Popular Resources for Teaching Stoichiometry

This article highlights some of the most popular resources for a Stoichiometry unit. For more ideas, visit the stoichiometry unit plan.

The top resource in our stoichiometry collection is the Calculating Moles in Real-Life Challenge. In this activity, students will use dimensional analysis to complete calculations and conversions for the number of moles, atoms, and molecules in several everyday household items, such as sugar, spare change, and chalk. A popular alternative to this is the It's Mole Time! lab, where students perform the same conversions with chalk, bubble gum, and hand sanitizer.

Many classrooms incorporate an air bag stoichiometry lab at the end of a mole calculations unit. AACT's take on this, Air Bag Stoichiometry, has students test out various mole ratios of baking soda and vinegar. After finding the best ratio to fully inflate their air bag, students test out its ability to protect an egg in a crash. 

Consider ending your unit with the Calculate Your Carbon Footprint activity. Students complete more difficult mole conversions to determine their carbon footprint. This activity includes stoichiometry practice and also provides a chance for students to reflect on ways they can change their lives to make them more environmentally friendly. 

We hope that these activities can help you to reinforce several of the topics covered in a unit on chemical reactions. Most of these lessons were made possible by great teachers who shared their own resources. We need your help to keep the collection growing. Do you have a great demonstration, activity, or lesson related to this topic that you would like to share with the community? Please send it along for consideration.