Keep Calm and Chemistry On: Tips for the New Chemistry Teacher
Looking for lab activities that work every time? Explore these easy, engaging, and safe chemistry activities that are sure to produce a reaction from your students. Whether you’re new to chemistry or feeling out of your element, you’ll learn fresh ways to create excitement in your lab.
A New Approach to Teaching Atomic Theory
For chemistry teacher Siobhan Julian, teaching the history of atomic theory by lecture “was dry and tedious and boring for everyone involved.†Then she took a fresh approach—one that focuses on doing science to learn science history.
Rat Reproduction
Examining the reproductive system of the rat, students have the opportunity to compare male and female organs, study internal fertilization, and observe gestational changes in the female. The rat is representative of mammalian reproduction where fertilization of ova occurs inside the female, and the fertilized zygotes develop in the mother during a gestation period known […]
How to Make a Good Scientific Model
Are your students able to generate observations and then construct a good scientific model? After your students complete an inquiry activity, use our scientific model checklist to guide them through constructing and refining a model. Encourage students to use the checklist to ensure their model is sound. Allow lab groups to switch models and critique them. Go […]
Bees, Butterflies, and Flowers
Background Spring’s arrival is marked by days that start to grow longer, temperatures that begin to rise, and the many plants that awake from their winter sleep. Certain species of flowering plants start to develop beautiful blooms and love is in the air. At first look, one might think nature is simply showing off with […]
Let’s Do S’more Chemistry!
Introduction This laboratory activity explores the topics of stoichiometry and limiting reactants in a fun, delicious way! Mass/mole relationships and limiting and excess reactants can be difficult topics for students to grasp. Use this activity to introduce or reinforce these principles. Stoichiometry is the area of chemistry that allows us to determine the relative quantities […]
Flex and Extend: Modeling a Human Hand
Lead students in an engaging and creative project where they build a model that demonstrates the flexing action of the human hand. Students use craft materials and follow the procedure below to assemble a model of the hand. As students learn about the tendons and muscles of their own hands, they are prepared for a […]