Classroom Resources: Chemistry Basics
1 – 25 of 132 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
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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Mixtures, Acid Rain, Interdisciplinary, Chemical Properties | Elementary School, Middle School
Lesson Plan: Environmental Problems Mark as Favorite (10 Favorites)
In this lesson, students are presented with an environmental problem to solve using important concepts of chemistry, which involves a lake with deteriorating water quality.
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Chemical Change, Chemical Change, Observations, Interdisciplinary, Acid Rain | Elementary School
Lab: Chemical Weathering of Rocks Mark as Favorite (1 Favorite)
In this lab, students will explore simulated reactions that contribute to chemical weathering of certain rocks as it appears in nature. They will compare the effects of two different chemicals as it contacts various rock and mineral samples.
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Chemical Change, Observations, Chemical Change, Reaction Rate, Interdisciplinary, Physical Change, Reaction Rate | Middle School
Lab: Chemical Weathering in Geology Mark as Favorite (4 Favorites)
In this lab, students will explore the differences between erosion, weathering and chemical weathering. They will complete a lab experiment that simulates chemical weathering on 4 different types of rocks. They will also learn how to use the Mohs Hardness Test to analyze the results.
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Observations, Interdisciplinary | Elementary School
Lab: The pH of Soil Mark as Favorite (2 Favorites)
In this lab, students will determine and compare the pH of different types of soil from their school, homes, or neighborhoods. Students will then decide what types of plants can grow in acidic or alkaline soils.
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Ionic Bonding, Empirical Formula, Interdisciplinary, Polyatomic Ions, Molecules & Bonding | High School
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.
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Interdisciplinary, Review | High School
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.
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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.
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Concentration, Mixtures, Interdisciplinary, Scientific Method, Measurements | Middle School, High School
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.
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Separating Mixtures, Interdisciplinary, Electromagnetic Spectrum, Mixtures, Mixtures | Middle School
Lab: Candy and Leaf Chromatography Mark as Favorite (18 Favorites)
In this lab, students will learn that mixtures are created by the combination of two or more substances. Many colors are actually mixtures of several different pigments. Mixtures can be separated, and in this lab students will perform chromatography to separate mixtures found in candy and in leaves.
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Photosynthesis, Interdisciplinary | Elementary School, Middle School
Lesson Plan: Investigating Photosynthesis Mark as Favorite (1 Favorite)
In this lesson, students will build knowledge through reading an assigned passage, as well as analyze evidence produced from a teacher led demonstration to better understand the process of photosynthesis.
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Physical Properties, Observations, Interdisciplinary | Elementary School
Lab: Soil Permeability Mark as Favorite (3 Favorites)
In this lab, students will learn about the draining properties of different types of soil and how it affects the type of plants that can grow in those soils.
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Conservation of Matter, Matter, Interdisciplinary, Renewable Energy, Conservation of Matter | Elementary School
Lab: Reuse, Reduce and Recycle! Mark as Favorite (2 Favorites)
In this lab students will explore ways to conserve natural resources. They will then have the opportunity to create their own recycled paper that can be used in the classroom.
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Conservation of Matter, Chemical Change, Photosynthesis, Balancing Equations, Reversible Reactions, Molecular Formula, Molecular Structure, Conservation of Mass, Interdisciplinary, Matter, Elements, Monomer | Elementary School
Lesson Plan: Plant Chemistry Mark as Favorite (1 Favorite)
In this lesson, students will explore a simple, but key, biochemical reaction: photosynthesis.
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Photosynthesis, Interdisciplinary | Elementary School
Activity: Sunshine for Life Mark as Favorite (0 Favorites)
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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Physical Properties, Density, Separating Mixtures, Matter, Culminating Project, Interdisciplinary, Phase Changes | Elementary School, Middle School
Activity: The Castaway! Mark as Favorite (17 Favorites)
In this activity, students use their knowledge of the properties of matter to create and/or design items needed for survival on a deserted island.
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Molecular Structure , Functional Groups, Pharmaceuticals, History, Interdisciplinary | High School
Lesson Plan: The Discovery and Development of Penicillin Mark as Favorite (5 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.