Javalab is a resource for free simulations to support student understanding of chemistry concepts. These web based simulations can be used across different platforms and are simple in their use by students. The open ended aspect of the simulations allow for teachers to be creative in how they are used in class.
The Wisconsin initiative for Science Literacy has published Science Climate Concepts Fit Your Classroom - A Workbook for Teachers. This is a free online Workbook, readily available for secondary teachers and college faculty. This workbook includes many hands on activities that incorporate traditional science classroom concepts within the context of climate science.
Learn how to thermochemically analyze the Devil's Milkshake chemical demonstration - just in time for Halloween!
The application of Hess's Law frequently presents students with conceptual problems. This series of experiments confirms Hess's Law and offers a robust understanding of this principle. This can be done as a demo completed by the teacher or as a lab with groups of students.
In an effort to align my lessons with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), I have tried to take the content I have traditionally taught, and shift the design to focus on student engagement with the science and engineering practices outlined in the standards. For the topic of heat transfer I re-packaged the ice melting blocks discrepant event as a NGSS investigative phenomena.
Each year we work on specific heat of materials and the heat of fusion of ice. These are two labs that are typical for most chemistry classrooms. Most of the experiments involve a simple calorimetry experiment that uses a styrofoam cup and provides generally good results. There tend to be a couple of key ideas with all of these experiments.
Some students of mine and I have published two papers in the Journal of Chemical Education that describe how stunt people use chemistry to safely set themselves ablaze while filming action movie scenes. The secret behind this stunt lies in the use of superabsorbent polymer (SAP) gels. To pull off this trick...
