 |
Power up with this collection of links to learn more about energy, its chemistry, and its relation to your life.
Sections
Activities
- Heat Flow Process Engineering Optimization from AACT
Use a team-based approach to solve the problem of upscaling a chemical process from lab scale to production scale for a hypothetical reaction. The project involves thermochemistry concepts of heat and calorimetry, along with conversion factors. - What Makes Something Feel Warm from AACT
Engage in thinking about energy issues in chemistry and the nature of energy (thermal) transfer by challenging the idea that temperature is a measure of heat content.
- Energy Foundations for High School Chemistry from ACS Energy Foundations for High School Chemistry What's energy? How do we use it? How can it change? Investigate these big ideas about energy.
- NOVA Energy Lab from PBS
This interactive game allows students to analyze data, then design a renewable energy system for your city of the future.
- Personal Annual Radiation Dose Calculator from United States Nuclear Regulatory Commision
Radiation—what's your number? Calculate your annual dose, from things you can avoid to things you can't.
- Spark in the Dark from ThoughtCo.
Materials needed: dark room, wintergreen candy, and your mouth. Let’s go!
Demos
- Energy from AACT
Observe the exothermic and endothermic properties of state changes first-hand by dipping a finger in water and wax—substances with different freezing and boiling points. - Hot Popcorn from AACT
Pop popcorn using three different methods in order to experience and investigate three types of heat energy transfer: convection, conduction, and radiation. - Energy in Hot and Cold Packs from AACT
Observe temperature changes in chemical hot and cold packs and discuss processes of endothermic and exothermic changes. Also see that common household products can be used to make a hot and cold pack. - Elephant Toothpaste from Flinn Scientific
Mix together hydrogen peroxide, sodium iodide solution, and dishwashing liquid in a tall cylinder and stand back. Your students will observe with amazement a catalyst in action as an enormous amount of soapy foam erupts from “Old Foamey!” - Day in the Dark Demonstrations with Jamie Benigna from Flinn Scientific
Light up luminescence learning with this series of five classroom demos in the dark.
Labs
- Chemistry is Cooler Stress Test Challenge from AACT
Design and build a device capable of insulating an ice cube submerged in boiling water for two minutes. - Energy Transfer Investigation from AACT
Experience several examples of energy transfer, analyze observations and interpret results in an attempt to explain why each transfer took place. - Less than Zero from AACT
Investigate the endothermic reaction between baking soda and HCl while considering stoichiometric ratios, molar concentrations, reaction scale, and calorimetry. - Designing Exothermic and Endothermic Reactions from AACT
Design and test an experiment for producing either an endothermic or an exothermic reaction. The goal is to successfully construct a reproducible procedure for a reaction that either releases or absorbs thermal energy, and that can be supported with data. - Cool Science: Building and Testing a Model Radiator from AACT
Construct a model of a car radiator to investigate parameters that lead to efficient cooling then investigate multiple variables as you experiment with various radiator designs. - How Much Energy is in Your Snack Food from AACT
Find the amount of heat energy stored in foods and compare heat calories with food calories.
- Temperature and the Rate of a Chemical Reaction from MiddleSchoolChemistry.com
How low can you glow? Investigate what happens when you change the temperature of a lightstick.
- Microwaving a Chocolate Bar from Chem 13 News University of Waterloo
Get a ruler and some chocolate to consider the energy of your microwave and the speed of light.
- Aluminum–Air Battery from Exploratorium
Want to light up a Christmas tree bulb? You won't need an outlet. Make this homemade battery instead.
Articles
- Cow Power from ChemMatters
Don't waste that stinky waste! Use it to fuel up instead!
- Can Nuclear Power Save the Planet? From ChemMatters
The question is open for discussion. What do you think is in store for the future?
- Powered by Poop and Pee? From Science News Explores
The fuel for this bio-bus has its origins in your toilet
- Turning Coffee Waste into Cleaner Biofuels from Science Daily
Science Daily Your daily cup of joe could not only power you, but your car. - How Does a Galileo Thermometer Work? from How Stuff Works
You might think it's just a colorful decoration or a science toy. The construction is trickier than you think. - The Chemistry of Glow Sticks from Compound Interest
What’s your favorite color? Find out the dye that makes it happen in a lightstick.
Videos
- Water Electrolysis from Science Fix
This short video includes two simple demonstrations of water electrolysis.
-
How do We Tell Temperature? from ACS Reactions
There's a lot of chemistry that goes into thermometers. This video takes a look at the science behind how we tell temperature.
-
Chemiluminescence: How Glow Sticks Work from Bytesize Science
This short breaks down the chemistry behind everybody's favorite party favor, the glow stick.