Chemical Mystery #17: Bubble Buster!
Tom Kuntzleman | Fri, 04/24/2020 - 17:20
If you know your chemistry, you can figure out how the bubbles get busted!
demonstrations
A Multi-Colored Equilibrium Experiment
Tom Kuntzleman | Thu, 03/05/2020 - 18:35
Solutions of copper (II) dissolved in acetone are easy to prepare, and can display orange, yellow, green, and blue color depending upon conditions. Such solutions allow for a variety of demonstrations and experiments that illustrate principles of chemical equilibrium.
Berries are red, berries are blue…I’ve got a berry surprise for you!
Tom Kuntzleman | Sun, 01/26/2020 - 14:03
I observe a red to blue color change when I rinse my bowl after eating frozen blueberries. Sounds like an acid-base reaction, doesn’t it? Well, read on to learn about the blueberry surprise!
The Chemical Laser Show
Tom Kuntzleman | Sat, 12/07/2019 - 20:06
Chemistry and lasers can be used to create a demonstration that includes several colors and flashing lights. This demonstration connects to topics in quantum chemistry and phase changes.
The Devil's Milkshake
Tom Kuntzleman | Sat, 10/26/2019 - 19:13
The Devil's Milkshake is a simple, yet interesting chemistry experiment that fits well as a Halloween demo.
Chemical Tests on Coins
Tom Kuntzleman | Mon, 09/16/2019 - 20:07
Simple chemical tests are described that can indicate the presence of certain metals in coins. A wide variety of chemical concepts are involved. The experiments described are a natural fit for the 2019 National Chemistry Week theme of "Marvelous Metals!"
Marvelous Interactions between Metallic Money and Magnets
Tom Kuntzleman | Wed, 09/04/2019 - 20:00
This post describes some simple experiments using various coins and neodymium magnets that connect to the 2019 National Chemistry Week theme of Marvelous Metals!
Especially JCE: August 2019
Erica Jacobsen | Tue, 08/13/2019 - 07:39
Erica Jacobsen shares highlights from the August 2019 issue of the Journal of Chemical Education of special interest to our ChemEd X community.
The Liquid Nitrogen Cloud
Tom Kuntzleman | Fri, 07/26/2019 - 10:42
Have you ever seen the liquid nitrogen cloud? Do you wonder how the cloud forms when hot water is thrown onto liquid nitrogen? This post explores the liquid nitrogen cloud and possible explanations for its formation.
Equilibrium Snowball Fight
Josh Kenney | Thu, 06/20/2019 - 12:08
This physical analogy relates to dynamic equilibrium and pits students against each other in a classroom-wide “snowball” fight. Not only is this activity great for building students’ conceptualization of dynamic equilibrium, it is also really fun!