Organizing Your Space for Safe, Efficient, and Engaging Lab Activities
Teachers always need more space! We need space for students to spread out for group work, space for storage, space for displaying student work, but never is space more of an important consideration than when planning for hands-on lab activities. There must be adequate room for students to move about safely, enough desk or counter […]
Modeling Alpha and Beta Decay
A CAROLINA ESSENTIALS INVESTIGATION Total Time Prep: 15 mins Activity: 45 mins Physical Science Grade Level 9-12 High School Quick Links Close Quick Links Open Quick Links Introduction Essential Question NGSS Materials Procedures Analysis Kit Resources Introduction Essential Question NGSS Materials Procedures Analysis Kit Resources Introduction Students often use balanced nuclear reactions to model changes […]
Factors That Affect Reaction Rate
A CAROLINA ESSENTIALS DEMONSTRATION Total Time Prep: 15 mins Activity: 30-45 mins Physical Science, Chemistry Grade Level 9-12 High School Quick Links Close Quick Links Open Quick Links Introduction Essential Question NGSS Materials Procedures Analysis Kit Resources Introduction Essential Question NGSS Materials Procedures Analysis Kit Resources Introduction This activity serves as a student-based or teacher-led […]
Molecular Geometry with Balloons
Background Molecular geometry can be tricky for students to grasp. Two-dimensional representations of molecular geometries predicted by the valence-shell electron-pair repulsion (VSEPR) model can be difficult to comprehend. Three-dimensional models, however, give students the opportunity to view and manipulate models as needed, making molecular geometry much easier to understand. In this activity, each balloon represents […]
Properties of Water
A CAROLINA® AP® ACTIVITY Total Time Prep Time: 10 min Class Time: 45 min Life Science, Chemistry Students: Groups of 2 Grade Level 6–12 Middle / High School Introduction Water is a polar molecule, which means it has a positive end and a negative end. The oxygen end (blue) is like the negative pole and […]
Popcorn: Visualizing the Kinetic Molecular Theory
A CAROLINA ESSENTIALS INVESTIGATION Total Time Prep: 20 – 30 mins Activity: 30-45 mins Physical Science, Chemistry Grade Level 9-12 High School Quick Links Close Quick Links Open Quick Links Introduction Essential Question NGSS Materials Procedures Analysis Kit Resources Introduction Essential Question NGSS Materials Procedures Analysis Kit Resources Introduction Popcorn is a great real-world example […]
A Visual Introduction to Ionic and Net Ionic Equations
A CAROLINA ESSENTIALS INVESTIGATION Total Time Prep: 30 mins Activity: 45-60 mins Physical Science, Chemistry Grade Level 9-12 High School Quick Links Close Quick Links Open Quick Links Introduction Essential Question NGSS Materials Procedures Analysis Kit Resources Introduction Essential Question NGSS Materials Procedures Analysis Kit Resources Introduction This activity explores the phenomenon of chemical precipitation […]
Law of Conservation of Mass
A CAROLINA ESSENTIALS INVESTIGATION Total Time Prep: 30 mins Activity: 30 mins Physical Science Grade Level 9-12 High School Quick Links Close Quick Links Open Quick Links Introduction Essential Question NGSS Materials Procedures Analysis Kit Resources Introduction Essential Question NGSS Materials Procedures Analysis Kit Resources Introduction This inquiry investigation of the law of conservation of […]
MOM’s Acid-Base Chemistry
Introduction In this experiment, students react milk of magnesia with vinegar to study acid-base chemistry, chemical equilibrium, solubility, and heat of neutralization. Milk of magnesia (MOM), which still finds wide use as a laxative and antacid, is a suspension of magnesium hydroxide in water. The suspended particles of magnesium hydroxide give MOM its characteristic milky-white […]
Carbon-Carbon Multiple Bonds: Structure and Function
A Carolina EssentialsTM Activity Total Time: 45-60 mins Prep: 15 mins | Activity: 30-45 mins | Research: 120 min Physical Science | Chemistry 9-12 High School Overview This is a modeling activity designed for pairs of students where students use molecular models to construct a simple 2-carbon alkane, then convert it to a 2-carbon alkene […]