Classroom Resources: Chemistry Basics

1 – 25 of 28 Classroom Resources

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  Physical Properties, Chemical Change, Physical Change, Chemical Properties | High School, Middle School, Elementary 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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  Observations, Physical Properties, Chemical Change, Physical Change, Dimensional Analysis, Measurements, Matter, Mixture, Chemical Properties | High School, Middle School

  Activity: Cupcake Conversions, Bench to Bakery

  This activity will help to reinforce the importance of scientific measurement and apply it to the introduction of chemical reactions. Using an example of baking a single batch of cupcakes, students will plan for a larger production scale in a commercial bakery. This will help to introduce the idea of producing a reaction at the lab bench and converting it to mass production. In addition this activity investigates how chemistry is used in everyday life and challenges students to consider potentials errors that may occur when completing chemical reactions in the kitchen.

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  Physical Change, Dimensional Analysis, Measurements, Matter, Mixture | High School, Middle School

  Activity: Cooking with Conversions

  In this activity, students will be given a common homemade recipe for German chocolate cake with measurements in English units. They will be asked to convert the English ingredients list to metric units through scientific calculations. Students will also be asked to identify the ingredients as solid, liquid or gas. While reviewing the cooking procedures, students will classify certain steps as containing compounds or mixtures as well as identify whether chemical or physical changes are taking place. The culinary chemistry involved in this lesson should be introduced throughout the activity.

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  Density, Chemical Change, Elements, Physical Change, Periodic Table, Review, Matter, Mixture | Middle School, Elementary School

  Activity: Chemistry Basics: Crossword Puzzle

  In this activity, students will complete a crossword puzzle by solving each clue that is related to a basic, yet fundamental chemistry topic.

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  Separating Mixtures, Phase Changes, Physical Change, Distillation | 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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  Observations, Physical Properties, Physical Change, Polymers | Middle School, Elementary School

  Lab: Paper or Plastic?

  In this lab students will research and compare the physical properties of various types of plastic bags. The recorded data will be analyzed by students, and they will use the results to design a plastic bag to meet a given set of criteria.

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  Observations, Physical Properties, Chemical Change, Physical Change, Polymers, Mixture, Scientific Method, Chemical Properties | Middle School

  Lesson Plan: Exploring the Chemistry of Oil and Acrylic Paints

  In this lesson students learn about the chemistry of oil and acrylic paints. They make their own paint, and complete an experiment to collect qualitative and quantitative data through a series of tests. Students will also apply the concepts of physical and chemical change to the results of this controlled experiment.

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  Phase Changes, Physical Change | Middle School

  Lab: I Can’t Believe It’s Butter!

  In this lab students will learn about the phases of matter and phase changes while making a small sample of butter.

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  Physical Properties, Chemical Change, Physical Change, Chemical Change | Middle School

  Lab: Little Miss Muffet Investigation

  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.

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  Chemical Change, Physical Change, Conservation of Mass, Chemical Change | High School, Middle School

  Lab: Chemistry in a Bag

  In this lab, students will observe and identify chemical and physical changes contained inside a plastic bag. Students will also use this lab to understand the Law of Conservation of Mass.

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  Chemical Change, Melting Point, Phase Changes, Physical Change, Chemical Change, Scientific Method | Middle School

  Lab: S'more Change Please

  In this lab, students will be able to demonstrate the difference between a physical and chemical change by making ooey, gooey, yet yummy S’mores!

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  Chemical Change, Physical Change, Chemical Change | High School, Middle School

  Lab: Chemical and Physical Changes

  In this lab, students will observe and analyze a number of examples in order to determine if a chemical or physical change occurred.

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  Physical Change, History, Periodic Table | High School, Middle School, Elementary School

  Video: Gold Video

  In this video, Sam Kean tells stories about gold.

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  Freezing Point, Phase Changes, Physical Change, Temperature | Middle School

  Lab: Lemon Ice

  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.

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  Chemical Change, Physical Change, pH, Identifying an Unknown, Acid Base Reactions | Middle School

  Lab: Is It a Hoax

  In this lab, students will perform tests on the physical and chemical properties of different substances to determine the identity of the unknown.

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  Melting Point, Freezing Point, Phase Changes, Physical Change, Acids & Bases | Middle School

  Lesson Plan: Stearic Acid

  In this lesson, students investigate how stearic acid undergoes a phase change from solid to liquid and back from liquid to solid. Temperature readings will be collected at one-minute intervals once the acid melts, the heat escapes, and the acid cools. Students are introduced to the idea that energy loss does not always result in a continuous temperature drop.

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  Separating Mixtures, Mixtures, Solubility, Phase Changes, Physical Change | Middle School

  Lab: A Solution to Your Mix-up

  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.

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  Separating Mixtures, Physical Change | Middle School, High School

  Lab: Separation of a Mixture

  In this lab, students devise their own method to separate a mixture of sand, salt, poppy seeds, and iron filings.

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  Physical Change, Intermolecular Forces, Polarity, Physical Change, Intermolecular Forces, Matter | Middle School

  Lesson Plan: Sandy Beaches—A Foray into ‘Magic’ Sand

  In this lesson, students will investigate the properties of magic sand and learn about the concept of hydrophobic and hydrophilic molecules. It also introduced students to the field of nanotechnology.

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  Freezing Point, Physical Change, Temperature, Exothermic & Endothermic, Boiling Point | Middle School, High School

  Demonstration: Energy

  In this demonstration, students will observe the exothermic and endothermic properties of state changes of substances with different freezing and boiling points.

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  Sublimation, Chemical Change, Pressure, Phase Changes, Physical Change, Boiling Point, Chemical Change | Middle School

  Lesson Plan: Dry Ice

  In this lesson, students will investigate how dry ice undergoes a phase change from solid to gas, skipping the liquid phase under normal temperature and pressure.

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  Physical Change, Exothermic & Endothermic | Middle School, High School

  Lesson Plan: Particle Modeling of Hand Warmers

  In this lesson, students will create a particulate model of matter that explains energy changes and transfer during a physical process, such as the crystallization of a solid from a supersaturated solution.

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  Observations, Phase Changes, Physical Change, Temperature | Middle School, Elementary School

  Lab: Condensation

  In this lab, students will explore the process of condensation. Students will investigate how water vapor condenses, and then they will conduct a comparison test to see if cooling water vapor has an effect on the rate of condensation.

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  Separating Mixtures, Density, Mixtures, Chemical Change, Intermolecular Forces, Physical Change, Intermolecular Forces | Middle School

  Lab: Clean it Up!

  In this lab, students will consider and utilize various separation techniques to purify and reclaim used motor oil.

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  Solubility, Physical Change, Solute & Solvent | High School, Middle School

  Lab: Chemistree

  In this lab, students will prepare a solution to observe a physical change.