sun, 01/30/2022 - 15:57
POGIL activities are not just worksheets. Learn how to properly implement POGIL activities to get the most out of them at the upcoming 2022 Fundamentals of POGIL Virtual Workshops!
Exploring Chemical Reactions with Sarah English
Deanna Cullen | Wed, 01/19/2022 - 10:55
Chemical Reactions is a topic that unites a number of skills from formula writing, balancing equations, predicting products and solubility to name a few. On January 13th, 2022, Sarah English shared her unit covering chemical reactions in this ChemBasics Talk. You can view a recording of her presentation and access materials she has suggested.
A Demo A Day: Demonstrations and Props Used in My General Chemistry Class
Dean Campbell | Mon, 01/17/2022 - 17:43
This blog post includes short descriptions of demonstrations and props that Dean Campbell has used while teaching his collegiate General Chemistry I course.
Generating explosive gases from sand
Tom Kuntzleman | Fri, 01/07/2022 - 12:16
Did you know that sand can be converted into a mixture of gases that spontaneously ignites in air? The procedures involved are relatively simple to perform, spectacular to observe, and relate to a rich assortment of chemical principles.
Online Activity: Chemical Kinetics and the “Radium Girls”
Dean Campbell | Mon, 12/20/2021 - 12:17
The classic classroom or lab activity using coin flips to illustrate the first order kinetics of radioactive decay is connected to the tragedy of radiation exposure of workers at facilities using radium-containing luminescent paint. Some of the chemistry related to the contamination of these “radium girls” is explored, with connections being made to the Principles of Green Chemistry and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Gas Laws with Daniel Radoff
Deanna Cullen | Thu, 12/16/2021 - 07:10
Gas Laws are an essential and easily accessible area of chemistry to understand. They can be an excellent foothold into the inner workings of chemistry. On December 9th, 2021, Daniel Radoff shared his unit covering gas laws in this ChemBasics Talk. You can view a recording of his presentation and access materials he has suggested.
Introducing the Quantum Mechanical Model using Photoelectron Spectroscopy
Kristen Drury | Mon, 12/13/2021 - 06:47
A new lesson that uses PES evidence to drive the instruction that would allow the students to identify the limitations of the Bohr model and introduce the Quantum Mechanical Model .
Food Dyes as Acid-Base Indicators
Tom Kuntzleman | Sun, 11/28/2021 - 10:51
Natural food dyes are being sold online and in stores that can be used as acid-base indicators. These dyes open up a host of possibilities for at-home and in-class. For example, these food dyes can be used as indicators in the quantitative titration of the Mg(OH)2 in milk of magnesia.
A Polystyrene Model of Polystyrene Tacticity
Dean Campbell | Sun, 11/21/2021 - 10:55
Thin sheets of polystyrene can be patterned with permanent markers to represent repeating units of the polymer and then shrunk down in size using heat. The shrunken models of the repeating units can be connected with a string and then flipped into positions to demonstrate different types of polymer tacticity.