November 2021 Xchange

Food Dyes as Acid-Base Indicators

Natural food dyes are being sold online and in stores that can be used as acid-base indicators. These dyes open up a host of possibilities for at-home and in-class. For example, these food dyes can be used as indicators in the quantitative titration of the Mg(OH)₂ in milk of magnesia.

ChemEd X ChemBasics Talk - Gas Laws

Gas Laws are an essential and easily accessible area of chemistry to understand. They can be an excellent foothold into the inner workings of chemistry. Daniel Radoff will provide some labs, handouts, demos, and other ideas for ways of teaching this engaging subject. Register for this (FREE) hour long interactive Zoom meeting to be held December 9th at 8pm EST.

Check out the recordings of our previous Talks HERE!

Using a Gallery Walk inquiry activity to guide students through naming binary ionic compounds with variable charges

While students usually do well with naming binary ionic compounds of fixed charge, many students struggle with naming ionic compounds that contain ions of variable charge. This activity uses a technique often found in humanities classes, a gallery walk, as a guided inquiry experience harnessing real-life applications of several sets of related compounds to address many common misconceptions and lead students to discover the meaning of the Roman numerals when naming and writing formulas for these compounds.

Analogy Experiment—Projectile Pennies with Rutherford

Atomic theory is a common topic throughout any introductory chemistry course. It is likely that Rutherford’s gold foil experiment gets at least some attention in your course. This simple activity gives students an opportunity to replicate Rutherford’s experiment through an analogy experiment that may allow for easier conceptualization of the experiment itself and provide additional support for model development.

Freezing Point Depression Near Body Temperature with Eicosane and Azobenzene

Addition of a small amount of azobenzene to eicosane can lower its melting point to where it can be melted by body heat. This can be used in demonstrations and classroom activities related to freezing point depression and phase diagrams.

Thermal Paper as a Polarity and Acidity Detector

Thermal paper such as that used for point of sale receipts typically functions by darkening when exposed to heat. The pigment system used in this paper also darkens when exposed to solvents of intermediate polarity and acids. This enables thermal paper to be used as an inexpensive sort of indicator paper for a variety of demonstrations.

Counting Orbitals I: The 'Ah-ha! Moment' and Quantum Numbers

Quantum mechanics is a proverbially and quintessentially challenging topic. It is the poster-child of difficulty in chemistry. Setting up the discussion for the four quantum numbers is fraught with potential and confusion. In this post learn about a different way to teach about orbitals.

Standards Based Grading, Microscale Chemistry and Post Covid

Navigating the waters through a year with multiple hurdles can be difficult but not impossible with microscale chemistry and standards based grading.

Creating an Inclusive Classroom in December - originally published 12/2018

December is a busy time for many educators as they try to wrap up content before a long break and maybe incorporate fun activities into the curriculum. There are concerts, field trips, projects, presentations, and even variety shows to “celebrate the season.” However, when schools try to get into the “holiday spirit”, they may unintentionally create an environment where students and teachers may feel excluded.

ChemEd X Call for Contributions

ChemEd X invites practitioners in the chemical education community to share their experiences, knowledge and the resources they use in their classroom and laboratory.