26 – 50 of 55 Classroom Resources

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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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  Electromagnetic Spectrum, Molecular Structure, Chemical Bond, Molecular Structure | High School

  Video: Ingenious Video 2: What Birds Know About Color that You Don't Mark as Favorite (7 Favorites)

  We’ve been using pigments and dyes for thousands of years, but they’re not the whole story when it comes to making color. “Structural” color occurs when tiny nanostructures interact with light waves, amplifying certain colors and canceling others. From brilliant bird feathers to butterfly wings, mole hairs to octopus skin, structural color is everywhere in the natural world. Researchers have tried for years to harness this incredible natural phenomenon in a useful way. Because these colors are so small and complex, and therefore hard to copy, their efforts have met with little success. But novel research using a computer model based in repeated random sampling — a so-called “Monte Carlo” model — is showing promise. Using this approach, scientists have been able to mimic the gorgeous blue of the mountain bluebird in a thin film of reflective beads, leapfrogging millennia of evolution.

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  Molecular Structure, Chemical Bond, Electromagnetic Spectrum, Molecular Structure | High School

  Activity: Ingenious: What Birds Know About Color that You Don't Video Questions Mark as Favorite (2 Favorites)

  In this activity, students will answer questions while watching the video, What Birds Know about Color that You Don’t, from the Ingenious series produced by the American Chemical Society. Each episode investigates a different topic related to how leading-edge chemistry is taking on the world’s most urgent issues to advance everyone’s quality of life and secure our shared future. This episode investigates structural color, its complexities as well as how it differs from pigments and dyes.

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  Molecular Structure, Molecular Formula, Measurements, Significant Figures, Molecular Structure , Saturated vs. Unsaturated | Middle School, High School

  Project: Discovering Chemical Elements in Food Mark as Favorite (25 Favorites)

  In this project, students will analyze nutrition labels of some of the foods and drinks that they recently consumed. They will identify which type of macromolecule (carbohydrates, lipids, proteins) is mainly supplied by the item and they will compare their consumption with the daily recommended intake for that type of macromolecule. Students will also investigate salt and added sugar as well as vitamins and minerals in the item. Finally, students will present their findings through short, spoken messages that are recorded and presented through a QR code. These can become a source of information for the school community at large upon completion of the project.

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  Interdisciplinary, Functional Groups, Molecular Structure | High School

  Activity: Ingenious: Is the Answer to Overfishing… Algae? Video Questions Mark as Favorite (1 Favorite)

  In this activity, students will answer questions while watching the video, Is the Answer to Overfishing… Algae? from the Ingenious series produced by the American Chemical Society. Each episode investigates a different topic related to how leading-edge chemistry is taking on the world’s most urgent issues to advance everyone’s quality of life and secure our shared future. This episode investigates Omega-3’s, the essential nutrient that humans have to get from fish. However, fish don’t make their own Omega-3’s, and like humans, must get them from an important part of their diet, algae. But with over-fishing considerations and fish-farming limitations, scientists are working to develop a new way to harvest Omega-3’s to maintain stability.

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  Molecular Structure , Functional Groups, Experimental Design, Interdisciplinary, Chemical Change | High School

  Lab: Designing Biomimetic Songbird Preen Oil from Waste Cooking Oil Mark as Favorite (16 Favorites)

  In this guided-inquiry lab, students will design and test a procedure reacting waste cooking oil in a blue cheese slurry to create a substance that mimics songbird preen oil, which is both antibacterial and hydrophobic. Students will convert the fatty acids in waste oil to methyl ketones, thought to be the principal antibacterial component of preen oil, using the P. roqueforti mold found in blue cheese. Students will expand their knowledge of biomimicry, inherent properties of preen oil, and chemical synthesis by applying the principles of green chemistry. They will also assess their own process through higher-order problem solving and building on their scientific research skills.

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  Density, Chemical Properties, Polymers, Polymers | High School

  Lab: The Big Six Plastics Mark as Favorite (23 Favorites)

  In this lab students will use data and chemical tests to better understand different types of plastics and their properties. Ultimately, students can choose the best plastic material to construct a compost bin.

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  Density, Separating Mixtures, Polymers, Polymers | High School

  Activity: Identifying Plastics with Density Data Mark as Favorite (2 Favorites)

  In this activity, students will familiarize themselves with different types of plastics. Using data analysis, students will determine how to use the density values of a variety of plastic samples in order to separate a specific sample from a mixture.

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  Intermolecular Forces, Polarity, Molecular Structure, Functional Groups, Molecular Structure | High School

  Lab: The Chemistry of Hand Sanitizer and Soap Mark as Favorite (132 Favorites)

  In this lab, students will model the interaction between hand sanitizer particles and virus particles, as well as between soap particles and virus particles. They will apply their understanding of molecular structure and intermolecular forces to analyze their observations and behavior of the particles, in order to gain a better understanding of how soaps and sanitizers work.

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  Review, Culminating Project, Molecular Structure | Middle School, High School

  Activity: Online Meeting Scavenger Hunt Mark as Favorite (14 Favorites)

  In this activity, students will work in teams on a virtual meeting platform to find as many objects as possible from a comprehensive scavenger hunt list within their homes during a given timeframe. The items on the list provided in this activity are related to organic chemistry topics, however the list can be easily modified for use with many chemistry topics.

