Classroom Resources: Chemistry Basics
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1 – 25 of 81 Classroom Resources
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Radioactive Isotopes, Radiation, Half Lives, History | Elementary School, Middle School, High School
Video: Marie Curie Video Mark as Favorite (31 Favorites)
This video tells the story about Marie Curie, including her Nobel Prizes, radiation experiments, and discovery of new elements. Irene Curie is also mentioned.
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Heat, Physical Properties, Physical Change, Molecular Structure, Monomer, Polymers | High School
Video: Ingenious Video 7: The World has a Receipt Problem Mark as Favorite (3 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.
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Renewable Energy, Culminating Project | High School
Project: Sustainable Energy Evaluation Mark as Favorite (30 Favorites)
In this project, students will develop a presentation to compare the pros and cons of a sustainable resource. The explanation will involve researching the cost and benefits of the resource and analyzing if the resource should continue to be used.
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Mole Concept, Measurements, History, Ideal Gas, Gas Laws | High School
Video: Amedeo Avogadro Video Mark as Favorite (53 Favorites)
This video tells the story of Amedeo Avogadro, the scientist given credit for the mole concept, but who discovered other things in chemistry too.
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Introduction, Interdisciplinary | High School
Video: Chemistry Lab Technicians Mark as Favorite (1 Favorite)
Meet Josh, a chemical technician at PPG. Most chemical technician jobs do not require a bachelor’s degree, and they involve more of the hands-on work of “doing science” than many scientist roles. This video shows us the lab where he makes new paint formulations and explains how he arrived at his current occupation. ACS celebrates the crucial role of skilled technicians in research and the chemical industries.
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Heat, Temperature, Specific Heat, Law of Conservation of Energy, Enthalpy, Calorimetry, Exothermic & Endothermic, Balancing Equations, Chemical Change, Measurements, Mole Concept, Dimensional Analysis, Culminating Project, Interdisciplinary, Review, Graphing, Observations, Chemical Properties, Physical Properties | High School
Project: Handwarmer Design Challenge Mark as Favorite (59 Favorites)
In this project, students will use their knowledge of thermodynamics to design a handwarmer for a manufacturing company that can maintain a temperature of 30-40°C for at least 5 minutes and is designed for the average human hand. Students will create a final product after rounds of testing and an advertising poster that summarizes the results of their testing and promotes their design.
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Chemical Properties, Physical Properties, Chemical Change, Physical Change, Chemical Change, Culminating Project, Mixtures, Molecular Structure | High School
Project: Analyze a Family Recipe Mark as Favorite (66 Favorites)
In this project, students will select a family recipe, or a favorite recipe to investigate. They will analyze several of the ingredients in order learn more about the chemistry of each one, as well as their purpose in the recipe. Additionally, students will examine several ingredient interactions to learn more about the chemistry of cooking.
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Culminating Project, Interdisciplinary, History, Renewable Energy | High School
Project: Understanding Renewable Energy Mark as Favorite (5 Favorites)
In this project, students will conduct research in order to become an “expert” on a specific type of renewable energy source. Students will produce a media presentation and a poster board as well as participate in a symposium focused on renewable energy sources.
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Periodic Table, Subatomic Particles, History, Introduction, Elements, Atoms, Valence Electrons, Electrons | Middle School
Project: Elemental Art: A Visual Periodic Table Mark as Favorite (18 Favorites)
In this activity students will research an assigned element of the Periodic Table and then create a poster that visually explains and expresses the element. The final posters can be arranged into a classroom Periodic Table.
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Elements, Periodic Table, Interdisciplinary, History, Atoms, Model of the Atom | Middle School, High School
Project: Element Baby Book Mark as Favorite (45 Favorites)
In this activity, students will “adopt” an element and create a baby book about their “new baby” while they research and learn about the element.
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Periodic Table, Elements, History, Subatomic Particles, Atomic Mass, Ionic Bonding, Covalent Bonding | Middle School, High School
Project: Exploring Elements Mark as Favorite (46 Favorites)
In this project, students will select an element and then use Ptable.com to explore aspects of the element including its periodicity, electron configuration, history, and uses in industry.
