Elmer's Glue Isn't Just for Making Slime: Simple Chemical Demonstrations with Elmer's Glue
Josh Kenney | Sat, 08/19/2023 - 09:13
Josh Kenney shares three simple and inexpensive demonstrations using Elmer’s glue.
HS-PS1-4 Energy
Will a Watched Pot Ever Boil? A Simple, but Effective, Chemistry Lab: Constructing a Heating Curve of Water
GraceAnne Lourie | Fri, 10/28/2022 - 13:07
This lab guides students through taking data and constructing their own heating curve for water. It requires no special equipment, is low prep, is safe, and can even be done at home for homeschool or distance learning. Even though the lab activity itself is relatively simple and straightforward, the concepts still engage students in higher level thinking and gives them important practice with laboratory techniques and forming hypotheses.
The Chemistry of Lightning
Tom Kuntzleman | Tue, 09/20/2022 - 09:42
Learn a bit about the chemical reactions that occur during a lightning strike, and how you can demonstrate these reactions in your classroom.
Flash Rocks from Green Chemistry and LEGO Brick Perspectives
Dean Campbell | Fri, 07/15/2022 - 23:56
Flash rocks, typically pieces of quartz that produce light when struck together, are an example of the complex phenomenon of triboluminescence. The green chemistry aspects for the flash rock demonstration are considered, and LEGO models illustrating quartz crystals, piezoelectric materials, and nonpiezoelectric materials are presented.
Exploring The “Two-Faced” Thionin Reaction
Tom Kuntzleman | Tue, 04/19/2022 - 11:44
The "Two-Faced" thionin reaction involves causing a purple solution to fade to colorless by shining light on the solution. I wondered if it could be demonstrated the color of light that caused this transition.
Generating explosive gases from sand
Tom Kuntzleman | Fri, 01/07/2022 - 12:16
Did you know that sand can be converted into a mixture of gases that spontaneously ignites in air? The procedures involved are relatively simple to perform, spectacular to observe, and relate to a rich assortment of chemical principles.
Effect of Temperature on Chemical Equilibrium using Copper Complexes
Tom Kuntzleman | Wed, 04/07/2021 - 11:00
This post describes a simple way to generate blue, green, orange, and yellow copper complexes, and to use these complexes to introduce students to the effect of temperature on chemical equilibria. The protcol avoids the use of caustic agents, allowing the experiments to be conducted by students as a laboratory-based investigation.
Developing a Model for Enthalpy of Solution—Reframing the Approach
Ben Meacham | Wed, 03/17/2021 - 10:30
Ben Meacham decided to alter his approach to teaching about enthalpy and focus on getting students to first develop the mathematical model for enthalpy of solution so they could eventually apply it to make predictions for different solutes being dissolved. In this blog post he shares the process he used with his class.
Thermochemical Analysis of the Devil's Milkshake
Tom Kuntzleman | Wed, 10/28/2020 - 14:14
Learn how to thermochemically analyze the Devil's Milkshake chemical demonstration - just in time for Halloween!
Heat, The Ocean, and Climate Change
Tom Kuntzleman | Fri, 10/16/2020 - 10:14
Learn a simple way to relate the heat equation (Q = mc∆T ) to climate change.