Unlocked Resources
52 Classroom Resources
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Activity | History | High School
Evaluating the Name Reactions in Chemistry
In this activity, students will discuss diversity, equity, and inclusion in chemistry by exploring name reactions in organic chemistry. Students will engage in preliminary reflection, then listen to the podcast, Should organic chemistry’s name reactions go the way of the mouth pipet? from C&EN, and then share their perspective on a discussion board.
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Lab | Functional Groups, Intermolecular Forces, Molecular Structure, Molecular Structure , Polarity | High School
The Chemistry of Hand Sanitizer and Soap
In this lab, students will model the interaction between hand sanitizer particles and virus particles, as well as between soap particles and virus particles. They will apply their understanding of molecular structure and intermolecular forces to analyze their observations and behavior of the particles, in order to gain a better understanding of how soaps and sanitizers work.
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Activity | Atomic Mass, Atomic Radius, Density, Electronegativity, Elements, Periodic Table | High School, Middle School
Organizing the Periodic Table
In this activity, students are challenged to organize elements into the shape of the periodic table based on trends in data. Students are given a set of cards, each card representing an element, and containing five data points for consideration. The data that students will analyze includes atomic mass, atomic radius, melting point, density and electronegativity.
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Demonstration | Gas Laws, Kinetic Molecular Theory, Pressure, Volume | High School
Inflate and Shrink Wrap a Student
In this demonstration, students will observe two situations. First a student will be lifted off the desk as other students blow air into straws connected to a garbage bag in order to inflate it. Secondly, the class will observe a garbage bag shrink wrapping a student as a vacuum removes air from the bag.
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Demonstration | Atomic Spectra, Electromagnetic Spectrum, Electrons | High School
Flame Test (Rainbow Demo)
In this demonstration, students will observe the variety of colors produced when different metals or metallic salts are heated in a flame.
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Lesson Plan | Acid & Base Theories, Buffers | High School
Preparation and Evaluation of Buffers
In this lesson students will use multiple methods to calculate and prepare buffered solutions with a desired pH. Upon preparation of the solutions, the students will explore differing aspects of buffers including buffering capacity and predominant form.
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Lesson Plan | Mixtures, Molecular Structure, Separating Mixtures, Solute & Solvent | High School
What Type of Mixture is Paint?
In this lesson students will use simple laboratory tests to characterize differences between solutions, colloids, and suspensions. They will then apply those tests to paints to classify them as specific types of mixtures.
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Project | Atomic Mass, Covalent Bonding, Elements, History, Ionic Bonding, Periodic Table, Subatomic Particles | High School, Middle School
Exploring Elements
In this project, students will select an element and then use Ptable.com to explore aspects of the element including its periodicity, electron configuration, history, and uses in industry.
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Activity | Physical Change | High School
Magic Bubble (High School)
In this lesson, students will create and interpret particle diagrams that represent elements and compounds at the molecular level. They will also describe the process of dissolving and create particle diagrams that represent mixtures at the molecular level.
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Activity | Balancing Equations, Combustion, Stoichiometry | High School
Calculating Your Carbon Footprint
In this lesson, students apply their knowledge of writing and balancing chemical equations and stoichiometry calculations to estimate their carbon footprint. Students are also asked to reflect on their carbon footprint and what it means.
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Activity | Elements, Periodic Table | High School, Middle School
Periodic Table of Mistakes
In this activity, students will examine a periodic table that contains 25 mistakes. Students will be tasked with comparing the Periodic Table of Mistakes to a real periodic table in order to determine what mistakes are present. This activity provides an opportunity for students to become more familiar with the periodic table, including element names, symbols and placement, as well as trends in atomic mass.
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Lab | Observations, Separating Mixtures | Elementary School
Settle that Soil
In this lab, students will learn about what properties constitute soil and how it is different than “dirt.” Students will also be able to distinguish the difference between sand, silt, and clay.
