Classroom Resources: Chemistry Basics


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1 – 25 of 29 Classroom Resources

  • Density, Physical Properties, Chemical Properties, Physical Change, Chemical Change, Graphing, Alloys | Middle School, High School

    Access is an AACT member benefit. Lesson Plan: The Captivating Chemistry of Coins

    In this lesson, students will develop a better understanding of physical and chemical properties of matter by comparing the composition of different pennies. This is done by determining the density of different pennies which will be compared to the density of different metals.

  • Physical Change, Chemical Change, Physical Properties, Chemical Properties | Elementary School, Middle School, High School

    Access is an AACT member benefit. Activity: A Physical vs. Chemical Challenge

    In this activity, students will first complete a card sort to best categorize examples of change as physical or chemical change. Then they will compete in teams to identify whether given situations represent a physical change or a chemical change, or a physical or a chemical property.

  • Measurements, Dimensional Analysis, Chemical Properties, Physical Properties, Chemical Change, Physical Change, Mixture, Matter, Observations | Middle School, High School

    Access is an AACT member benefit. Activity: Cupcake Conversions, Bench to Bakery

    This activity will help to reinforce the importance of scientific measurement and apply it to the introduction of chemical reactions. Using an example of baking a single batch of cupcakes, students will plan for a larger production scale in a commercial bakery. This will help to introduce the idea of producing a reaction at the lab bench and converting it to mass production. In addition this activity investigates how chemistry is used in everyday life and challenges students to consider potentials errors that may occur when completing chemical reactions in the kitchen.

  • Measurements, Dimensional Analysis, Physical Change, Matter, Mixture | Middle School, High School

    Access is an AACT member benefit. Activity: Cooking with Conversions

    In this activity, students will be given a common homemade recipe for German chocolate cake with measurements in English units. They will be asked to convert the English ingredients list to metric units through scientific calculations. Students will also be asked to identify the ingredients as solid, liquid or gas. While reviewing the cooking procedures, students will classify certain steps as containing compounds or mixtures as well as identify whether chemical or physical changes are taking place. The culinary chemistry involved in this lesson should be introduced throughout the activity.

  • Review, Matter, Mixture, Density, Physical Change, Chemical Change, Periodic Table, Elements | Elementary School, Middle School

    Access is an AACT member benefit. Activity: Chemistry Basics: Crossword Puzzle

    In this activity, students will complete a crossword puzzle by solving each clue that is related to a basic, yet fundamental chemistry topic.

  • Distillation, Physical Change, Separating Mixtures, Phase Changes | Middle School

    Access is an AACT member benefit. Activity: Distillation in Survival Mode

    In this activity, students will investigate methods for purifying water as they consider a survival based situation that requires clean drinking water. Students will investigate processes such as boiling and distillation, as well as review the phase changes within the water cycle.

  • Physical Properties, Physical Change, Observations, Polymers | Elementary School, Middle School

    Access is an AACT member benefit. Lab: Paper or Plastic?

    In this lab students will research and compare the physical properties of various types of plastic bags. The recorded data will be analyzed by students, and they will use the results to design a plastic bag to meet a given set of criteria.

  • Mixture, Polymers, Physical Properties, Chemical Properties, Physical Change, Chemical Change, Observations, Scientific Method | Middle School

    Access is an AACT member benefit. Lesson Plan: Exploring the Chemistry of Oil and Acrylic Paints

    In this lesson students learn about the chemistry of oil and acrylic paints. They make their own paint, and complete an experiment to collect qualitative and quantitative data through a series of tests. Students will also apply the concepts of physical and chemical change to the results of this controlled experiment.

  • Phase Changes, Physical Change | Middle School

    Access is an AACT member benefit. Lab: I Can’t Believe It’s Butter!

    In this lab students will learn about the phases of matter and phase changes while making a small sample of butter.

  • Chemical Change, Chemical Change, Physical Change, Physical Properties | Middle School

    Access is an AACT member benefit. Lab: Little Miss Muffet Investigation

    In this lab, students will work in cooperative groups to conduct a chemical reaction by mixing vinegar with milk. This reaction will cause the curds to precipitate and separate from the liquid whey. The lesson can be extended by experimenting with different types of milk or by using different acids.

  • Chemical Change, Conservation of Mass, Chemical Change, Physical Change | Middle School, High School

    Access is an AACT member benefit. Lab: Chemistry in a Bag

    In this lab, students will observe and identify chemical and physical changes contained inside a plastic bag. Students will also use this lab to understand the Law of Conservation of Mass.

