environmental chemistry

Not so Green Up Close: a Peek at a dyed Chicago River Sample

Dean Campbell | Sat, 05/17/2025 - 22:36

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Light absorbance and fluorescence were studied for a sample of the Chicago River that had been dyed green for St. Patrick’s Day. The sample had weak green fluorescence, showing that the intense green appearance of the river was in part due to the long path length of light through the water. The ability of the green color to partition into 1-octanol was also explored.

Glacier-Related Demonstrations for Chemistry Classrooms

Dean Campbell | Thu, 04/10/2025 - 13:45

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Short descriptions of demonstrations that can be connected to glaciers. Many of these examples are suitable for use in high school and collegiate General Chemistry courses and other courses such as Environmental Chemistry.

Incorporating Climate Change Into Lessons on Metric Prefixes

Tom Kuntzleman | Sun, 01/12/2025 - 10:09

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Learn how current research on climate change can be used in your next lesson on metric prefixes and unit conversions.

Models of Chlorinated Hydrocarbons and Dipoles

Dean Campbell | Fri, 01/10/2025 - 21:51

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Explore chlorinated hydrocarbons and dipoles with paper and toy models like LEGO, K’Nex, and Lux Blox! Paper models reinforce molecule polarity lessons, with templates and assignments included in the Supporting Information.

Demonstrating the Glass Transition of Polylactic Acid with a Rattle

Dean Campbell | Wed, 03/27/2024 - 20:42

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Polylactic acid (PLA) exhibits a glass transition from hard and brittle to soft and rubbery when immersed in boiling water. PLA-based structures containing a small metal object can be used as rattles when they are shaken. The sound of the rattles change when they are heated above or cooled below their glass transition, enabling them to be used as demonstrations.

Water You Thinking? Bringing the Chemistry and Biology of Water to Middle-Schoolers

Dean Campbell | Sun, 09/24/2023 - 10:18

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Description of a Detroit Area Pre-College Engineering Program (DAPCEP) course for middle-school students about the chemistry and biology of water.

Seashell Chemistry

Tom Kuntzleman | Thu, 06/01/2023 - 14:15

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Placing dry ice in limewater is a great demonstration to accompany discussions on a variety of chemical topics, including the impact of ocean acidification on marine organisms that depend upon the formation of CaCO₃.

A Demo A Day III: Demonstrations and Props Used in My General Chemistry II Classes

Dean Campbell | Sun, 05/21/2023 - 10:50

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Dean Campbell tries to use at least one demo for every class to illustrate concepts described in his chemistry courses. In this post, he includes short descriptions of the demonstrations and props he has used while teaching his collegiate General Chemistry II courses.

Algae Connections to Chemistry Classrooms

Dean Campbell | Fri, 03/31/2023 - 09:55

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This timely post is a perfect fit for the theme of Chemists Celebrate Earth Week 2023! Algae is a rich topic with many possible connections to the chemistry classroom. Algae needs to take in light, carbon dioxide, and various simple nutrients and, though it can sometimes get out of control, can produce oxygen, diatomaceous earth, and other products. It can even fluoresce pink!

Some chemistry related to the Ohio Train Derailment

Tom Kuntzleman | Tue, 02/28/2023 - 12:49

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