Classroom Resources: Chemistry Basics

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1 – 25 of 104 Classroom Resources

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    History, Interdisciplinary, Chemical Change | Middle School, High School

    Video: Spellbound Episode 1—A Sign on the Door: Ahmed Zewail, Ph.D. Mark as Favorite (2 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.

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    History, Interdisciplinary | Middle School, High School

    Video: Spellbound Episode 2 —Finding Her Way: Kristala L. Jones Prather, Ph.D. Mark as Favorite (1 Favorite)

    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.

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    History, Chemical Change, Interdisciplinary | Middle School, High School

    Video: Spellbound Episode 3—A Yellow Sweater: Bassam Shakhashiri, Ph.D. Mark as Favorite (2 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 Bassam Shakhashiri, Ph.D.

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    History, Interdisciplinary | Middle School, High School

    Video: Spellbound Episode 4—When Girls Didn't "Do" Science: Mamie Moy 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 Mamie Moy.

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    History, Interdisciplinary | Middle School, High School

    Video: Spellbound Episode 5— A Born Chemist: Isiah Warner, Ph.D. Mark as Favorite (1 Favorite)

    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 Isiah Warner, Ph.D.

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    History, Interdisciplinary | Middle School, High School

    Video: Spellbound Episode 6 —Mentors Made the Difference: Nancy Jackson, 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 Nancy Jackson, Ph.D.

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    History, Interdisciplinary | Middle School, High School

    Video: Spellbound Episode 7—Heroes Made the Difference: Peter Agre, M.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 Peter Agre, M.D.

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    Lab Safety, Physical Properties, Chemical Properties, Interdisciplinary, Heat, Temperature, Polymers, Molecular Structure | High School

    Video: Ingenious Video 3: This Sandwich Will Save Your Life in an Arc Flash Mark as Favorite (3 Favorites)

    It’s never fun when your clothes catch on fire. And while “stop, drop, and roll” may be a good idea sometimes, in more extreme cases, you need a better plan. Every day, industrial workers, firefighters, and soldiers risk fiery situations that might seem hard to imagine. In an arc flash event, for one, temperatures can jump to metal-melting levels in milliseconds. How can anyone possibly survive that? Well, take a tip from a club sandwich, because it’s all about the layers. The composite fabrics that protect life and limb in these situations rely on some incredible, multilayered chemistry, including the ability to quickly form a protective carbonaceous crust around the wearer.

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    Interdisciplinary, Functional Groups, Molecular Structure | High School

    Access is an AACT member benefit. 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.

  • Ionic Bonding, Empirical Formula, Interdisciplinary, Polyatomic Ions, Molecules & Bonding | High School

    Access is an AACT member benefit. Lesson Plan: Investigating Ionic Formulas through Mineral Composition Mark as Favorite (2 Favorites)

    In this lesson, students will answer questions about rocks and minerals while listening to a podcast from Tiny Matters. They will then learn how to balance charges to create neutral sets of ions, representing minerals, by using the provided ion cards.

  • Interdisciplinary, Review | High School

    Access is an AACT member benefit. Activity: Be the YouTuber Mark as Favorite (2 Favorites)

    In this activity, students create a short YouTube screencast to explain how to solve an assigned problem or interpret an assigned model.

  • Review, Interdisciplinary, Identifying an Unknown, Separating Mixtures | High School

    Lesson Plan: Forensic Chemistry Unit Plan Mark as Favorite (15 Favorites)

    The AACT high school classroom resource library and multimedia collection has everything you need to put together a unit plan for your classroom: lessons, activities, labs, projects, videos, simulations, and animations. We have constructed this unit plan using AACT resources designed to review key chemistry concepts with your students through a forensic chemistry lens.

  • Concentration, Mixtures, Interdisciplinary, Scientific Method, Measurements | Middle School, High School

    Access is an AACT member benefit. Lab: Effect of Salt Concentration on Plants Mark as Favorite (12 Favorites)

    In this lab, students will observe how salt concentration can affect the structure of a potato tuber.

  • Molecular Structure , Functional Groups, Pharmaceuticals, History, Interdisciplinary | High School

    Lesson Plan: The Discovery and Development of Penicillin Mark as Favorite (4 Favorites)

    In this lesson, students will learn about the discovery and development of penicillin by reading an article and engaging in related activities. The activities help promote literacy in the science classroom. Parts of this lesson could be used as plans for a substitute teacher.

  • Lab Safety, Culminating Project, Interdisciplinary | High School, Middle School

    Access is an AACT member benefit. Activity: Dangerous Goods Specialist Mark as Favorite (41 Favorites)

    In this activity, students will take on the role of a Dangerous Goods Specialist for a large chemical company. In this role, students will research a specific commercially available industrial chemical looking at both the properties of the compound as well as how can they safely ship the chemical to a buyer in a cost effective and timely manner.

