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Lessons
Following are just some of the lessons you can find on our Chem 13 News website.
We are trying to get some of the printable versions of some of the activities online but until then, contact us and we will email you a pdf.
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Active classroom
(First day, review, games) -
Matter
(Chemical and physical properties)
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Quantities
(Mole, stoichiometry, significant digits) -
Systems
(equilibrium, acids/bases...)
Atomic theory and bonding
- Intermolecular forces and phases of matter
- Know the limit and teach within series
- Introducing polarity: claim, evidence, reasoning (CER)
- Colour flame
- Question and answers from the past
- Easter solutions
- Pizza box spectroscope: Construction (part 1)
- Pizza box spectroscope: Calibration (part 2)
- Periodic Table of emission spectra
- Net-ionic equations in West Side Story
- Sorting the atomic model
- Why educational research matters to you: Parachutes, particles, bonding and “good enough” models
- VSEPR, the easy way
- Polarity demos
- Identifying polar molecules kinesthetically
- Why atoms, anyway? Teaching the origins of the atomic theory
- Chemical compound: Why some are non-existent
- Dogs teach chemistry
Electrochemistry
- Rustic “chemis-tree” wreath lab: Iron-copper single displacement reaction
- Cover: Growing copper crystals
- Redox and murder
- Littlest chemis-tree
- Sharing chemistry with the community — Now you don’t (see it)! Now you do!
- Create ornaments by etching roofing tins
- Redox in the news
- Sharing Chemistry with the Community: “C” the difference
- Electrochemistry on the move
- Chance discovery favours the prepared mind
- Chemistry using minimum-cost resources, Part 1
- Qualitative analysis of a redox reaction
Energy changes/rates of reaction
- Thought lab: Catalysts and hydrogen peroxide
- The chemistry of Alka-Seltzer
- Racquetball reactions - Concrete examples of abstract concepts
- 2016 Canadian Chemistry Contest: Worst discriminator
- Goldilocks and thermodynamics cartoon
- Question and answers from the past
- AP Thermodynamics and Rates of Reaction test: Valentine edition
- Best discriminator from 2015 CCC -- concept of Gibbs Free Question
- Boiling water demo: Much more than meets the eye
- The fermentation of sugars using yeast: A discovery experiment
- Colourful milk demo
- Sharing chemistry with the community: A colorful catalyst
- A Chemistry Olympiad question in Canadian context
- Thought lab: Surface area and rate of reaction AP Lab Review - Problem 3
- Tough questions from 2013 CHEM 13 NEWS exam: discussion on ionic radius and rates of reaction questions
- AP Thermodynamics and Rates of Reaction test: Valentine edition
- 2016 Canadian Chemistry Contest: Worst discriminator
- Calorimeter calculations with aqueous solutions - follow up from Worst Discriminator
- Racquetball reactions – Concrete examples of abstract concepts
First day / review / games
- Chemistry nomenclature puzzle
- “Close enough” — said no chemist ever!
- Scavenger hunt
- Spoonful of sugar
- A chemistry class to begin the year’s work (reprint from 1980)
- Welcoming students to chemistry
- Getting to know you!
- Your own peril cartoon
- Edible candle
- Let’s get started
- Viscosity success
- Get the ball rolling
- Jumping onto a moving train
- Chemistry of our lives puzzle
- Redox card games
- Reaction animation old style
- Chem Mad Gab game
- Play a game
- Floating coins
- Demistry of candles and flames
- Get the ball rolling
Gases
- Variations on egg in the bottle — the gas laws
- A good problem relating to the gas laws
- The easiest and the toughest questions in 2017 CCC
- Natural gas (methane) and propane as fuel gases
- Getting extra yardage: The Crushing Can
- A different way to do gas laws — Part 3: Pressure-amount relationship
- A different way to do gas laws — Part 2: Pressure-temperature relationship
- A different way to do gas laws — Part 1: Pressure-volume relationship
- Mysterious gas riddle — a discussion
- Neat little trick for gas laws
- Mysterious gas riddle
Matter
(Chemical and physical properties)
- Dry-erase markers — and the teachable moment
- Cold finger distillation
- Sublimation of iodine: Rise and fall of a misconception
- Using your Valentine’s Day chocolates to demonstrate density
- Using matter to solve a mystery
- Unexpected misconception
- An all-natural banana
- Molding a thermoplastic
- Walking on Oobleck
- Demystifing the poly density bottle
- Using your Valentine’s Day chocolates to demonstrate density
Organic chemistry
- Polymer fun
- Name this compound for Easter
- What's in an organic compound name?
- Comparing the SN1 and SN2 Reactions
- Fentanyl
- Iohexol — a CT scan contrast agent compound containing iodine
- Chemicals in the news: Azodicarbonamide
- What we can teach with hybrid orbitals
- Chemistry: Its bond with the past
- Xylenes — A cautionary tale
- Nomenclature nonsense - fun organic molecule riddles
- Organic molecules of everyday life.12. Triclosan
- Para-Chlorobenzotrifluoride (PCBTF) – the ‘super-solvent’
- Organic molecules of everyday life. 11. Frankincense and myrrh
- Skeletal formulae revisited
- Pet peeves: Skeletal organic formula
- Organic molecules of everyday life: 10. Hexenal
Periodic table and trends
- Assumptions: Part 2 — Fact versus theory: electronegativity
- Stained glass spiral periodic table
- Periodic Table of shelliments
- A National Chemistry Week outreach project Periodic Table of LEGO®
- Glenforest's wall-sized periodic table!
