If you have taught the first lesson in this mini unit, learners already know that cabbage juice and vinegar cause chemical changes in some materials. Now, they get a chance to use them to compare the liquids' reactions to five known and...

Looking for a terrific chemistry lesson plan for your 5th graders? This one could be for you! After a teacher-led demonstration, learners are broken up into groups and perform an experiment using cabbage juice, water, window cleaner, and...

By both demonstration and hands-on investigation, physical science fanatics come to know that some materials react when they come together. Adding vinegar to both baking soda and to baking powder, the difference between the two is clear....

Did you know strong bases can feel slippery and slimy? Lesson allows scholars to practice using the pH scale to identify acids and bases and their strengths. By changing the concentration of an acid and a base, they create the entire...

Conclude this chemical change unit by having your class combine two liquids that result in formation of a precipitate. The learners discover that chemical reactions result in new materials. Make sure to consider all of the preceding...

Getting back to the beginning of the unit, learners use reactions with red cabbage juice to determine if solutions are acidic, neutral, or basic. This is a straightforward and classic investigation, but what you will appreciate is the...

From gas to liquid condensation to solid frost, water undergoes phase changes before students' eyes! Using ice, salt, water, and a metal can, they set up an investigation that can be used in a physical science setting, or as part of a...

Equip your chemistry class with the tools to properly understand endothermic and exothermic reactions. Young chemists collect, analyze, and graph data to determine how the Law of Conservation of Matter is applied to chemical...

It's time to break the ice! If you are doing all of the lessons in the unit, children have already seen that increasing heat increases the rate of evaporation, but is the opposite true? Does decreasing temperature cause more condensation...

Upcoming chemists use chemical reactions to determine relative pH in two different acids. This is a terrific lesson for middle schoolers that can stand alone as a practice in precision and lab skills, or as part of the unit on chemical...

Now that your science class has experimented with pH indicator and identified acids and bases, they attempt to get the cabbage juice indicator back to its original color. This is done through neutralization of the acids and bases that...

Here's proof that small-scale labs lead to big-time learning. Introduce acid-base interactions to middle school scientists through a microscale chemistry lab. Pupils combine a variety of solutions and use indicators to obtain approximate...

The best part of learning about equilibrium is that nothing changes. Young chemists observe four demonstrations during this lesson: equilibrium in a saturated solution, equilibrium with an acid-base indicator, equilibrium with cobalt...

During a three-part lesson, learners make a cabbage juice pH indicator and use it to analyze the waste products of yeast after feeding them with sugar. The intent is to demonstrate how living organisms produce carbon dioxide, which is...

Most things naturally strive for balance, and acids and bases are no exception. Neutralization of acids and bases allows scholars to explore the color changes associated with the pH scale. After this exploration, pupils neutralize two...

Household materials can be used for more than cleaning! In this collaborative experiment, emerging chemists use products such as vinegar and liquid antacid to explore chemical reactions that commonly occur in the human body.

Continuing with the concept of volume and its effect on density, learners now work with a piece of clay to see if they can get it to float in water. This is a memorable end to a seven-part investigation of density. Make sure to check out...

Fourth in a set of several little lessons on density, this one compares the density of fresh and salt water. First by demonstration, and then by a hands-on activity, learners find that adding salt increases the density, as is evidenced...

Some say cooking is an art—and a science! Scholars scope out the savory subject of molecular gastronomy with a series of related activities. The teacher's guide contains printable worksheets and helpful tips for implementing the lesson.

Crystals are more than meets the eye! Can learners tell them apart simply by observation? As they examine five samples with a magnifier, they find that appearance alone is not enough. This serves as an introduction to a mini unit on...

These are four classic activities used for instructing upper elementary electricians. The first involves experimenting with the Van de Graaff generator. The second is a series of hands-on experiences with static. In the third activity,...

Laughter may be the best medicine, but aspirin is also important. Young chemists analyze aspirin tablets using titration in this lab experiment. They then repeat the entire experiment using a different aspirin brand. 

The Henderson-Hasselbalch equation combined logarithmic terms with the application of carbonic acid as a buffer solution. Scholars learn investigate equation and its applications through hands-on experiments. They collect data and...

Environmental explorers examine the campus and take note of living organisms. Introduce them to the biosphere and the questions of the day: How much water can be found in the biosphere? A slide show helps you along, and even contains a...