  • Introduction, Interdisciplinary | High School

    Video: Chemistry Lab Technicians Mark as Favorite (2 Favorites)

    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.

  • Introduction, Interdisciplinary | High School

    Activity: Careers in the Skilled Technical Workforce Mark as Favorite (16 Favorites)

    In this activity, students will learn about career opportunities in the Skilled Technical Workforce (STW) – jobs that use STEM knowledge but do not require a four-year degree. They will be introduced to various STW jobs through articles, infographics, videos, and career websites, and will have a chance to reflect on their own career goals.

  • 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

    Access is an AACT member benefit. Project: Handwarmer Design Challenge Mark as Favorite (61 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.

  • Titrations, Concentration, Acid Base Reactions, Indicators, Molarity, Interdisciplinary | High School

    Access is an AACT member benefit. Lab: Calculating Acid in Lemon-Lime Soda Mark as Favorite (63 Favorites)

    In this lab, students will investigate the molarity of citric acid in a clear, lemon-lime flavored soft drink through titrations with 0.10M NaOH and an indicator.

  • Saturated vs. Unsaturated, Molecular Structure , Molecular Structure, Covalent Bonding, Lewis Structures, Interdisciplinary, Dimensional Analysis, Intermolecular Forces, Melting Point | High School

    Access is an AACT member benefit. Lesson Plan: Dietary Fats Mark as Favorite (16 Favorites)

    In this lesson, students will learn about the chemistry of dietary fats in the food they eat. They will calculate the number of calories coming from fats, carbohydrates, and proteins based on a food label before completing a guided activity focused on investigating the chemical structures of different types of fats. Students will then engage in a literacy component where they will use an article about the biological role of various types of dietary fats and foods to answer a series of questions.

  • Radiation, Electromagnetic Spectrum, Heat, Temperature, Experimental Design, Graphing, Interdisciplinary | Middle School, High School

    Access is an AACT member benefit. Lesson Plan: The Ozone Layer Mark as Favorite (9 Favorites)

    In this lesson, students will develop an explanation for the consequences of ozone depletion on Earth by planning and carrying out an investigation. Students will use analysis and interpretation of data to develop a model to explain the cause and effect of Ozone depletion on the planet Earth.

  • Molecular Structure, Lab Safety, Identifying an Unknown, Interdisciplinary | High School

    Access is an AACT member benefit. Lesson Plan: How Modern Instrumentation Revolutionized the Poison Game Mark as Favorite (54 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. 

  • Combustion, Chemical Change, Balancing Equations, Reaction Rate, Conservation of Mass, Conservation of Matter, Stoichiometry, Limiting Reactant, Chemical Change, Conservation of Matter, Conservation of Mass, Graphing, Error Analysis, Accuracy, Observations, Inferences, Interdisciplinary, Reaction Rate, Catalysts, Measurements, Mole Concept | High School

    Access is an AACT member benefit. Lesson Plan: Clean Air Chemistry Mark as Favorite (32 Favorites)

    In this lesson, students will learn about air pollution and some steps toward mitigating it. First, they will burn a candle and measure its mass and the concentration of CO2 over time. Students will discuss which data set they have more confidence in and why and then use stoichiometry to predict outcomes. Next, students explore incomplete combustion in a model-based worksheet that shows how a lack of O2 in the burning of fuels can produce air pollution. Students work together to interpret the models, define terms, and draw conclusions. Lastly, students work in groups using Lego models to illustrate how a catalytic converter works. They race “Nature” against catalysts “Palladium,” “Platinum,” and “Rhodium” to see what breaks down air pollution molecules fastest.

  • Molecular Structure, Molecular Structure , Interdisciplinary, Chemical Change, Distillation, Renewable Energy, Enthalpy, Stoichiometry, Chemical Change, Combustion | High School

    Access is an AACT member benefit. Lesson Plan: Biofuels of the Future Mark as Favorite (11 Favorites)

    In this lesson students will explore the world of automobile alternative energy sources through the study of biofuels. They will design and create an e-book that illustrates and explains one of the provided topics or an original idea approved by the teacher.

  • Elements, Interdisciplinary, Photosynthesis | High School

    Access is an AACT member benefit. Lesson Plan: Growing Green on the Red Planet Emergency Lesson Mark as Favorite (11 Favorites)

    In this lesson, students will learn about elements, compounds, and chemical reactions through reading the highly rated ChemMatters article, Growing Green on the Red Planet. The lesson includes several activities to help promote literacy in the science classroom related to the reading. This lesson could be easily used as an emergency lesson plan for a substitute teacher, as most of the activities are self-guided.

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Grade Level: High School

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