Back to some chemistry basics for today's post, with a look at the nine different hazard symbols commonly used to warn of chemical dangers. These...
Two facts we all know about teaching chemistry: The concept of a "mole" is absolutely crucial to the teaching of our class. Many of our students struggle with this concept every single year. According to the textbook: A mole is the quantity of a substance that has a mass in grams equal to its molecular mass and contains Avogadro's number of particles. I think that many students memorize the definition of a mole, but fail to grasp the concept of a mole. I want my students to be able to visualize a mole and to have a grasp on the size of a mole of substance. I just added a new lab to my yearly chemistry curriculum. It is not really an "experiment" but more of a review and reinforcement of the mole concept. The idea of the activity is very simple: Students are given ordinary household substances and are asked to determine how many moles are in a teaspoon of the substance. Purpose: To determine the number of molecules and/or atoms in small amounts of everyday substances. To determine how many moles of chalk it takes to write your name on the board. Materials: Balance Weighing dishes Plastic spoons Water Salt (NaCl) Sugar (C12H22O11) Chalk Chalkboard I had the students find the mass of a teaspoon of a substance. From this mass, I had students determine the number of moles of substance, the numbers of molecules of substance, and the number of a particular atom within the substance. The bottom line is that this activity provides repetitive practice in mole conversions. I was a little concerned that my "sophisticated" high schoolers would find this activity too elementary. Wrong!! They embraced the activity whole-heartedly and came away with a better understanding of the "size" of a mole. The activity concludes with a student-designed experiment. I asked my students to design an experiment to determine the number of moles of chalk required to write their name on the chalkboard. Students had to write the steps of their procedure, construct a data table, and convert their data to moles and molecules. SO SIMPLE, but my students had a great time with this. They enjoyed comparing the "size" of their name to that of their classmates. Click above picture to view this product in my TpT store.
Subjects like chemistry are often daunting for us homeschoolers to teach. It’s easier when we use hands-on materials. Knowing this, MIT has created three free science lesson plans usi…
Chemistry is king when it comes to making science cool. These 10 chemistry experiments will make anyone enjoy science.
One of the reasons that I love teaching Chemistry is that you get to do so many awesome experiments. Not only are they cool, but they provide a great hook for students as a means of introduction to a new topic. The reaction between potassium iodide and lead nitrate is a great demonstration to introduce students to the idea of solubility. They each start off as a colorless solution when dissolved in water, but when you mix them together you end change. This reaction also demonstrates a double replacement reaction. The pricipitate of lead (III) iodide is insoluable in water, but when heated it become slightly soluable while allows that lead (III) iodide to dissociate and the solution turns colorless again. Its a great reaction. Below is a great image from Compound Chem that gives a vidual to the quick explaination I gave above. This is a great site for any chemistry teacher to check out even if this demo doesn't fit it what you are doing.
Getting your chemistry fix shouldn't always involve textbooks and journal papers. What if you could send spectacular chemistry content straight to your brain while you're driving, walking or synthesizing chemicals in the lab?
Most teachers follow the typical first-day-of-school protocol which includes passing out books and discussing class policies. BORING! If you want kids to be passionate about chemistry, get kids u…
Last weekend while parts of North America and Europe were getting buried in snow, my wife and I went to Tel Aviv to pick up
Heat of Crystallization When teaching your unit on thermochemistry, this is an outstanding lab to teach the concepts of heat of crystallization, heat of fusion, and calorimetry. Purpose: The student will determine the heat of crystallization of a wax sample. Materials: 25 x 200 test tube, 250 mL Beaker, Ring stand and ring, Hot ... Read More about Chemistry Lab: Heat of Crystallization
Gold, frankincense and myrrh are key parts of the traditional Christmas story, brought as gifts by the Three Wise Men. Of course, gold we're all more...
Help your Chemistry students with notetaking and keep them engaged. This 3 page activity on Alcohols can be used to summarize key concepts. These pages are great to engage your students. They can color and scribble whilst taking notes. Covers: ⚛ General formula ⚛ Production of alcohols ⚛ Naming alcohols ⚛ Reactions of alcohols You may also be interested in: Alkanes Scribble Notes Alkenes Scribble Notes Fuels Scribble Notes Hydrocarbons Scribble Notes How to get TPT credit to use on future purchases: ✪ Please go to your My Purchases page (you may need to login). ✪ Beside each purchase you'll see a Provide Feedback button. ✪ Simply click it and you will be taken to a page where you can give a quick rating and leave a short comment for the product. Be the first to know about my new discounts, freebies and product launches: ✪ Look for the green star next to my store logo and click it to become a follower. Thank you for your support! Liezel
This article describes a three week lesson plan for teaching stoichiometry using an algorithmic method. Two labs (one designed as a laboratory quiz) several cooperative learning exercises, student worksheets and guided instructional frameworks (forcing students to develop good habits in writing measures and doing problem solving) are included. The highlight of the lessons is the "chemistry carol" (based on Felix Mendelssohn's music for "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing") in which students recite a five-step algorithm for completing stoichiometry problems.