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Demonstration | Pressure, Temperature | Elementary School, Middle School
EGGsperiment
In this demonstration, students will learn how temperature change affects air pressure, while observing an egg getting sucked into a bottle without being touched!
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Demonstration | Concentration, Indicators, Molarity, Titrations | High School
How to Perform a Titration
In this demonstration, the teacher will show how a titration is set-up and performed. Also, the teacher will utilize different indicators to show how they work and why they are necessary. At the end of the demonstration, the teacher will also explain how to calculate the molarity of the unknown substance.
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Lab | Freezing Point, Mixtures, Phase Changes | Elementary School
Coffee Creamer Ice Cream
In this lab, students will investigate how dissolving salt (sodium chloride) in water changes the freezing point of the solution. While investigating this, they will make ice cream from small coffee creamer cups.
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Activity | Balancing Equations, Conservation of Mass, Photosynthesis | Middle School
Achieving a Photosynthetic Balance
In this activity, students will use candies to model the rearrangement of atoms from reactant to products during photosynthesis.
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Lab | Atomic Theory, Model of the Atom, Subatomic Particles | High School, Middle School
Investigating the Sizes of Atomic Particles
In this lab, students will use yarn and peas to compare the sizes of the three subatomic particles and will see that most of an atom is empty space.
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Lab | Ionic Bonding, Net Ionic Equation | High School
The pH of Salts
In this lab, students will determine whether an aqueous solution is acidic, basic, or neutral. Students will write net ionic equations for the hydrolysis of a solution.
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Lab | Chemical Change, Chemical Change, Exothermic & Endothermic, Physical Change, Separating Mixtures | Elementary School
Super Suds
In this lab, students will investigate an endothermic chemical reaction by combining baking soda, hand soap and citric acid. The students will be tasked with differentiating between chemical and physical changes during this experiment.
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Activity | Lab Safety | Elementary School, High School, Middle School
What Not to do in the Chemistry Lab
In this activity, students will examine a cartoon of a chaotic chemistry laboratory and note the specific behaviors that are dangerous and unsafe in a chemistry laboratory setting. This activity provides an opportunity for teachers to introduce laboratory safety and best laboratory practices and discuss them with their students.
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Activity | Heat, Molecular Motion, Observations, Specific Heat, Temperature | High School, Middle School
What Makes Something Feel Warm
In this lesson students actively engage in thinking about energy issues in chemistry and the nature of energy (thermal) transfer. The idea that temperature is a measure of heat content will be challenged, and students will be given the opportunity to collect data that will allow them to clearly see that different materials transfer energy at different rates.
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Demonstration | Inferences, Molecular Motion, Observations, Temperature | High School, Middle School
What is Temperature?
In this demonstration, students will observe food dye mixing with water at different temperatures.
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Activity | Dimensional Analysis | High School, Middle School
Unit Conversion Online Tutorial
In this activity, students will interact with a web-based tutorial that uses a drag and drop interface in order to learn how to convert between units of measurement using dimensional analysis. The tutorial allows students to learn at their own pace, and also provides feedback while they are solving problems.
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Lab | Graphing, Half Lives | High School
Twizzler Half-Life
In this lab, students will better understand the concept of half-lives.
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Lab | Separating Mixtures | Elementary School
Investigating Black Ink
In this lab, students will discover that black ink is a mixture composed of a several different pigments through a chromatography investigation.
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Lab | Gas Laws, Pressure, Temperature, Volume | High School
Three Station Gas Lab
In this lab, students will investigate relationships of variables involved with gases. They will draw pictures and explain in words what they observe and why.
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Lab | Electromagnetic Spectrum, Radiation, Radiation | High School, Middle School
The Most Effective Sunscreen
In this lab, students will research and compare the effectiveness of various SPF levels in sunscreen lotions. The lotion’s ability to block UV (ultraviolet) radiation from the sun will be tested using a UV bead detector.
