Classroom Resources: Chemistry Basics
126 – 150 of 511 Classroom Resources
-
Interdisciplinary, Functional Groups, Molecular Structure | High School
Activity: Ingenious: Is the Answer to Overfishing… Algae? Video Questions Mark as Favorite (1 Favorite)
In this activity, students will answer questions while watching the video, Is the Answer to Overfishing… Algae? 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 Omega-3’s, the essential nutrient that humans have to get from fish. However, fish don’t make their own Omega-3’s, and like humans, must get them from an important part of their diet, algae. But with over-fishing considerations and fish-farming limitations, scientists are working to develop a new way to harvest Omega-3’s to maintain stability.
-
Periodic Table, History, Elements | High School
Activity: Periodic Table Trivia Crossword Puzzle Mark as Favorite (21 Favorites)
In this activity, students will be presented with trivia questions related to the periodic table of elements. Many of the questions can be answered by examining a periodic table, while others are related to specific elements and may require additional research. Students will complete a crossword puzzle as they answer each of the questions.
-
History, Interdisciplinary | Middle School, High School
Activity: Spellbound Episode 8 Helen Murray Free Video Questions Mark as Favorite (2 Favorites)
In this activity, students will answer questions while watching a video from the Spellbound series produced by ACS. Each episode focuses on a different notable scientist, recounting how their interest in science was sparked in their childhood and how they went on to make great contributions to the scientific community. This eighth episode focuses on the childhood of Helen Murray Free, a former ACS president and pioneering woman in chemistry who developed self-testing diagnostic strips for diabetes and other diseases.
-
History, Interdisciplinary | Middle School, High School
Activity: Spellbound Episode 7 Peter Agre Video Questions Mark as Favorite (0 Favorites)
In this activity, students will answer questions while watching a video from the Spellbound series produced by ACS. Each episode focuses on a different notable scientist, recounting how their interest in science was sparked in their childhood and how they went on to make great contributions to the scientific community. This seventh episode focuses on the childhood of Peter Agre, who won the 2003 Nobel Prize in Chemistry and is noted for his work in the study of malaria, as well as scientific diplomacy and policy.
-
Concentration, Graphing, Electromagnetic Spectrum | High School
Lesson Plan: Determining the Time of Death Mark as Favorite (39 Favorites)
In this lesson, students will perform a flame test on a sample of vitreous humor (liquid found in the eyeball) in a forensic investigation. They will determine which element from the sample is used to determine the time of death. Then they will engineer a simple spectrophotometer to quantify that element. Evaluating a fake sample of vitreous humor in their spectrophotometer will help them determine the time of death for a hypothetical cadaver.
-
Ionic Bonding, Covalent Bonding, Physical Properties, Chemical Properties, Density, Inferences | High School
Lesson Plan: Murder Mystery Mark as Favorite (3 Favorites)
In this lesson, students will use their knowledge of the properties of ionic and covalent compounds to examine the evidence from a crime scene. Students will conduct several tests, and compare their data with known data in a collection of SDS documents. Using the evidence from their investigation, students will write a claim, evidence and reasoning statement detailing whether the victim was murdered or died accidentally.
-
Introduction, Interdisciplinary, Experimental Design, Dimensional Analysis | High School
Project: Food Chemistry Infographic Mark as Favorite (24 Favorites)
In this project, students will research the chemical content and nutritional value of their favorite holiday foods, presenting their findings in an infographic. They will also include a recipe, which they will convert to metric units to practice dimensional analysis. As an extension to explore experimental design, they could alter one aspect of the recipe and observe how that change affects the final product.
-
Lab Safety | Middle School, High School
Activity: Race to Safe Mark as Favorite (25 Favorites)
In this activity, students will be engaged in a kinesthetic activity to teach laboratory safety. They will be prompted with different laboratory safety and equipment scenarios and asked to demonstrate the correct safety protocols to follow.
-
Polyatomic Ions, Ionic Bonding | High School
Activity: Common Ion Memory Game Mark as Favorite (17 Favorites)
In this activity, students will play a modified version of the classic Memory Game in order to help identify common ions by name and symbol. This activity provides an opportunity for students to increase their familiarity with the names and formulas of common ions that they will be expected to properly use when they begin writing chemical formulas and reactions.
-
Molecular Structure , Functional Groups, Experimental Design, Interdisciplinary, Chemical Change | High School
Lab: Designing Biomimetic Songbird Preen Oil from Waste Cooking Oil Mark as Favorite (16 Favorites)
In this guided-inquiry lab, students will design and test a procedure reacting waste cooking oil in a blue cheese slurry to create a substance that mimics songbird preen oil, which is both antibacterial and hydrophobic. Students will convert the fatty acids in waste oil to methyl ketones, thought to be the principal antibacterial component of preen oil, using the P. roqueforti mold found in blue cheese. Students will expand their knowledge of biomimicry, inherent properties of preen oil, and chemical synthesis by applying the principles of green chemistry. They will also assess their own process through higher-order problem solving and building on their scientific research skills.
-
Molecular Structure, Lab Safety, Identifying an Unknown, Interdisciplinary | High School
Lesson Plan: How Modern Instrumentation Revolutionized the Poison Game Mark as Favorite (46 Favorites)
In this lesson, students are introduced to the world of Forensic Chemistry using the prologue of Deborah Blum’s The Poisoner’s Handbook. Discussion revolves around why murder by poison was so prevalent during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and why it is so rare today. Students create their own Safety Data Sheet on a poison of choice, and learn about how mass spectroscopy has helped revolutionize the modern analysis of toxins.
