With a Master's degree in geology, I have a deep and abiding love for rocks and minerals. The great thing about geology is, it's all about chemistry! I want to share one of my favorite links between geology and chemistry that my students think is pretty cool too.
Last year I came across a link on Twitter regarding an art installation by Roger Hiorns in England titled “Seizure.” Some of you may have seen it too – a condemned flat in London was essentially sealed off and filled with more than 75,000 L of supersaturated copper sulfate solution.
This Activity illustrates sublimation/deposition with dichlorobenzene (mothballs) and evaporation/condensation with water. This Activity could be used to introduce the phases of matter and phase changes at both the macroscopic and microscopic levels.
In this Activity, students investigate the chemistry of the popular Salt Crystal Garden. They grow salt crystals by evaporation from aqueous solutions containing various mixtures of table salt, ammonia, and laundry bluing in order to determine the purpose of each component.