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Lesson Plan | Balancing Equations, Chemical Change, Chemical Change, Conservation of Mass, Conservation of Mass, Interdisciplinary, Molecular Formula, Photosynthesis, Reversible Reactions | Middle School
The Building Blocks of Photosynthesis
In this lesson, students will use colored blocks to represent the elements in photosynthesis and illustrate how they are broken down and reassembled to create glucose.
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Lab | Boiling Point, Heat of Vaporization , Intermolecular Forces, Intermolecular Forces, Molar Mass, Polarity | High School
Heat of Vaporization
In this lab, students test whether a substance’s heat of vaporization is determined by its molar mass, the strength of its intermolecular forces, or both.
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Lab | Chemical Change, Heat, History, Interdisciplinary, Temperature, Temperature | High School, Middle School
Greenhouse Gas Simulation
In this lab, students will create two simulations of the Earth’s atmosphere. They will compare a control model with a one that has an increased presence of carbon dioxide gas in order to analyze how this effects temperature. They will also complete research in order to learn more about the makeup of the Earth’s atmosphere.
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Demonstration | Chemical Change, Observations, Reaction Rate, Reaction Rate | Elementary School, High School, Middle School
Simple Kinetics
In this demonstration, students will see that different food dyes react with bleach at different rates.
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Activity | Covalent Bonding, Molecular Geometry, Resonance, VSEPR Theory | High School
Shapes of Molecules
In this activity, students will investigate the VSEPR geometry of covalent compounds. They will draw Lewis structures, use molecular models, and determine the geometry of covalent compounds. There is a lot of repetition so students gain a lot of practice.
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Lab | Acid Base Reactions, Acid Rain, Chemical Change, Chemical Change, Concentration, Equivalence Point, Indicators, Molarity, pH | High School
Seeing the Effects of Acid Rain
In this lesson, students will prepare an environment and make acid rain to see how the acid rain effects the items in the environment.
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Lab | Intermolecular Forces, Intermolecular Forces, Mixtures, Mixtures, Observations, Physical Properties, Polarity | Elementary School, High School, Middle School
Salad Dressing Science: Emulsions
In this lab, students mix polar and nonpolar substances and then add various emulsifiers to encourage the mixing of the two substances. They use ingredients in salad dressing to relate science to real life scenarios.
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Demonstration | Chemical Change, Chemical Change, Density, Density | Elementary School, High School, Middle School
Fire Extinguisher
In this demonstration, students will observe a chemical reaction, and see how the product can be used to extinguish a fire.
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Activity | Atomic Mass, Atomic Radius, Atoms, Chemical Properties, Electron Configuration, Electrons, History, Isotopes, Model of the Atom, Orbitals , Periodic Table, Physical Properties, Subatomic Particles, Valence Electrons | High School, Middle School
Ptable.com Investigations
In this activity, students will use the online periodic table found at www.ptable.com to investigate a number of chemistry concepts. Students will use this online resource to explore information about the elements, including historical data, physical properties, periodic trends and more.
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Demonstration | Heat, Specific Heat, Temperature | High School
Dramatic Demonstration of Thermal Conductivity and Specific Heat Capacity
In this demonstration, students will observe the high thermal conductivity and low heat capacity of copper metal.
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Lesson Plan | Experimental Design, Heat, Physical Properties, Scientific Method, Specific Heat, Temperature | High School, Middle School
Designing & Engineering a Fast Defroster
In this activity students use their understanding of energy transfer to “design a solution to a complex real-world problem, based on scientific knowledge, student-generated sources of evidence, prioritized criteria, and tradeoff considerations.” And “evaluate a solution to a complex real-world problem, based on scientific knowledge, student-generated sources of evidence, prioritized criteria, and tradeoff considerations.” The real world problem is to help a cook who is trying to make a meal, but realizes some of the ingredients are frozen and must be thawed before he can begin.
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Lab | Calorimetry, Exothermic & Endothermic, Experimental Design, Graphing, Heat, Scientific Method, Specific Heat, Temperature | High School
Cool Science: Building and Testing a Model Radiator
In this lab students construct a model of a car radiator to investigate parameters that lead to efficient cooling. Students investigate multiple variables as they experiment with various radiator designs. This lesson focuses on thermochemistry calculations and engineering practices.