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  Molecular Structure , Naming Compounds, Molecular Structure | High School

  Activity: Naming Alkanes Mark as Favorite (28 Favorites)

  In this activity, students will learn how to name simple organic structures including alkanes, branched alkanes and haloalkanes.

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  Intermolecular Forces, Molecular Structure, Molecular Structure | High School

  Lab: Intermolecular Attractions in Organic Liquids Mark as Favorite (17 Favorites)

  In this lab, students will analyze the molecular structure of substances in order to predict how different types of intermolecular attractions will affect the boiling points of various organic liquids. Students will then complete laboratory testing in order to collect data and compare their results with their predictions.

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  Heat of Combustion, Heat, Exothermic & Endothermic, Combustion, Polymers, Molecular Structure | High School

  Activity: The Internal Combustion Engine Video Questions Mark as Favorite (14 Favorites)

  In this activity, students will watch a video and answer related questions about the mechanical and chemical processed used in the internal combustion engine. Additionally they will learn about reactions and fuel types as well as the history and evolution of the combustion engine.

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  Molecular Structure , Functional Groups, Balancing Equations | High School

  Lab: Esterfication Mark as Favorite (28 Favorites)

  In this lab, students will make at least six esters from different combinations of available organic acids and alcohols. In addition, they will attempt to identify the scent of each ester that is created.

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  Intermolecular Forces, Polarity, Molecular Geometry, Molecular Structure, Molecular Structure , Physical Properties, Chemical Properties, Physical Change | High School

  Lesson Plan: An Exploration of Intermolecular Forces Mark as Favorite (53 Favorites)

  In this lesson students will explore intermolecular forces, and their associated effect on physical and chemical properties. Students will experiment with volatile liquids to investigate their predictions about intermolecular strength.

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  Molecular Structure , Molecular Structure, Molecular Formula, Naming Compounds, Chemical Bond, Interdisciplinary, Introduction | Middle School, High School

  Activity: Modeling Carbohydrates Mark as Favorite (16 Favorites)

  In this activity, students will identify that organic compounds contain carbon and other elements such as hydrogen and oxygen. They will investigate the structure of different organic and inorganic compounds and model several molecules, including a carbohydrate molecule. They will use their models to help understand how larger molecules are broken down into smaller molecules.

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  Pharmaceuticals, Molecular Structure | High School

  Project: Organic Chemistry Mark as Favorite (17 Favorites)

  In this research project, students will demonstrate their knowledge of stereochemistry and present its role in well-known pharmaceutical compounds.

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  Molecular Structure, Molecular Geometry, History, Periodic Table, Molecular Structure | Elementary School, Middle School, High School

  Video: Phosphorous Video Mark as Favorite (10 Favorites)

  In this video, Sam Kean tells the story of how phosphorus was at the center of the race to discover the structure of DNA.

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  Polymers, Polymers, Chemical Change, Chemical Bond | Middle School, High School

  Demonstration: Turn Milk into Plastic Mark as Favorite (15 Favorites)

  In this demonstration, students will observe the process of making a polymer, casein plastic, from the casein protein found in milk.

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  Isomers, Intermolecular Forces, Molecular Geometry, Molecular Structure, Intermolecular Forces, Boiling Point, Melting Point, Phase Changes, Isomers, Molecular Structure , Distillation, Separating Mixtures, Physical Properties | High School

  Lesson Plan: Structural Isomers Mark as Favorite (16 Favorites)

  In this activity, students will use models to explore structural isomers, and create explanations for the impact of structure on intermolecular forces (London dispersion) and physical properties (boiling point).

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  Conservation of Mass, Renewable Energy, Balancing Equations, Chemical Change, Functional Groups, Molecular Structure | High School

  Lab: Soap or Fuel? Mark as Favorite (30 Favorites)

  In this lab, students will transform vegetable oil into a soft soap and into biodiesel fuel. The two reactions emphasize that the products of a chemical reaction are under the control of the chemist. By noting the relationship of the reaction product to the reactants, students will gain a deeper understanding of the law of conservation of matter.

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  Reduction, Classification of Reactions, Redox Reaction, Functional Groups, Chemical Change | High School

  Lab: Silver Test Tube Holiday Ornament Mark as Favorite (21 Favorites)

  In this lab, students will carry out a reduction reaction in order to create a silver-plated test tube that can be used as a holiday ornament.

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  Distillation, Intermolecular Forces, Separating Mixtures, Observations, Physical Properties, Polarity, Cracking, Intermolecular Forces, Boiling Point, Balancing Equations | High School

  Lesson Plan: Fractional Distillation of Crude Oil Mark as Favorite (24 Favorites)

  In this lesson, students will be introduced to simple distillation while expanding their knowledge of intermolecular forces. Once a simple distillation has been accomplished in the lab, students will then research the various products of fractional distillation of crude oil and report on one of those products.

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  Cracking, Chemical Change, Functional Groups, Combustion | High School

  Demonstration: Cracking Reaction Mark as Favorite (1 Favorite)

  In this demo, students will witness a cracking reaction. They will verify the products by exposing the products to three side reactions.

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  Pharmaceuticals, Functional Groups, Identifying an Unknown, Chemical Properties, Observations | High School

  Lab: Over the Counter Drugs Mark as Favorite (39 Favorites)

  In this lab, students will do some research about common over the counter drugs and then carry out some chemical tests to learn more about their composition. They will then identify an unknown drug sample.