NASA
Modeling the Periodic Table
Imagine a race to complete a puzzle where each person has the same 50 pieces, knows they are missing other pieces, and must figure out how everything fits together. The winner gets fame, listed in books for years to come, and a financial...
Curated OER
Introduction to the Periodic Table of Elements
Students explain how the elements are arranged in the periodic table. In this chemistry lesson, students determine the subatomic particles for certain elements. They research the physical and chemical properties of an element they chose.
Curated OER
Atomic Musical Chairs
An engaging activity enlightens young chemists in this activity on atomic structure. They play musical chairs through a series of concentric circles that represent electon orbitals. A laundry basket in the middle holds the protons and...
Curated OER
Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Hot Wire Chemical Vapor Deposition, But Were Afraid To Ask
To wrap up your year of general chemistry, have lab groups compete in a tot wire chemical vapor deposition (HWCVD) competition. With their foundation in chemical nomenclature, stoichiometry, and gas laws, each group completes several...
Curated OER
Periodic Table Patterns using Fabulous Periodic
Young scholars explain how elements are arranged in the periodic table. In this chemistry instructional activity, students group the eggs according to a certain pattern. They compare this to elements in the periodic...
Curated OER
Chemical Families
Ninth graders describe that matter is made of minute particles called atoms, explain structure and properties of atoms, classify chemicals, locate chemicals on the periodic table, and play Jeopardy.
Curated OER
Lead and Mercury: Comparing Two Environmental Evils
High schoolers in chemistry or health courses look at the material safety data sheet (MSDS) and periodic table of elements to gather information about mercury and lead, two toxic materials that have been found in food products. They read...
PhET
Radioactive Dating Game
Uranium 235 has a half-life of over 700 million years and is the fuel used in the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan. Pupils see the half-lives and decay rates of Carbon-14 and Uranium-238. They also take measurements of these two...
NASA
Development of a Model: Analyzing Elemental Abundance
How do scientists identify which elements originate from meteorites? Scholars learn about a sample of material found in a remote location, analyzing the sample to determine if it might be from Earth or not. They study elements, isotopes,...
Curated OER
Ionic Chemical Formulas Days 1 & 2
Learners study polyatomic ions and write binary and ternary ionic chemical formulas. They explore putting together different monatomic ions and coming up with as many chemical formulas as possible. They play a game similar to memory...
Curated OER
What's the Matter? Locating Electrons in an Atom
Middle schoolers roll dice in order to simulate the probability of locating an electron in a certain region around the nucleus.
Curated OER
Chemistry - Atoms and Elements
Middle schoolers perform varied activities as part of a layered curriculum unit: They write and perform a skit that outlines the evolution of the model of the atom. The script is submitted to the teacher for review before performance.
Curated OER
You Can Do It: Creating How-To Videos
Students create instructional videos. in this video lesson, students choose a subject area and topic to make their own how-to video. They research this topic and film their video using a flip-camera.