This year FIVE of our teens are doing chemistry, four at home, and one at the college level. At home we are using Apologia’s Exploring Creation With Che...
Click to enlarge This graphic looks at the colour of various metal and metalloid ions that occur during flame tests. Most people probably remember doing this experiment in school chemistry lessons, if not with the full range of ions shown...
Painting your nails with nail polish might not seem like a particularly complex chemical process, but there's much more to it than meets the eye...
Truth is, finding virtual dissection and labs isn't as hard as it used to be. We have a list of the best Virtual Dissection and Labs for Homeschoolers!
I have a first day routine that I am very proud of. I have used it for 25 years and I think I finally have it down pat. I have spoken to students from 20 years ago at reunions and they tell me that they still remember the first day of chemistry so I think it is pretty good.
Download this Premium Vector about Lab safety protocols vector poster, and discover more than 175 Million Professional Graphic Resources on Freepik. #freepik #vector #safetysigns #ppe #safetyequipment
Click image to view product I always try to do something different on the first day of school. When the students go home at the end of the first day, I want to be the teacher the kids go home and talk about. Last school year, I developed an activity called "Science Chat" for my biology students. It was a huge success, and I plan on using it again this year. A few days ago, I polished it up and posted it to my TeachersPayTeachers.com store. Nothing could have prepared me for the overwhelming response this product has received! I have had a mountain of messages asking if I had a similar product for chemistry and physical science students. In response, I have developed "Chemistry Chat." Now, before speaking any more about Chemistry Chat, let me suggest that you read my previous blog post on Science Chat. The details of the activity - the purpose, how it works, what the students are doing - are all included in the previous blog post. Some of you have already read that post, and I don't want to bore you by repeating myself. The gist of the activity is that students will rotate through 10 different lab stations designed for physical science and chemistry students. At each station, the students will be completing a science task, but just as important, the students will have to answer icebreaker questions in order to get to know their classmates. What topics are covered at each lab station? Station 1: Chemical and Physical Properties Station 2: Graphing Station 3: Metals and Nonmetals Station 4: Periodic Table Station 5: Lab Equipment Station 6: Laboratory Safety Station 7: Making Observations, Forming a Hypothesis Station 8: Metric Scavenger Hunt Station 9: Chemistry Prefixes and Suffixes Station 10: Chemical Symbols These photos will give you a better idea of what is involved in the activity: In my neck of the woods, schools are back in session next week. Others of you have until after Labor Day. Whenever you return, I hope that you have a fantastic school year.
Chemical educator and Compound Interest blogger Andy Brunning examines the chemistry and impact of cisplatin and its sibling compounds
Today, hair dyes are widely used, either to cover up grey hairs, or simply by those wanting to change their natural hair colour. The chemistry behind how they change the colour of hair can actually get pretty complicated, but this graphic...
Click to enlarge When we're suffering from a bacterial infection, a trip to the doctor to be prescribed antibiotics is commonplace. However, there is a wide range of antibiotics available, and they vary both in their usage and their...
Chemistry Magic Triangles Background Theory: In Chemistry, the measure the amount of a substance in a unit is called a ‘mole’. It is a convenient way of counting atoms and allows chemists to make predictions about the masses of different substances that are involved in reactions. Regardless of the element in question, one mole of […]
In this oxidation and reduction experiment, we see chemical oxidation (the loss of electrons) and reduction (the gain of electrons) firsthand.
The scientific method is central to the study of biology: it is a process of acquiring and verifying information through experimentation. The general steps of the scientific method are depicted in the figure below. The hypothesis, or suggested explanation for the observation, is the basis for setting up experiments. A good experimental design is essential to the scientific method. A few keys to good experimental design include effective use of controls, reproducibility, a large sample size, and
Polysaccharides are very important carbohydrates in the human body. It is made up of a number of monosaccharide units. Examples are Starch, Glycogen, cellulose.