-
Titrations, Acid Base Reactions, Identifying an Unknown, Molarity | High School
Lesson Plan: Investigating a Suspicious Drowning with Titrations Mark as Favorite (48 Favorites)
In this lesson, students take on the role of a forensic chemist who is tasked with investigating a suspicious drowning incident. Students will conduct a series of titrations on an evidence sample of water collected from the victim's lungs as well as on several water samples from local water sources (lakes, rivers, wells, etc.) Based on their findings, they will determine where the victim actually drowned.
-
Density, Identifying an Unknown, Physical Properties | Middle School, High School
Lesson Plan: The Shattered Glass Mystery Mark as Favorite (20 Favorites)
In this lesson, students will take on the role of a Forensic Scientist to help solve a hit and run investigation. They will learn how physical properties of matter, such as density and refractive index, can be used to help identify evidence samples such as glass.
-
Density, Separating Mixtures, Polymers, Polymers | High School
Activity: Identifying Plastics with Density Data Mark as Favorite (2 Favorites)
In this activity, students will familiarize themselves with different types of plastics. Using data analysis, students will determine how to use the density values of a variety of plastic samples in order to separate a specific sample from a mixture.
-
Density, Chemical Properties, Polymers, Polymers | High School
Lab: The Big Six Plastics Mark as Favorite (23 Favorites)
In this lab students will use data and chemical tests to better understand different types of plastics and their properties. Ultimately, students can choose the best plastic material to construct a compost bin.
-
Solubility, Intermolecular Forces, Mixtures, Separating Mixtures | High School
Lab: Using Paper Chromatography to Separate the Pigments Found in Ink Mark as Favorite (30 Favorites)
In this lab, students will separate the component pigments of a water-soluble black marker using paper chromatography.
-
Atomic Mass, Subatomic Particles, Law of Conservation of Energy, Conservation of Mass | High School
Activity: Building a Nuclide Mark as Favorite (6 Favorites)
In this activity, students will construct a model of a nuclide and use this model to investigate why the mass of the nuclide is less than the summative mass of the individual nucleons (protons and neutrons). Additionally, the constructed nuclide will be used to help students conceptualize and differentiate between key lesson terminology (mass defect, strong nuclear force, and nuclear binding energy).
-
Review, Culminating Project, Molecular Structure | Middle School, High School
Activity: Online Meeting Scavenger Hunt Mark as Favorite (14 Favorites)
In this activity, students will work in teams on a virtual meeting platform to find as many objects as possible from a comprehensive scavenger hunt list within their homes during a given timeframe. The items on the list provided in this activity are related to organic chemistry topics, however the list can be easily modified for use with many chemistry topics.
-
Introduction, Lab Safety, Review | Middle School, High School
Activity: Laboratory Equipment Bingo Mark as Favorite (52 Favorites)
In this activity, students will play a Bingo game, crossing out the names of laboratory equipment on their Bingo card that corresponds to the pictures of equipment shown by the teacher. This will help students to identify common equipment found in a chemistry lab.
-
Lab Safety, Introduction | Middle School, High School
Lesson Plan: ACS Chemical Safety Video: RAMP Mark as Favorite (15 Favorites)
In this lesson, students will learn about a simple yet powerful tool for protecting themselves and their classmates in the lab, RAMP. It stands for: Recognize hazards; Assess risks; Minimize risks and Prepare for emergencies. Using a video, and multiple activities, students will become more knowledgeable and better prepared to assess risks and identify hazards in the lab.
-
Specific Heat, Heat, Temperature, Experimental Design | Middle School, High School
Activity: Simulation Activity: Understanding Specific Heat Mark as Favorite (27 Favorites)
In this simulation, students will play the role of engineer in deciding which materials are the best candidates for a building project. They will calculate the specific heat capacity of various building materials to determine which ones meet the criteria for building an energy efficient home. Students will also do a cost analysis to determine which material to use in their building project. On the student activity sheet, they will answer additional conceptual and numerical questions related to specific heat capacity.
-
Radioactive Isotopes, Half Lives, Subatomic Particles, Periodic Table | High School
Activity: Why are Some Isotopes Radioactive? Mark as Favorite (62 Favorites)
In this activity, students use periodic trends and data to make predictions about what makes an isotope radioactive. They will then verify or refine their predictions using a PhET simulation.
-
Physical Properties, Chemical Properties, Interdisciplinary | High School
Project: Working for NASA Mark as Favorite (15 Favorites)
In this project, students will take on the role of a NASA employee on a mission to discover what resources humans need in order to survive on another planet inside of our solar system as well as an exoplanet outside of our solar system. Students will research the materials and resources needed to sustain life on Earth and compare these to another planet and exoplanet to determine if they can possibly be habitable and sustain life.
-
History, Interdisciplinary, Chemical Change | Middle School, High School
Video: Spellbound Episode 1—A Sign on the Door: Ahmed Zewail, Ph.D. Mark as Favorite (5 Favorites)
Produced for the 2011 International Year of Chemistry, the video series Spellbound, tells the story of scientists whose childhood curiosity about everyday things helped them launch careers in the lab, win Nobel Prizes and make other achievements. Their early childhood experiences may encourage young people into careers in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields. This episode features Ahmed Zewail, Ph.D.
-
History, Interdisciplinary | Middle School, High School
Video: Spellbound Episode 2 —Finding Her Way: Kristala L. Jones Prather, Ph.D. Mark as Favorite (0 Favorites)
Produced for the 2011 International Year of Chemistry, the video series Spellbound, tells the story of scientists whose childhood curiosity about everyday things helped them launch careers in the lab, win Nobel Prizes and make other achievements. Their early childhood experiences may encourage young people into careers in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields. This episode features Kristala L. Jones Prather, Ph.D.