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Lesson Plan | Exothermic & Endothermic, Heat, Intermolecular Forces, Observations, Physical Change, Saturated/Unsaturated/Supersaturated, Solute & Solvent, Temperature | High School, Middle School
Particle Modeling of Hand Warmers
In this lesson, students will create a particulate model of matter that explains energy changes and transfer during a physical process, such as the crystallization of a solid from a supersaturated solution.
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Activity | Density, Entropy, Intermolecular Forces, Kinetic Molecular Theory, Molecular Motion, Volume | High School
Connecting States to Entropy
In this activity, students use blocks to model different states of matter and the Kinetic Molecular Theory to understand the concept of entropy. This is a concept mandated by SAT level or AP level high school chemistry class.
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Lab | Equivalence Point, Indicators, pH, Strong vs Weak, Titrations | High School
Meet The Indicators
In this lab, students will use their background with titrations to see how different indicators change colors at different pH's.
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Lesson Plan | Functional Groups, Molecular Formula, Molecular Structure, Molecular Structure , Oxidation, Saturated vs. Unsaturated | High School
Chocolate: The New Health Food
Explore emergency lesson plans from ChemMatters magazine.
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Activity | Culminating Project, Interdisciplinary | High School
Chemistry Close Read
In this activity, students will learn through actively reading real-world chemistry articles. The close-read strategy is used as a way of enhancing student understanding and engagement by slowing down the reading process without detracting from the current curriculum.
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Lab | Physical Change, Solubility, Solute & Solvent | High School, Middle School
Chemistree
In this lab, students will prepare a solution to observe a physical change.
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Demonstration | Inferences, Observations, Scientific Method | High School
Observations vs. Inferences
In this demonstration, students will learn the the difference between observation and inferences.
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Activity | Accuracy, Introduction, Measurements, SI Units | High School
Mysteriously Melodramatic & Maniacal Metric Measurements
In this activity, students predict the measurements of objects using metric units. They then take the actual measurements and compare them to their predictions.
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Lesson Plan | Freezing Point, Graphing, Heat, Heating Curve, Melting Point, Molecular Motion, Phase Changes, Temperature | High School, Middle School
Modeling the Melting of Ice
In this lesson, students will create a particulate model of matter that explains energy changes and transfer during a phase change.
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Lesson Plan | Atomic Theory, Atoms, Electromagnetic Spectrum, Electrons, Emission Spectrum, Emission Spectrum, Model of the Atom, Subatomic Particles | High School
Modeling Energy in Chemistry: Energy and the Electron
This activity is designed for students to build a scientific argument about the relationship between energy and spectral lines by exploring how light interacts with atoms. In the process, students will examine proposed models of the hydrogen atom and use collected data to analyze the proposed models. They will then select one of the models and write a scientific argument to support their choice. Students will then review additional data to support and/or refute their selection. Based on their analysis, students will revise their selected model and construct a new argument to support their revisions.
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Demonstration | Acid Base Reactions, Chemical Change, Chemical Change, Chemical Change, Indicators, Le Châtelier's Principle, Limiting Reactant, Observations, Reaction Rate | High School
Milk of Magnesia Magic
In this demonstration, students will observe a color change in a milk of magnesia solution as vinegar is added.
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Demonstration | Heat of Combustion, Specific Heat, Temperature | High School
Measuring Heat
In this demonstration students will observe what happens to the temperature of water when different volumes of hot water are added and also when copper, the same temperature as the hot water is added.
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Demonstration | Acids & Bases, Chemical Change, Chemical Change, Mixtures, Observations | Elementary School, High School, Middle School
Inflating a Balloon with Chemistry
In this demonstration, the teacher will perform a reaction between acetic acid (vinegar) and sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) in order to inflate a balloon and to introduce the concept of a chemical reaction to students. Students will observe the reaction, and identify indicators of chemical change as well as discuss the different types of matter that are involved.