Classroom Resources: Chemistry Basics

1 – 23 of 23 Classroom Resources

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

  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.

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

  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.

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

  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.

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  Review, Mixture, Physical Properties, Density, Periodic Table | Middle School, High School

  Activity: Chemistry Basics: Advanced Crossword Puzzle

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

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  Phase Changes, Elements, Mixture | High School

  Activity: Visualizing States of Matter

  In this activity, students will view, sort and classify pure substances and mixtures into the 3 common states of matter found in the laboratory. Students will also discuss their classification system with their teacher and peers.

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  Physical Change, Chemical Change, Matter, Mixture, Mixtures | Elementary School

  Activity: Chemistry in the Kitchen!

  In this activity, students will describe the steps required to complete a recipe of their choosing. They will identify any physical and chemical changes that occur throughout the process.

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  Mixture, Physical Properties, Observations, Mixtures, Solute & Solvent | Middle School

  Lesson Plan: How Fast Does it Flow?

  In this lesson students explore the viscosity of different mixtures. They measure viscosity of different mixtures and then have the opportunity to design a mixture to attain a particular viscosity. Students will relate their lab experience to the application of viscosity in the real-world as they consider the differences in viscosity between different types of paints.

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  Mixture, Chemical Properties, Physical Properties | High School

  Lesson Plan: What is Paint? A Paint Investigation

  In this lesson students will investigate the components of paint. The students will research, organize, and prepare a presentation on the four main components of paint: pigments, binders, solvents, and additives. They will also propose a solution to an environmental issue caused by paint components. During the lesson, students will model how paint components interact at the molecular level.

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

  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.

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  Physical Properties, Mixture, Matter, Physical Change, Interdisciplinary, Separating Mixtures | Elementary School

  Activity: Creating Finger-Paint from Rocks

  In this activity, the students will explore the physical properties of different rocks. Students will have the opportunity to physically change the rocks, and make them part of a mixture in order to create finger paint.

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  Separating Mixtures, Physical Properties, Observations, Matter, Mixture, Introduction | Elementary School

  Activity: Sandbox

  In this activity the students will separate a mixture and classify objects by their physical properties.

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  Physical Properties, Mixture, Density, Observations | Elementary School

  Activity: Discovery Tubes

  This is a fun, visual activity for young students. It allows for understanding of fundamental chemistry topics, including mixtures, miscibility, density and viscosity while analyzing a handheld colorful toy.

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  Chemical Change, Strong vs Weak, Salts, Mixture, Acid & Base Theories, Conductivity, Ions | Middle School

  Lesson Plan: Why Drink Gatorade?

  In this lesson, students will test different flavors of Gatorade and other liquids to investigate acids and bases. This will take several days unless students already know about acids and bases.

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  Density, Mixture, Physical Properties, Introduction, Observations | Elementary School

  Lesson Plan: What is Density

  In this two-part lesson, students will learn about density through a teacher-led demonstration and a hands-on activity. The demonstration will give students the opportunity to observe the formation of a density tower made from common drinks. Students will then create their own density tower using simple ingredients, and then further investigate differences in density when solid objects are added to the tower.

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  Chemical Change, Physical Change, Separating Mixtures, Observations, Mixture | High School

  Lab: Test Tube Separation

  In this lab, students will mix four substances in a test tube and recreate the original four layers through chemical and physical means.

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  Polarity, Mixtures, Intermolecular Forces, Intermolecular Forces, Mixture, Physical Properties, Observations | Middle School, Elementary School, High School

  Lab: Salad Dressing Science: Emulsions

  In this lab, students mix polar and nonpolar substances and then add various emulsifiers to encourage the mixing of the two substances. They use ingredients in salad dressing to relate science to real life scenarios.

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  Polymers, Scientific Method, Physical Properties, Mixture | Elementary School, Middle School

  Lab: Polymer Investigation

  In this lab, students will follow the procedure for creating a polymer, flubber, which will be similar in consistency to Silly Putty. Students will then design an experiment to test a physical property of the flubber that they have created using the scientific method.

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  Observations, Mixtures, Density, Physical Properties, Mixture | Elementary School

  Activity: Color-Works in a Jar

  Students will be using three ingredients to create a liquid color-works mixture in a jar. This is a fun chemistry project to do with young elementary students around the 4th of July or New Year’s Eve to get the children excited about fireworks.

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  Separating Mixtures, Interdisciplinary, Separating Mixtures, Electromagnetic Spectrum, Mixture | Middle School

  Lab: Candy and Leaf Chromatography

  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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  Mixtures, Mixture, Physical Properties, Molecular Structure | Elementary School, High School, Middle School

  Demonstration: Analyzing Mixtures

  In this demonstration, the teacher will create a sequence of mixtures in a single test tube. Water, oil, food coloring and soap will be used in this demonstration to introduce the concepts of heterogeneous and homogeneous solutions as well as the idea of miscibility. Students will also have the opportunity to analyze the properties, such as surface tension of each component used.

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  Mixtures, Mixture, Chemical Change, Physical Change, Observations, Density, Acid Base Reactions, Chemical Change | Elementary School

  Lab: Analyzing a Lava Lamp

  In this lab, students create a mixture of oil, water and food coloring, and then add an Alka-Seltzer tablet, to create a homemade lava lamp. Student will record their observations during each step of the process and answer follow-up questions about the chemical and physical changes that took place.

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  Mixtures, Physical Change, Physical Change, Solute & Solvent, Phase Changes, Distillation, Introduction, Mixture, Separating Mixtures, Interdisciplinary, Mixture | Elementary School

  Lesson Plan: Now I Can Drink the Water!

  In this lesson, students review important concepts of the water cycle and then design, test, and evaluate a working model of a desalination plant (a distiller).

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  Chemical Change, Observations, Mixture, Acids & Bases, Chemical Change | Elementary School, Middle School, High School

  Demonstration: Inflating a Balloon with Chemistry

  In this demonstration, the teacher will perform a reaction between acetic acid (vinegar) and sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) in order to inflate a balloon and to introduce the concept of a chemical reaction to students. Students will observe the reaction, and identify indicators of chemical change as well as discuss the different types of matter that are involved.