Classroom Resources: Chemistry Basics
1 – 25 of 74 Classroom Resources
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Physical Properties, Observations | Elementary School
Activity: Magnets and Metals
In this activity, students will investigate magnets and see that they attract some metals but not others. Students will also get a chance to make a magnet “wand” to move a “skater” on a pretend frozen lake.
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Solubility, Observations | Elementary School, Middle School
Activity: Paper Flower Blossoms
In this activity, students will investigate solubility by using a combination of washable markers and permanent ink to color a paper flower. The petals of the flower will be folded, and then placed in a shallow dish of water. Students will be intrigued by the outcome as they observe several changes occur. Using their knowledge of several fundamental chemistry topics, student will explain their observations using evidence and modeling.
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Molecular Structure, Covalent Bonding, Molecular Formula, Review, Atoms | Elementary School, Middle School
Activity: Atom Catcher Game
In this activity, students will make several different molecules out of four types of atoms: oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, and nitrogen in an online game. In order to be successful, the student must move a beaker on the screen to catch the correct type and number of atoms needed to form a particular molecule. Students can score points by making as many correct molecules as possible in a given amount of time.
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Interdisciplinary | Elementary School, Middle School
Activity: Discovering Entomology
In this activity, students will first work in small groups on a card sort aimed to activate their prior knowledge about insects and attempt to match the name of several common insects with a corresponding scientific fact. Students will then watch a short video while answering several questions to discover more about the field of entomology.
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Density, Observations, Inferences | Elementary School, Middle School, High School
Activity: Animation Activity: Density
In this activity, students will view an animation that explores density on the particulate level. There are opportunities to make qualitative and quantitative comparisons between substances.
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Periodic Table, Review, Elements, Subatomic Particles, Model of the Atom, Atomic Mass | Elementary School, Middle School
Activity: Periodic Table Challenge Game
In this activity, students will play an online game that quizzes their knowledge about the atomic structure of the first 20 elements on the periodic table. Students will be asked to identify different elements based on information related to subatomic particles, placement on the periodic table or from a provided Bohr model. This game has several options for students to choose from, and can be used to review content, or as a formative assessment.
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Elements, Periodic Table | Elementary School, Middle School, High School
Activity: Element Matching Puzzle
In this activity, students will become more familiar with select elements from the periodic table. They will use the periodic table to determine the symbol for given elements, and recall any prior knowledge about each element. Then students will be challenged to solve a puzzle by organizing a set of cards that contain jumbled information about these elements. After all of the cards have been correctly organized, a secret message can be found.
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Electromagnetic Spectrum, Interdisciplinary | Elementary School, Middle School, High School
Activity: Animation Activity: Electromagnetic Spectrum
In this activity, students will view an animation that explores the electromagnetic spectrum, with a focus on the visible spectrum. The animation addresses the relationship between color, wavelength, frequency, and energy of light waves, as well as how an object absorbs and reflects certain wavelengths of light to contribute to the color we perceive.
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Electromagnetic Spectrum, Interdisciplinary | Middle School, High School, Elementary School
Animation: The Electromagnetic Spectrum Animation
This animation explores the electromagnetic spectrum, with a focus on the visible spectrum. It addresses the relationship between color, wavelength, frequency, and energy of light waves, as well as how an object absorbs and reflects certain wavelengths of light to contribute to the color we perceive. This animation was featured in the May 2020 issue of Chemistry Solutions. **This video has no spoken audio**
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Photosynthesis, Interdisciplinary | Elementary School
Activity: Sunshine for Life
In this activity, students will become familiar with the chemistry components of photosynthesis. They will use role-play and/or demonstrations to describe the purpose of photosynthesis in this activity.
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Graphing, Scientific Method, Experimental Design | Elementary School, Middle School
Activity: Graphing Glow-in-the-Dark Paint
In this activity, students will have the opportunity to review the scientific method, and analyze data from a scenario about glow-in-the-dark paint. Additionally, students with create a graph to help them to interpret data.
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Lab Safety | Elementary School, Middle School, High School
Video: Video 1: Safety Mindset
The chemistry lab is an amazing place! Through experiments and demonstrations your high school students have been discovering that chemistry is more than just a collection of facts and formulas-- it’s a way of observing and understanding the very real properties of matter all around them. However, the lab can also be a dangerous place. Contrary to what your students might have seen in films and TV, safety is a core value of chemistry—it is essential to everything they do in the lab. It begins with their mindset, the attitudes and beliefs they bring to class with them every day. Use this video to introduce your students to elements of safe importance of safety mindset in the chemistry lab.