  • Chemical Change, Physical Change, Chemical Change, Scientific Method, Melting Point, Phase Changes | Middle School

    Access is an AACT member benefit. Lab: S'more Change Please

    In this lab, students will be able to demonstrate the difference between a physical and chemical change by making ooey, gooey, yet yummy S’mores!

  • Chemical Change, Physical Change, Chemical Change | Middle School, High School

    Access is an AACT member benefit. Lab: Chemical and Physical Changes

    In this lab, students will observe and analyze a number of examples in order to determine if a chemical or physical change occurred.

  • Periodic Table, History, Physical Change | Elementary School, Middle School, High School

    Access is an AACT member benefit. Video: Gold Video

    In this video, Sam Kean tells stories about gold.

  • Freezing Point, Phase Changes, Temperature, Physical Change | Middle School

    Access is an AACT member benefit. Lab: Lemon Ice

    This activity explores the interaction between salt and water (ice) as a way to further investigate their impact on the state of matter of a substance. Students will use salt and ice to create a slushy lemonade drink without the use of a freezer. They will learn through this hands-on experiment how salt and ice can rapidly cool a liquid.

  • Physical Change, Chemical Change, Identifying an Unknown, Acid Base Reactions | Middle School

    Access is an AACT member benefit. Lab: Is It a Hoax

    In this lab, students will perform tests on the physical and chemical properties of different substances to determine the identity of the unknown.

  • Freezing Point, Melting Point, Phase Changes, Acids & Bases, Physical Change | Middle School

    Access is an AACT member benefit. Lesson Plan: Stearic Acid

    In this lesson, students investigate how stearic acid undergoes a phase change from solid to liquid and back from liquid to solid. Temperature readings will be collected at one-minute intervals once the acid melts, the heat escapes, and the acid cools. Students are introduced to the idea that energy loss does not always result in a continuous temperature drop.

  • Mixtures, Separating Mixtures, Solubility, Physical Change, Phase Changes | Middle School

    Access is an AACT member benefit. Lab: A Solution to Your Mix-up

    In this lab, students will perform a step by step process of mixing and separating substances based on their states and solubility in order to solve a problem.

  • Separating Mixtures, Physical Change | High School, Middle School

    Access is an AACT member benefit. Lab: Separation of a Mixture

    In this lab, students devise their own method to separate a mixture of sand, salt, poppy seeds, and iron filings.

  • Polarity, Physical Change, Intermolecular Forces, Intermolecular Forces, Physical Change, Matter | Middle School

    Access is an AACT member benefit. Lesson Plan: Sandy Beaches—A Foray into ‘Magic’ Sand

    In this lesson, students will investigate the properties of magic sand and learn about the concept of hydrophobic and hydrophilic molecules. It also introduced students to the field of nanotechnology.

  • Exothermic & Endothermic, Physical Change, Temperature, Freezing Point, Boiling Point | High School, Middle School

    Access is an AACT member benefit. Demonstration: Energy

    In this demonstration, students will observe the exothermic and endothermic properties of state changes of substances with different freezing and boiling points.

  • Chemical Change, Chemical Change, Phase Changes, Sublimation, Boiling Point, Pressure, Physical Change | Middle School

    Access is an AACT member benefit. Lesson Plan: Dry Ice

    In this lesson, students will investigate how dry ice undergoes a phase change from solid to gas, skipping the liquid phase under normal temperature and pressure.

  • Exothermic & Endothermic, Physical Change | High School, Middle School

    Lesson Plan: Particle Modeling of Hand Warmers

    In this lesson, students will create a particulate model of matter that explains energy changes and transfer during a physical process, such as the crystallization of a solid from a supersaturated solution.

  • Phase Changes, Physical Change, Observations, Temperature | Elementary School, Middle School

    Access is an AACT member benefit. Lab: Condensation

    In this lab, students will explore the process of condensation. Students will investigate how water vapor condenses, and then they will conduct a comparison test to see if cooling water vapor has an effect on the rate of condensation.

  • Separating Mixtures, Density, Physical Change, Chemical Change, Mixtures, Intermolecular Forces, Intermolecular Forces | Middle School

    Access is an AACT member benefit. Lab: Clean it Up!

    In this lab, students will consider and utilize various separation techniques to purify and reclaim used motor oil.

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Subtopics: Physical Change

Grade Level: Middle School

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