- Princeton Day School’s periodic table
- Student-created ceramic periodic table
- Periodic Table with CD cases
- Ode to Mendeleev
- Electron affinity, the oft-forgotten — yet essential – periodic property
- Names for element 114 and 116
- Element 119 - Turning a line
- New periods in the periodic table
- Hunting for the elements
Quantities: (Mole, stoichiometery, significant digits)
- My take on significant digits
- Sig dig in undergrad labs (Part 1)
- New freely-available interactive high school chemistry lessons
- The toothpaste challenge
- Low stress chemistry with “hands-on” stoichiometry
- Water from gasoline
- Just take a breath
- Percentage purity of calcium carbide — a quick lab
- Icebergs and Avogadro's constant
- Think about the chemistry, not the math
- 2016 Canadian Chemistry Contest: Best discriminators
- Stoichiometry of antacids
- Messages from the mole
- Refresh their stoichiometry
- Sharing chemistry with the community: Limiting and excess reagents
- Vive la science!
- Creative mole conversions
- Student activity: Calibration at Mauna Loa
- “Who is the antiquirk?” A chemical analogy
- Percent water in green crystalline compound: An inquiry lab
- A mole of lightening
- Concentration of urine in a pool
- Professor Wildi’s Visualization of Units pages for unit conversions
- Olympic medals in 2012
- A chemistry teacher's pet peeve: Dummy triangles
Reactions
- An idea to study corrosion: An overhead demonstration
- Let the sparks fly: rusty iron balls
- Chemical rainbow
- Sharing chemistry with the community: The chemistry of color
- Extra yardage out of the floating penny
- Sharing chemistry with the community: Chemical sunset
- Burning magnesium in a Bunsen flame and other flame experiments
- A bright star: burning magnesium
- Is aluminum amphoteric? A picture is worth 1 x 10^3 words
- Egg-cellent little demo for spring
- Singing Flame Tube at ChemEd 2013
- Ammonia and hydrochloric acid
- Home-made match
- Evidence of a reaction
- Sodium and potassium reacting with water, in the absence of air
- Sharing Chemistry with the Community: ‘Elephant’s toothpaste’
- Chemistry in Pictures Winner: Lycopodium powder
- Sharing chemistry with the community: “The Exploding Gummy Bear”
- Part 2: Showing/doing chemistry using minimum-cost resources
- Ignite your passion
- Foaming chemis-tree
- Reaction types energize learning
- Beautiful Chemistry website
- Smoldering reaction
- Polyurethane foam smoothies
- Carving a can with chemistry
- Microscale hints from across the pond: Diffusion of ions demo
- Propane bubbles
- Burning steel wool demonstration
- Snow exploratory
- Miniature Whoosh bottle
- Successful AP Chemistry Lab sequence converted to inquiry approach
- STAO 2011: Rusty iron balls
- An unusual and simply prepared compound of copper
- Is magnesium nitride formed in the combustion of magnesium?
Safety
- Safety puzzle - Find the errors
- Lab safety & common sense — not mutually exclusive
- Why scary lab accidents happen
- Borax advisory update Health Canada
- Requirement of laboratory safety training on teacher certification
- Stacey's top ten lab rules
- ‘Whoosh Tube’ demonstration (alternative to the bottle)
- ‘Whoosh Bottle’: Chemistry in Pictures Winner
- Safety cartoon
- Sharing chemistry with the community: Follow up
- Stop, drop and roll
- Handouts worth keeping by Cation Designs
- Elements of safety student puzzle
- Gummy bear demo safety: 2nd letter to the editor
- "Whoosh bottle and safety discussion
Systems
(acid/bases, solubility, equilibrium)
- Thought lab: Using turmeric as an indicator
- Assumptions: Part 1 — Preparing solutions
- A buffered vs. a non-buffered solution
- Hydronium ion: Yes or no?
- Equilibrium concept through interactive analogies
- Sharing chemistry with the community: Battle of the blues
- Not just red eyes and it’s not just the pee
- Tough question from the 2014 CHEM 13 NEWS Exam
- Poinsettia indicator holiday decorations
- Cobalt complex ions: Le Châtelier's Principle
- Lime-A-Way
- How to make goldenrod paper and some activities
- Acid-base titrations with citric acid: part 2
- Critical pH and Le Châtelier: How everyday substances and habits can dissolve your teeth away
- Prashanth Velayudhan cartoon
- Sharing chemistry with the community: The solubility and alkalinity of ammonia
- Sharing chemistry with the community: how to blow out a light bulb
- Acid-base titrations 2: the acid content of individual sour hard candies
- Acids and bases: Why the confusion?
- Finding equilibrium and deconstructing misconceptions with Nano Hexbugs(TM)
- Acid-base titrations with citric acid: part 1
- Acid-base titrations: comparing the acid content of low-acid fruit juices to regular fruit juices
- Gravimetric titration: simple, buret-free, and high precision
- Revisiting an equilibrium demo from a classic resource
- Rules for solubility
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