This photo gives Chem 13 News the opportunity to share a teacher’s frightening experience with this demonstration. It informs and reminds readers about necessary safety considerations.
I co-instruct and coordinate an undergraduate materials and nanoscience (MNS) lab at the University of Waterloo. One experiment in 2nd year consistently stands out as my students’ favourite, and it involves the synthesis and characterization of “capped” cadmium selenide (CdSe) “quantum dots” (QDs).
This photo capturing the acid-base reaction between ammonia and hydrochloric acid. Inside the bottle it is the vapours of the acid and the base that react...
How great is it for students to get to experience working in the lab, all while creating a useful piece of lab equipment that can be used for the remainder of the school year? Within the first month of school, my 10th grade chemistry students perform a series of lab experiences. They practice techniques such as heating a test tube, reading a thermometer to the proper number of digits and — always a student favorite — making their own glass stir rod.
The inspiration for making pictures from droplets of chemicals first came from a Chemistry Club session at our school.
This is a favourite of the students. On the front cover, the pink colour in the test tube comes from cobalt(II) ions in water, Co(H2O)62+. The blue colour is the result of cobalt chloride complex ions (CoCl42–) in less dense acetone. This classic Le Châtelier’s Principle lab explores the reversible chemical reaction.