Classroom Resources: Chemistry Basics
Filter by:
26 – 50 of 81 Classroom Resources
-
Chemical Change, Chemical Change, Physical Change, Physical Properties | Middle School
Lab: Little Miss Muffet Investigation Mark as Favorite (16 Favorites)
In this lab, students will work in cooperative groups to conduct a chemical reaction by mixing vinegar with milk. This reaction will cause the curds to precipitate and separate from the liquid whey. The lesson can be extended by experimenting with different types of milk or by using different acids.
-
Mixtures, Separating Mixtures, Solubility, Physical Change, Phase Changes | Middle School
Lab: A Solution to Your Mix-up Mark as Favorite (5 Favorites)
In this lab, students will perform a step by step process of mixing and separating substances based on their states and solubility in order to solve a problem.
-
Freezing Point, Phase Changes, Temperature, Physical Change | Middle School
Lab: Lemon Ice Mark as Favorite (7 Favorites)
This activity explores the interaction between salt and water (ice) as a way to further investigate their impact on the state of matter of a substance. Students will use salt and ice to create a slushy lemonade drink without the use of a freezer. They will learn through this hands-on experiment how salt and ice can rapidly cool a liquid.
-
Physical Properties, Physical Change, Observations, Identifying an Unknown, Lab Safety, Molecules & Bonding, Covalent Bonding, Ionic Bonding, Intermolecular Forces, Molecular Motion, Solutions, Conductivity, States of Matter, Melting Point, Intermolecular Forces, Molecular Motion | High School
Activity: Animation Activity: Physical Properties and Particle Interaction Mark as Favorite (14 Favorites)
In this activity, students will view an animation that explores the relationship between physical properties and particle-level interactions. Particle diagrams of common household substances are used to illustrate that forces of attraction influence melting points. Similarly, particle diagrams of the same substances dissolved in water are used to compare their conductivity in solution.
-
Physical Properties, Physical Change, Observations, Identifying an Unknown, Lab Safety, Covalent Bonding, Ionic Bonding, Intermolecular Forces, Molecular Motion | High School
Animation: Physical Properties and Particle Interaction Animation Mark as Favorite (24 Favorites)
This animation explores the relationship between physical properties and particle-level interactions. Particle diagrams of common household substances are used to illustrate that forces of attraction influence melting points. Similarly, particle diagrams of the same substances dissolved in water are used to compare their conductivity in solution. This animation was featured in the November 2023 issue of Chemistry Solutions. **This video has no audio**
-
Phase Changes, Physical Change | Middle School
Lab: I Can’t Believe It’s Butter! Mark as Favorite (10 Favorites)
In this lab students will learn about the phases of matter and phase changes while making a small sample of butter.
-
Physical Change, Physical Properties, Observations | Elementary School
Lab: Changing Shape Mark as Favorite (0 Favorites)
In this lab students will analyze the physical properties of different materials in order to investigate their elasticity. They will learn how to differentiate between objects that can easily change shape and those that cannot. Also they will see that some objects can change shape, but can also return to their original shape. As the students learn about material properties, they will also determine what materials can be recycled.
-
Physical Change, Chemical Change, Observations, Chemical Change, Radioactive Isotopes | High School
Activity: Physical, Chemical and Nuclear Changes Mark as Favorite (68 Favorites)
In this activity, students will analyze the representation of physical, chemical, and nuclear changes in four ways: submicroscopic (particle diagrams), symbolic (equations), macroscopic (observations), and linguistic (vocabulary words). This self-guided activity is designed to ensure that students internalize fundamental chemistry concepts that will serve as a meaningful basis for future learning about matter and its changes.
-
Mixtures, Solute & Solvent, Phase Changes, Distillation, Introduction, Separating Mixtures, Interdisciplinary, Mixtures, Physical Change | Elementary School
Lesson Plan: Now I Can Drink the Water! Mark as Favorite (3 Favorites)
In this lesson, students review important concepts of the water cycle and then design, test, and evaluate a working model of a desalination plant (a distiller).
-
Solubility, Solute & Solvent, Physical Change | Elementary School
Demonstration: Crystallization of Sugar Mark as Favorite (6 Favorites)
In this demonstration, students will observe how to make rock candy in order to understand how sugar crystals form. They will be able to explain what a supersaturated solution is and how it is relevant to sugar crystallization.
-
Chemical Change, Solute & Solvent, Observations, Inferences, Physical Change, Identifying an Unknown | Elementary School
Lesson Plan: Alien Invasion? Mark as Favorite (2 Favorites)
In this lesson, students will explore both physical and chemical changes as they try to help the Department of Homeland Security analyze and identify materials found in a mysterious capsule. Students will examine and observe an unknown object (a frozen water balloon) as it changes (melts). They then mix combinations of everyday substances to observe chemical changes.
-
Chemical Change, Physical Change, Observations, Molecular Structure, Lewis Structures, Polarity, Chemical Change | High School
Lab: DIY Triiodide Mark as Favorite (23 Favorites)
In this lab, students will investigate how iodine interacts with various substances. They will use color changes to justify whether a chemical or physical change is taking place. This activity is referenced in the October 2019 ChemMatters article called “Cash, Chemistry, and Counterfeiting.”
-
Physical Change, Chemical Change, Identifying an Unknown, Acid Base Reactions | Middle School
Lab: Is It a Hoax? Mark as Favorite (14 Favorites)
In this lab, students will perform tests on the physical and chemical properties of different substances to determine the identity of the unknown.
