Chemistry and the Titanic
Tom Kuntzleman | Wed, 01/04/2023 - 09:56
Some metals and metal alloys undergo a transition to brittleness at cold temperature. This phenomenon likely contributed to the demise of the Titanic.
HS-PS1 Matter and Its Interactions
Effect of Temperature on the Whoosh Bottle
Tom Kuntzleman | Tue, 07/05/2022 - 13:45
Why does the "Whoosh Bottle" experiment behave differently at different temperatures?
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.
Plating Pennies with Tin
Tom Kuntzleman | Tue, 02/02/2021 - 10:06
Learn how to give pennies a beautiful, silvery-colored plating.
Colorful Copper Chemistry around the Campfire
Tom Kuntzleman | Tue, 07/28/2020 - 13:09
Learn how to form a blue-green copper compound on a penny, and then use that compound to make green flames. This is a great summer time activity for your next campfire!
Chemistry Magnets - Making Chemistry Visible
Doug Ragan | Fri, 08/16/2019 - 22:16
Doug Ragan been using magnets of elements and subatomic particles for some time to help his students visualize what is happening at the particle level of chemistry. Download the files attached to the post and print out your own set of elements and particles!
Measuring Surface Tension to Investigate Intermolecular Forces
Ben Meacham | Fri, 05/31/2019 - 22:38
Like most concepts in chemistry, intermolecular forces takes a bit of imagination and critical thinking to fully comprehend and apply when explaining a variety of situations. Though demonstrating the presence of these forces in a simple and explicit manner can easily be done, I wanted to change how I introduced IMFs a bit this year by focusing on a more data-to-concepts approach.
Solution to Chemical Mystery #15: The Leaky Cup
Tom Kuntzleman | Mon, 05/27/2019 - 07:03
The solution to Chemical Mystery #15: The Leaky Cup is shown here.
Elements, Compounds, and a Vocabulary Card Sort
Ariel Serkin | Thu, 04/11/2019 - 21:28
How many of you could recite, word for word, a definition you learned in school? When you first memorized the definition, you could state “inertia is a property of matter”, or “density is mass over volume.” However, you struggled to apply it to a new situation and maybe you were unsure of how to construct a model of what it meant.
Why Do Dead Batteries Bounce? Chemistry, of Course!
Tom Kuntzleman | Fri, 04/05/2019 - 07:16
Did you know there is a simple test you can do to see if an alkaline battery is fresh or dead? All you need to do is bounce the bottom of a battery onto a hard, flat surface. Guess what causes this difference in bouncing ability between fresh and dead batteries? Chemistry, of course!