Here is an engaging and hands-on lesson plan that allows high school chemists to demonstrate the effects of a catalyst on various chemicals. They garner knowledge of how reactants and products differ from one another, while...

How can you tell the difference between endothermic and exothermic reactions? Chemistry scholars perform and observe two chemical reactions, measure the temperature throughout, then draw conclusions about changes in energy from their...

What better way is there to introduce conservation of mass than a few simple experiments? Young chemists conduct two chemical reactions, take the masses of reactants and products, then compare their results to determine...

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

Show young chemists what a chemical reaction looks like with two parts of a hands-on experiment. First, learners conduct a wet lab where they observe the reactants (baking soda and calcium chloride, with phenolsulfonphthalein)...

Though the publisher designated this unit for use with third through eighth grades, this particular lesson would be best used with middle schoolers due to the specific measurement skills required. Basically, they set up the reaction...

Cellular respiration and photosynthesis relate closely, but many don't realize how. Scholars drag and drop the reactants and products to the chemical reactions for both processes. Then they answer three multiple-choice questions.

One of the most recognizable commercial melodies was written in 1977, and led to gastronomical relief around the world. Scholars use Alka Seltzer tablets to measure reactants and calculate the chemical equation for the reaction of NaHCO3...

Stoichiometry sounds complicated, but it really means the study of the amount of substances involved in a reaction. The sixth lesson in an 11-part series has scholars use stoichiometry to find the theoretical yield of a reaction. Then,...

Henri-Louis Le Chatelier wrote many papers throughout his 85-year life, but he is remembered for one of his earliest discoveries, now known as Le Chatelier's Principle. The final lesson in an 11-part series encourages young chemists to...

Putting glow sticks in the freezer makes them last longer, but why is that? Lesson focuses on how temperature impacts the rate of a chemical reaction. It begins with a teacher demonstration, then scholars design their own experiments...

Some chemical reactions produce heat, but what is really going on? Lesson focuses on the concept of energy changes, both exothermic and endothermic. Scholars perform multiple experiments, hands-on activities, and view videos of the...

Don't waste all that carbon dioxide. Scholars first produce carbon dioxide by mixing baking soda and vinegar. They measure the masses of the reactants and products to verify the law of conservation of mass. As a culminating activity,...

Watch as acids and bases put smiles on their faces. Young chemists learn the concept of acid-base titration firsthand in a microscale experiment. Working groups collaborate, titrate, then use their data to determine the concentration of...

Chemical and physical properties give compounds an identity. Learners use the identity of a compound to predict what it is. By performing different tests like solubility, flame, heat, and reactions, individuals attempt to identify an...

Can you disprove the law of conservation of mass? Pupils observe the teacher weigh each part of a reaction. Then, the teacher weighs the result of the reaction and everyone sees that the products do not equal the reactants. Then they...

What is a reasonable percent yield in the manufacturing process? Scholars develop a process for producing chalk in the third lesson of a six-part series. Then, they must determine the theoretical and percent yield. Discussions about...

The radical reactions of polymers seems abstract to many pupils, but this lesson turns them into a fun building game. Scholars use dice and building pieces to build polymers. Then, they determine the theoretical and experimental weight...

The third lesson in a series of 11 begins by using thermal decomposition of potassium chlorate to determine the mass percent of oxygen. Then a second activity allows scholars to demonstrate that the resulting residue is from a...

Let the lab be a catalyst to learn about enzymes. Scholars create alginate beads filled with yeast. As part of an investigation into enzymes, they see how these beads provide a catalyst to the reaction of glucose into ethanol.