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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 (8 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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  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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  Polymers, Molecular Structure, Molecular Structure , Polymers, Solubility | High School

  Video: Ingenious Video 4: How Science Is Fixing Recycling's Grossest Problem Mark as Favorite (4 Favorites)

  Polypropylene recycling has a problem: It stinks. Food and other residues are almost impossible to remove entirely from polypropylene, a.k.a the number “5” plastic of grocery-store fame. Those residues – anything from yogurt to garlic, from fish oil to baby food – not only stick to polypropylene, they degrade there and start to smell even worse! Current polypropylene recycling techniques are more down-cycling than re-cycling. Unless you break down its molecules through a highly energy-intensive refining process, the material can only get a second life as a black trash can or an underground pipe – wherever its smell doesn’t matter. But a new technique, called dissolution recycling, is changing all that. Dissolution recycling uses a special hydrocarbon polymer solvent under finely controlled conditions of temperature and pressure to eliminate ALL of the contaminants embedded in the plastic.

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  Molecular Structure, Intermolecular Forces, Polarity, Molecular Structure , Combustion | High School

  Video: Ingenious Video 5: Making Shipping Greener with Hairy Ships Mark as Favorite (6 Favorites)

  The “fouling” of boats — when aquatic animals like barnacles and tubeworms attach to hulls — has been a nuisance for as long as we’ve been sailing the seas. Fouling messes up a vessel’s streamlined shape, decreasing its speed, maneuverability, and in modern times, its fuel-efficiency. Fouling spikes the carbon footprint of the shipping industry, already greater than that of most countries. For centuries, people used copper coatings to prevent fouling. Modern solutions use toxic chemical paints that pollute the water, kill marine life, and contribute to the degradation of our oceans when they wear off. A new approach is trying to work with nature instead of against it. Taking inspiration from the Salvinia plant, which is covered in tiny hair-like structures that make it basically waterproof, scientists are developing a stick-on silicone coating for ships that prevents animal hitchhikers from getting a foothold.

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

  Video: Ingenious Video 6: Kill More Germs by Cleaning … Less? Mark as Favorite (2 Favorites)

  There’s clean, and then there’s CLEAN. Even if something looks clean, it might still be harboring microbes – many of them harmless, some of them definitely not. With most of the ways that we clean and disinfect — that is, kill germs — the clean doesn’t last as long as you might think. Disinfectants work by attacking bacterial membranes and viral protein coats, breaking them down so that those germs fall apart and die. But the germaphobes were always right: As soon as a disinfectant dries, and a surface is re-exposed, like if someone touches or (worse) sneezes on it, it needs be disinfected all over again. The next generation of cleaning products, however, add a trick: they lay down an incredibly thin polymer layer that keeps the germ-killing ingredients in place and effective for 24 hours at a time.

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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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  Molecular Structure , Functional Groups, Pharmaceuticals, Chemistry Basics, 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.

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  Molecular Structure , Functional Groups, Isomers, Observations, Molecular Structure, Isomers | High School

  Activity: Spices and Structures Mark as Favorite (28 Favorites)

  In this activity, students will taste and make notes about the flavors of 6 common spices used to flavor food and then compare the flavors and molecular structures of the spices.

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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 (22 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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  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 (31 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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  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 (78 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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  Chemical Change, History, Identifying an Unknown, Molecular Structure | High School

  Lesson Plan: Development of Diagnostic Test Strips Mark as Favorite (8 Favorites)

  In this lesson, students will learn about diagnostic test strips 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.

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

  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.

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

  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.

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  Molecular Structure , Functional Groups, Isomers | High School

  Lesson Plan: Organic Chemistry Unit Plan Mark as Favorite (24 Favorites)

  The AACT high school classroom resource library has everything you need to put together a unit plan for your classroom: lessons, activities, labs, projects, and videos. We constructed a unit plan using AACT resources that is designed to provide your students with an introduction to organic chemistry through a short module.

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  Functional Groups, Molecular Structure , Polarity | High School

  Activity: Introduction to Functional Groups Mark as Favorite (25 Favorites)

  In this activity, students will learn about the naming conventions for organic compounds and examine the functional groups of different molecules.

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  History, Observations, Identifying an Unknown, Molecular Structure , Functional Groups | High School

  Lesson Plan: Introduction to Flavor Chemistry Mark as Favorite (22 Favorites)

  In this lesson, students will read an article about flavor chemistry to learn about the science of tasting. There are a series of activities to help promote literacy in the science classroom related to the reading and help students experience what they’ve read about. One part, the Job Interview, could be used as plans for a substitute teacher since the activity is self-guided.

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  Pharmaceuticals, Monomer, Polymers, Molecular Structure , Interdisciplinary, History | High School

  Lesson Plan: Carbohydrate Metabolism Mark as Favorite (5 Favorites)

  In this lesson, students will learn about how the metabolism of carbohydrates in the body were studied. There are a series of activities to help promote literacy in the science classroom related to the reading. This lesson could be easily used as plans for a substitute teacher, as most of the activities are self-guided.

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  Density, Separating Mixtures, Polymers, Polymers | High School

  Activity: Identifying Plastics with Density Data Mark as Favorite (7 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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  Molecular Structure , Naming Compounds, Molecular Structure | High School

  Activity: Naming Alkanes Mark as Favorite (41 Favorites)

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

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

  Activity: The Internal Combustion Engine Video Questions Mark as Favorite (15 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 , Molecular Structure, Molecular Formula, Naming Compounds, Chemical Bond, Interdisciplinary, Introduction | Middle School, High School

  Activity: Modeling Carbohydrates Mark as Favorite (24 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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  Polymers, Polymers, Chemical Change, Chemical Bond | Middle School, High School

  Demonstration: Turn Milk into Plastic Mark as Favorite (23 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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  Separating Mixtures, Identifying an Unknown, Functional Groups, Molecular Structure | High School

  Lesson Plan: Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry Mark as Favorite (12 Favorites)

  In this lesson, students will learn about the development of Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) and how it used today. There are a series of activities to help promote literacy in the science classroom related to the reading. Through these activities students will learn how to interpret a skeletal structure, as well as the names and structures of several organic functional groups. Additionally, they will examine and evaluate a mass spectrum. This lesson could be easily used as plans for a substitute teacher, as most of the activities are self-guided.