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Matter, Elements, Mixtures | High School, Middle School
Animation: Classifying Matter Animation Mark as Favorite (99 Favorites)
This animation explores definitions and examples of several broad classifications of matter, including pure substances (elements and compounds) and mixtures (homogeneous and heterogeneous). Students will see real-life examples as well as particle diagrams. This animation was featured in the November 2019 issue of Chemistry Solutions. **This video has no audio**
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SI Units, Mole Concept, Measurements, Physical Properties, Density | Middle School, High School
Animation: Units of Chemistry Animation Mark as Favorite (14 Favorites)
This animation explores the importance of including units to communicate the value of measurements effectively. It presents definitions, units of measurement, and measuring tools for physical properties that are commonly measured or calculated in chemistry class: mass, length, temperature, volume, amount (moles), and density. This animation was featured in the November 2022 issue of Chemistry Solutions. **This video has no audio**
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Atoms, Model of the Atom, Atomic Theory, Matter, Elements, History, Introduction, Periodic Table | Middle School, High School
Animation: Atoms: The Building Blocks of Matter Animation Mark as Favorite (37 Favorites)
This animation explores the idea that everything is made of atoms, and that since atoms are so extremely small, even small objects contain vast numbers of atoms. Students will see several examples to illustrate this point. Then they will be given a brief overview of the evolution of how people thought about atoms from the ancient Greeks through Dalton. This animation was featured in the May 2022 issue of Chemistry Solutions. **This video has no audio**
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Atomic Radius, Ionic Radius, Electrons, Model of the Atom, Subatomic Particles, Periodic Table | Elementary School, Middle School, High School
Animation: Atomic & Ionic Radii Animation Mark as Favorite (74 Favorites)
This animation explores patterns in atomic and ionic radii. Students will look at the different sizes of atoms in the third period and the atoms in the sixth group to see trends across periods and down groups. They will also look at an atom and its corresponding cation as well as an atom and its corresponding anion. **This video has no audio**
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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 (26 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**
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Density, Matter, Physical Properties, Measurements | Elementary School, Middle School, High School
Animation: Density Animation Mark as Favorite (45 Favorites)
This animation explores density on the particulate level. There are opportunities to make qualitative and quantitative comparisons between substances. **This video has no audio**
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Separating Mixtures, Mixtures, Distillation, Physical Properties | High School
Animation: Separating Mixtures Animation Mark as Favorite (34 Favorites)
This animation explores different ways of separating a variety of mixtures. The separation techniques addressed in this animation include filtration, evaporation, distillation, and chromatography (focusing on paper chromatography). Real-world applications as well as particle diagrams of the separation processes are included. This animation was featured in the May 2023 issue of Chemistry Solutions. **This video has no audio**
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Electromagnetic Spectrum, Interdisciplinary | Middle School, High School, Elementary School
Animation: The Electromagnetic Spectrum Animation Mark as Favorite (78 Favorites)
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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Model of the Atom, Electrons, Electron Configuration, Quantum Numbers, Subatomic Particles, Periodic Table | High School
Animation: Orbitals Animation Mark as Favorite (155 Favorites)
This animation explores the shapes of the 1s, 2s, 2p, 3s, 3p, 4s, and 3d orbitals and how they build up and overlap as each successive orbital is added. **This video has no audio**
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Periodic Table, History, Identifying an Unknown | Elementary School, Middle School, High School
Video: Arsenic Video Mark as Favorite (41 Favorites)
In this video, Sam Kean tells stories about arsenic, a deadly element that was once referred to as the "Inheritance Powder".
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Interdisciplinary, Functional Groups, Molecular Structure | High School
Video: Ingenious Video 8: Is the Answer to Overfishing… Algae? Mark as Favorite (3 Favorites)
Omega-3s are an essential nutrient that humans have to get from fish. But many of the world’s wild fish species are in crisis because we’ve taken too many of them from the ocean. So the answer is to farm more of our fish, right? While fish-farming relieves some pressure on the ocean’s wild species, it also contributes to that pressure, since farmed fish are fed fishmeal made from wild-caught fish. That’s because fish don’t make their own Omega-3s either. Like us, they get them from their diet. Using technology that came out of the space program, scientists have developed a way to cut out the middle-fish from the food chain and harvest Omega-3s for fishmeal directly from the source: algae.
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Electromagnetic Spectrum, Identifying an Unknown | Middle School, High School
Video: Color Matching Paint Video Mark as Favorite (13 Favorites)
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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Stoichiometry, Balancing Equations, Predicting Products, Chemical Change, Mole Concept, Dimensional Analysis, Measurements, Chemical Change, Culminating Project | High School
Project: Chemical Reaction Soda Bottle Boat Race Mark as Favorite (103 Favorites)
In this project, students will design and build a soda bottle boat with the goal of having the fastest boat to get to the other end of the rain gutter racetrack. Students will have to complete stoichiometric calculations to determine an appropriate amount of “fuel” (baking soda + vinegar) to power their boat.
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Separating Mixtures, Physical Properties, Mixtures
Video: Ingenious Video 9: The World’s Smallest Water Treatment Plant Comes in a Packet Mark as Favorite (1 Favorite)
About 800,000,000 people worldwide – that’s almost one in ten, more than the population of the U.S. – don’t have reliable access to clean water. Using a technology first developed to reuse dirty laundry water, scientists have developed a water treatment plant the size of a teabag. Inside, a potent chemical triple-threat removes microbes, heavy metals, silt and dirt to produce clean, safe water one bucket at a time.