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KoolAid and similar drinks as convenient laboratory reagents: The weak acid-strong base titration of citric acid or malic acid

David Cash | Fri, 05/13/2022 - 08:06

The major component of a non-carbonated drink such as KoolAid or a similar beverage is usually a fruit acid, either citric acid or malic acid. The titratable acid (H+) concentration of such drinks has been found to be in the range of 0.02 to 0.04 M. A weak acid-strong base titration of these drinks with 0.1 M NaOH solution is feasible as a student exercise. The use of such drinks as reagents is safe, convenient, and inexpensive. Experiment instructions are included. 

Too Hot to Handle? Hydrogen Reacts with Oxygen on Palladium Foil

Dean Campbell | Thu, 04/28/2022 - 20:50

The reaction of hydrogen and oxygen gases to form water is well known to be an exothermic reaction. That reaction can occur by first absorbing the hydrogen into palladium metal, and then placing the resulting palladium hydride into contact with oxygen in the air. Infrared and visible light videos were recorded for this process involving palladium foil, and the Green Chemistry and safety aspects of these activities are considered.

Making Chemistry Visible with Doug Ragan

Deanna Cullen | Wed, 04/20/2022 - 12:24

Many chemistry teachers use models and diagrams to help students describe how matter behaves at the particle level. On April 14, 2022, Doug Ragan explained how he uses colored magnets in his classroom to represent things such as subatomic particles, states of matter, balancing chemical equations, types of bonding, molecular geometry and much more. View a recording of his presentation and access materials he uses.