Beyond Benign
Catalysts and Oxygen
Here is an engaging and hands-on lesson plan that allows high school chemists to demonstrate the effects of a catalyst on various chemicals. They garner knowledge of how reactants and products differ from one another, while analyzing the...
Royal Society of Chemistry
A Giant Silver Mirror Experiment
Mirror, mirror, on the wall ... who's the best chemistry teacher of them all? You'll get the vote for certain after your class completes the Silver Mirror experiment! Partnered pupils use Tollen's reagent and glucose to silverplate a...
Concord Consortium
Catalysis
Get ready to kick things up a notch! Young scientists explore the effects of catalysts using a fun interactive. Learners start the reaction without using a catalyst, then add one over time to examine its effects on reaction rate.
Royal Society of Chemistry
Aspirin—The Wonder of Medicine
What do aspirin and the willow tree have in common? Scholars of chemical synthesis engage in a fascinating reaction to make their own aspirin samples. The lab uses thin layer chromatography analysis, includes stoichiometric calculations,...
Curated OER
Chemical Interactions
Students perform scientific investigations to observe chemical reactions. In this chemical reaction lesson students read a passage and identify the cause and effect.
Curated OER
Chemical Composition of American Coins
Students investigate the chemical composition of pennies dated 1983 or later. For this chemical composition of American coins lesson plan, students scratch the surface of the penny to expose the zinc core. They put the penny in...
Curated OER
Experiment on Measuring Reaction Rates
Learners investigate the rate of a chemical reaction. In this rate of reactions lesson plan, students use an electronic balance to measure the change in mass of a chemical reaction between hydrochloric acid and calcium carbonate. They...
Curated OER
Conserving Chemical Resources
High schoolers balance chemical equations and solve for gram to mole ratios.
Curated OER
Blast Off
In this physical science exploration, small groups place a piece of antacid tablet into a film canister and step back to time how long it takes for the top to pop. They repeat the activity, altering either the amount or temperature of...
Curated OER
Chemical Change
Fifth graders watch a demonstration in which a balloon is inflated using the gas created by combining vinegar and baking soda. Then, in groups, they combine various assigned substances and watch and record the results.
Curated OER
Reactions and Equations Lab , Spring 2003
Seven reactions are detailed on the slides in this PowerPoint. The reactants and products are labelled on the photos. Your students are expected to be able to write the equations for the reaction that is happening in the image given....
Royal Society of Chemistry
Energy—Gifted and Talented Chemistry
What has more energy than a room full of pupils after a fire drill? This lesson plan! Explore the changes in energy during different chemical reactions, discover why some reactions feel cold and others feel hot, and tackle the concept of...
Pingry School
The Alchemist's Dream – Copper into "Gold"
Many scientists attempted alchemy for hundreds of years before a full understanding of metals became clear. Scholars take a penny and, through two different chemical reactions, make it appear to turn into silver and later gold. They...
Curated OER
Dry Ice Activities Mini Lesson
Get your middle schoolers experimenting with dry ice. In the first activity, they place a piece in water and then use phenol red to identify its pH. In the second, they place a piece in a limewater solution and watch as the combination...
Beyond Benign
Essential Oil Extraction Using Liquid CO2
When life hands you lemons ... experiment on them! Green chemistry gurus compare extraction methods for essential oils through a lab activity. Lab groups use traditional distillation and liquid carbon dioxide extraction methods, then...
Curated OER
Dental Chemistry Analogy
After taking in background information on teeth, marble, eggshell, and fluoride, chemistry aces design an experiment. Their goal is to demonstrate whether or not fluoride has a similar effect on marble or eggshell as it does on tooth...
Santa Monica College
The Composition of Potassium Chlorate
The third lesson in a series of 11 begins by using thermal decomposition of potassium chlorate to determine the mass percent of oxygen. Then a second activity allows scholars to demonstrate that the resulting residue is from a...
Curated OER
Light Stick Chemistry
In groups of three with the lights off and the shades drawn, investigators place inactivated light sticks, in three beakers: one filled with ice water, another with lukewarm water, and the other with room temperature water. They wait...
American Chemical Society
Neutralizing Acids and Bases
Now that your science class has experimented with pH indicator and identified acids and bases, they attempt to get the cabbage juice indicator back to its original color. This is done through neutralization of the acids and bases that...
American Chemical Society
Formation of a Precipitate
Conclude this chemical change unit by having your class combine two liquids that result in formation of a precipitate. The learners discover that chemical reactions result in new materials. Make sure to consider all of the preceding...
Curated OER
Physical vs. Chemical Change Lab
Students recognize both a physical and chemical change in different substances. They determine which particles actually changed into different substances, and explain if it represented a physical or a chemical change.
Curated OER
Stoichiometry
Students discover stoichiometric relationships in chemical equations. They review mole to mole conversions. They understand mass/particle conversions. They perform a lab to reinforce stoichiometry.
Curated OER
Condensation Polymerization: Preparation of Two Types of Polyesters
College-level or AP chemists use phthalic anhydride to synthesize two different polyesters, one linear and one cross-linked in structure. A detailed materials list and well-written procedures are provided on a lab sheet. Learners write...
Columbus City Schools
Changes All Around Us
Whoa! What just happened? That's right, change is everywhere. But what exactly is changing? Middle school science sleuths get to the bottom of the changes matter can experience. Through simple demonstrations, engaging videos, and an...