-
Solute & Solvent, Physical Change, Solubility | Middle School, High School
Lab: Chemistree Mark as Favorite (18 Favorites)
In this lab, students will prepare a solution to observe a physical change.
-
Metallic Bonding, Physical Properties, Physical Change | High School
Lab: Molding Metal Mark as Favorite (17 Favorites)
In this lab, students cast tin into molds and observe physical changes of metals while creating an ornament. They will apply their knowledge of metallic bonding to analyze and explain their observations.
-
Intermolecular Forces, Polarity, Molecular Motion, Intermolecular Forces, Molecular Motion, Physical Change | High School
Simulation: Comparing Attractive Forces Mark as Favorite (49 Favorites)
In the November 2014 issue, students explore the different attractive foreces between pairs of molecules by dragging the "star" image. In the accompanying activity, students investigate different types of intermolecular forces (London dispersion and dipole-dipole). In the analysis that follows the investigation, they relate IMFs (including hydrogen bonding) to physical properties (boiling point and solubility).
-
Heat, Physical Properties, Physical Change, Molecular Structure, Monomer, Polymers | High School
Video: Ingenious Video 7: The World has a Receipt Problem Mark as Favorite (9 Favorites)
The receipts you take home from the store – or stuff in your bag, or lose in your car -- employ a printing method that’s been around since the 1970s. Thermal printing involves heat-sensitive inks called leuco dyes that show up when they react with an acid developer embedded in the paper. Not only do these inks fade easily, but receipts that use them aren’t recyclable, and could even be dangerous to your health. Taking a cue from a failed experiment, scientists are developing a new kind of receipt paper that will use the same thermal printers without leuco dyes. Instead of acid developers, this paper is coated in reflective microspheres that collapse under heat, allowing regular ink underneath to show through.
-
Heat, Physical Properties, Physical Change, Molecular Structure, Monomer, Polymers | High School
Activity: Ingenious: The World Has a Receipt Problem Video Questions Mark as Favorite (6 Favorites)
In this activity, students will answer questions while watching the video The World has a Receipt Problem from the Ingenious series produced by the American Chemical Society. Each episode investigates a different topic related to how leading-edge chemistry is taking on the world’s most urgent issues to advance everyone’s quality of life and secure our shared future. This episode investigates the process of thermal printing on receipts, and the limitations related to the paper that currently prints using leuco dyes. This heat-sensitive ink appears when it reacts with an acid developer embedded in the paper. Scientists are working to develop a new kind of thermal receipt paper, that can use the same printers, however it offers many additional benefits and potential uses.
-
Identifying an Unknown, Observations, Physical Change, Physical Properties, Chemical Change, Chemical Properties, Solubility, Precipitate, Indicators | High School
Lab: Using Qualitative Analysis to Identify Household Compounds Mark as Favorite (64 Favorites)
In this lab, students will be introduced to common laboratory techniques, safety procedures, lab reagents, and terminology, all while identifying unknown household substances. Students will learn how to use qualitative analysis techniques as a systematic way to identify unknown materials. As part of this process, they will practice careful observation and documentation, as well as identifying relevant physical and chemical properties and changes, including solubility, color change, gas formation, and precipitation of solids.
-
Physical Properties, Chemical Properties, Physical Change, Chemical Change, Observations | High School
Lab: Determining Physical and Chemical Properties Mark as Favorite (48 Favorites)
In this lab, students will determine the physical and chemical properties of several different substances through testing and observation. Additionally, they will further their understanding of chemical and physical changes, and their ability to recognize each type of change.
-
Physical Change, Chemical Change, Observations | Elementary School, Middle School
Lab: Comparing Physical and Chemical Changes Mark as Favorite (13 Favorites)
In this lab, students will analyze different scenarios in order to determine if a physical or chemical change has occurred. This lab experience will provide students with the opportunity to record observations, as well as improve their ability to differentiate between physical and chemical changes.
-
Physical Change | High School
Activity: Magic Bubble (High School) Mark as Favorite (2 Favorites)
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.
-
Heat of Vaporization , Boiling Point, Intermolecular Forces, Phase Changes, Heating Curve, Heat of Combustion, Temperature, Specific Heat, Observations, Chemical Change, Physical Change | Middle School, High School
Demonstration: Cooking an Egg in Chemistry Class Mark as Favorite (7 Favorites)
In this demonstration, students will observe the very high latent heat of vaporization for water by boiling water over a Bunsen burner in a paper cup to cook a boiled egg. The discussion can be extended to incorporate intermolecular forces to explain the unusually high boiling point of water, as well as heat of vaporization and specific heat capacity.
-
Solubility, Solute & Solvent, Precipitate, Mixtures, Error Analysis, Chemical Change, Physical Change, Observations, Identifying an Unknown, Graphing | Middle School, High School
Lab: Chemicals, Chromatography, and Crime! Mark as Favorite (53 Favorites)
In this lab, students will test “evidence” that has been collected from a crime scene. In order to determine if the victim was poisoned, students will perform a solubility and crystallization test on an unknown powder. Then, students will attempt to identify the culprit by using paper chromatography to analyze the lipstick from the potential criminals.
-
Intermolecular Forces, Physical Change, Intermolecular Forces, Polarity | High School
Activity: Intermolecular Forces Activity Mark as Favorite (17 Favorites)
In this activity, students will represent molecules and energy to investigate the different types of intermolecular forces.