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Ryan Johnson and I took a trip to the top of Pikes Peak to study the Coke and Mentos experiment. And we had a few surprises along the way...
In this post, a veteran AP Chemistry teacher explains his rationale for the course's topic order. By using an empirically driven sequence, students build deep conceptual understanding and rely less on memorization of facts. It’s a must-read for any educator aiming to make chemistry more meaningful—and more memorable—for students.
In this post, Kevin Morse outlines an easy-to-implement procedure to help students reflect on teacher feedback for improved understanding.
This month's AP Teach meeting will discuss common misconceptions students have about electrochemistry and the chaos of Unit 9.
In this blog post, Anthony Stetzenmeyer describes several ways he has started to use AI (Chat GPT) in this chemistry classroom. Anthony describes, in detail, ways AI can streamline lesson planning and help teachers maximize their prep time.
Egg cartons and beverage holders can be used as models of atoms, with their dimples representing orbitals. Each dimple can hold up to two objects such as milk jug caps, plastic eggs, and cup pieces to represent electrons in the orbitals. Partially overlapping the trays by stacking the dimples represents chemical bonding and produces molecular models resembling Lewis structures. The models can be easily made from materials that can be readily found grocery stores and fast-food restaurants.
This article describes a game aimed at helping students become comfortable using dimensional analysis. Designed to mimic the popular card game UNO, MOLE-O encourages students to think about how to set up a stoichiometry problem utilizing a deck of UNO-like playing cards.
Join APTeach February 20th in discussing using particle diagrams, calculations, and titration curves to support student understanding of acids, bases, and buffers.
Looking for a simple, engaging Beer’s Law experiment? Use Red #40 from cherry cough drops! This hands-on activity introduces students to spectrophotometry and quantitative analysis. Read more for the full method and teaching tips.
Learn how current research on climate change can be used in your next lesson on metric prefixes and unit conversions.