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Physical Change, Chemical Change, Physical Properties, Chemical Properties | Elementary School, Middle School, High School
Activity: A Physical vs. Chemical Challenge
In this activity, students will first complete a card sort to best categorize examples of change as physical or chemical change. Then they will compete in teams to identify whether given situations represent a physical change or a chemical change, or a physical or a chemical property.
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Lab Safety | Elementary School, Middle School
Activity: Super Safety Scientists
In this activity, students will brainstorm ideas for keeping people safe during lab activities and design personal protective equipment (PPE) suitable for a given situation.
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Physical Properties, Chemical Properties | Elementary School
Activity: Solving Problems like a Scientist
In this activity, students will analyze several scenarios in order to better understand and apply their knowledge of physical and chemical properties.
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Observations, Physical Properties, Chemical Properties | Elementary School
Activity: Junior Technologist of Floor Care
In this activity students will take the role of the Junior Technologist of Floor Care, whereby students have the opportunity to study the properties of a chemical used for finishing floor tile. They will examine the tiles appearance to discover which chemical provides the best sheen and durability.
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Lab Safety | Elementary School, Middle School, High School
Video: Video 2: Safety Data Sheet (SDS)
Preparation and planning are key to working in the chemistry lab. To be prepared, your students must understand the hazards of any chemicals they will be working with. The place to find that information is the Safety Data Sheet or SDS. The SDS provides detailed information about the properties of a chemical, its hazards, and how to protect yourself from those hazards. Use this video, to guide your students through 16 sections of the SDS for isopropyl alcohol to demonstrate importance of SDS information.
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Lab Safety | Elementary School, Middle School, High School
Video: Video 3: How to Dress for the Lab? And what about Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)?
Wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) for short is one of the main ways for you and your students to stay protected from injury in the lab. PPE includes things like goggles, gloves, lab coats or aprons. These are designed to protect eyes, hands and skin, as well as clothing, from exposure to chemicals. PPE is the most obvious way of preventing contact with chemicals--but it is not the first line of defense. Use these video to teach your students that before they put on any PPE, why they should dress properly for lab.
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Lab Safety | Elementary School, Middle School, High School
Video: Video 4: Preparing for Emergencies
There is an old saying that you should always plan for the best, but prepare for the worst. This is good advice in the lab as well. Use this video to teach your students about two lab emergencies that carry a high risk of injury--spills and fires. The videos describes concrete steps to prevent these emergencies and goes over some of the safety equipment used to deal with them.
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Lab Safety | Elementary School, Middle School, High School
Video: Video 5: RAMP (For Students)
Use this video to teach your students a simple yet powerful tool for protecting you and your classmates in the lab. The tool is called RAMP. RAMP stands for: Recognize hazards; Assess risks; Minimize risks and Prepare for emergencies.
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Lab Safety | Elementary School, Middle School, High School
Video: Video 6: RAMP (For Teachers)
As a teacher, there are steps you can take to make sure your students are as safe as possible while exploring and experimenting in the lab. In this video, we discuss some ideas to help you to set up a safe lab experiment. We use RAMP, the acronym for lab safety. RAMP stands for Recognize hazards; Assess risks; Minimize risks and Prepare for emergencies. RAMP is a simple yet powerful tool to help you prepare for and safely carry out any lab activity with your students.
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Periodic Table, Elements | Elementary School, Middle School, High School
Activity: The Periodic Table: Put Your Love to the Test!
In this activity, students will be challenged to see how familiar they are will the element names on the periodic table. Students will examine a heart-shaped word search, following the rules of the assigned difficulty level (beginner, intermediate, or advanced) in order to identify as many element names as possible.
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Periodic Table, Elements | Elementary School
Activity: Elemental Scrabble
In this activity students will create words using element symbols in order to become more familiar with the periodic table.
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Matter, Physical Properties, Observations | Elementary School
Activity: Is Air Matter?
In this activity, students will conduct an investigation to discover whether or not air is a form of matter. Students will first gather data, and then make a claim. They will communicate their claim in writing, using their data to support their claim.
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Physical Properties, Observations, Matter | Elementary School
Activity: Describing Physical Properties
In this activity, students will use their five senses to describe the physical properties of a variety of items. Students will also determine what state of matter the item is, and categorize it accordingly. Students will practice using vocabulary words as they record their observations in a data table.