Classroom Resources: Chemistry Basics
151 – 175 of 283 Classroom Resources
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Periodic Table, History, Physical Properties, Chemical Properties, Subatomic Particles, Atomic Mass | Elementary School, Middle School, High School
Activity: History of the Periodic Table Video Questions
In this activity, students will answer questions while watching a video about how the periodic table was developed and learn about those who contributed to it.
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Temperature, History, Physical Properties, Measurements, SI Units, Accuracy | Elementary School, Middle School, High School
Activity: Temperature Guys Video Questions
In this activity, students will watch a video and answer questions about how both the thermometer and the concept of temperature evolved over time
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Atomic Theory, Orbitals , Electrons, Model of the Atom, Subatomic Particles, History | Middle School, High School
Activity: Neils Bohr Video Questions
In this activity, students will answer questions while watching a video about Niels Bohr and learn how he redefined thinking about the atom and the electron. His model of the atom advanced our understanding of subatomic particles and holds an important place in the history and development of atomic theory.
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History, Physical Properties, Matter, Observations | Elementary School, Middle School, High School
Activity: Ancient Chemistry Video Questions
In this activity, students will watch a video about the history of chemistry. They will answer questions while learning about the history of chemistry, starting with the discovery of fire, progressing through the various metal ages, and be introduced to the great philosophers.
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Molecular Motion, Physical Properties | Middle School, High School
Activity: Categorizing States of Matter
In this activity students will analyze both written statements and images that describe the properties of a solid, liquid or gas. Students will determine which state of matter the description best describes and categorize it accordingly.
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Lab Safety | Middle School, High School
Activity: Hazard Symbols
In this activity, students will familiarize themselves with common hazard symbols and their meaning.
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Radioactive Isotopes, Radiation, Half Lives, Atomic Structure, Subatomic Particles, Model of the Atom, History | Middle School, High School
Activity: Marie Curie Video Questions
In this activity, students will watch a short video and learn about Marie Curie, her Nobel Prizes, radiation experiments, and discovery of new elements.
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Lab Safety, Introduction, Review | Middle School, High School
Activity: Laboratory Equipment Memory Game
In this activity, students will play a modified version of the classic Memory Game in order to help them identify common laboratory equipment by name. This activity provides an opportunity for students to increase their familiarity with the laboratory equipment that they will be expected to properly use.
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Atomic Theory, Subatomic Particles, Model of the Atom, History | Middle School, High School
Activity: Ernest Rutherford Video Questions
In this activity, students will watch a video about Ernest Rutherford. They will learn about his great contributions to chemistry, including his study of alpha particles and his use of the gold foil experiment. They will also find out that he won the Nobel Prize in chemistry for his studies on radioactive substances.
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Distillation, Physical Change, Separating Mixtures, Phase Changes | Middle School
Activity: Distillation in Survival Mode
In this activity, students will investigate methods for purifying water as they consider a survival based situation that requires clean drinking water. Students will investigate processes such as boiling and distillation, as well as review the phase changes within the water cycle.
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Phase Changes, Elements, Mixtures | High School, Middle School
Activity: Visualizing States of Matter
In this activity, students will view, sort and classify pure substances and mixtures into the 3 common states of matter found in the laboratory. Students will also discuss their classification system with their teacher and peers.
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Physical Change, Chemical Change, Matter, Mixtures, Mixtures | Elementary School
Activity: Chemistry in the Kitchen!
In this activity, students will describe the steps required to complete a recipe of their choosing. They will identify any physical and chemical changes that occur throughout the process.
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Ionic Bonding, Naming Compounds, Polyatomic Ions | High School
Activity: Introduction to Naming and Formula Writing for Ionic Compounds
In this activity, students will be introduced to ionic compound formulas and names. They will group prepared cut-outs to note similarities and differences among different classes of ionic compounds (i.e. binary and ternary, including metals with varying charges). The goal is not to be equipped to write names and formulas for ionic compounds, but to recognize trends in naming.
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Electromagnetic Spectrum, Identifying an Unknown | Middle School, High School
Video: Color Matching Paint Video
This video explains how technology, specifically focusing on spectrophotometry, can be used for paint matching. Students will learn how the spectrophotometer interacts with the spectrum of visible light in order to match or reproduce specific paint colors.
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Radioactive Isotopes, Atomic Theory, History, Pros Cons of Nuclear Power, Radiation, Subatomic Particles | Middle School, High School
Activity: Lise Meitner Video Questions
In this activity, students will complete a short series of questions as they watch the Founders of Chemistry video about Lise Meitner. The video tells the story of Lise Meitner, a pioneering female scientist in the field of nuclear chemistry, who was denied a Nobel Prize but has an Element named in her honor.
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Pros Cons of Nuclear Power, Radiation, Radioactive Isotopes, Atomic Theory, Atoms, History | Middle School, High School
Video: Lise Meitner Video
This video tells the story of Lise Meitner, a pioneering female scientist in the field of nuclear chemistry, who was denied a Nobel Prize but has an Element named in her honor.
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Periodic Table, Electronegativity, VSEPR Theory, Polarity, Molecular Structure | High School
Activity: Making Connections between Electronegativity, Molecular Shape, and Polarity
In this activity, students will find the electronegativity values of a variety of elements, draw the Lewis structures of select molecules that are made with those elements, and identify the molecular shape of each molecule. Students will then be asked to determine if the molecules are polar or nonpolar based on the electronegativity values of the atoms and the molecular shape. Students will use Ptable.com to find information about atoms and molecules and connect what they find to observable properties.
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Separating Mixtures, Observations, Physical Properties, Conservation of Matter | Elementary School
Activity: How is Chemistry Used in Your Everyday Life?
In this lesson the students will become familiar with some ways that chemistry is present in their everyday lives. The teacher will read a book and show a short video about how a plastic bottle is made. Following these activities, students will interact with a variety of materials made of plastic, ultimately organizing them according to the recycling code printed on the bottom of each or by physical properties. Finally students will collect data and have an opportunity to construct a graph based on their data.
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Physical Change | High School
Activity: 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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Physical Properties | Elementary School
Activity: The Attraction of Magnets
In this activity, students will be able to investigate the physical property of magnetism and determine that magnets have the ability to attract and repel some objects while pushing and pulling “race cars” around a track.
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Periodic Table, Elements | Middle School, High School
Activity: 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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Periodic Table, Elements, Subatomic Particles, Model of the Atom | Elementary School, Middle School
Activity: Element Brochure
In this activity, students will research a common element from the periodic table and create a brochure about it. Students will include information about its atomic structure, subatomic particles, Bohr model, chemical symbol, and common uses.
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Periodic Table, Elements, Percent Composition | Middle School
Activity: The Universe of Elements
In this activity, students are introduced to the periodic table and its elements. Student will discuss that all material in the Universe is composed of elements and that the atom is the smallest particle that still has the physical and chemical properties of any given element. Students will engage in an activity to determine the percent composition of common elements in the universe, and based on their results they will hypothesize the identity of each element based on its relative abundance.
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Physical Properties, Physical Change, Chemical Change, Matter, Phase Changes | Elementary School
Activity: Analyzing Root Beer Floats
In this activity students will observe the states of matter while making a root beer float. They will also discover the differences between a solid, a liquid and a gas.
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Physical Properties, Matter, Physical Change, Interdisciplinary, Separating Mixtures, Mixtures | Elementary School
Activity: Creating Finger-Paint from Rocks
In this activity, the students will explore the physical properties of different rocks. Students will have the opportunity to physically change the rocks, and make them part of a mixture in order to create finger paint.