Royal Society of Chemistry
Computational Chemistry—Chemistry Now
Can some plants make their own animal repellents? Science sleuths examine the properties of cinnamamide in pear trees using an case study about computational chemistry. The resource discusses how vital computers are to research, how...
Royal Society of Chemistry
Acids and Bases—Microscale Chemistry
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...
Curated OER
Dental Chemistry Analogy
After taking in background information on teeth, marble, eggshell, and fluoride, chemistry aces design an experiment. Their goal is to demonstrate whether or not fluoride has a similar effect on marble or eggshell as it does on tooth...
American Chemical Society
Norbert Rillieux, Thermodynamics and Chemical Engineering
The man who invented the earliest examples of chemical engineering was an American-born, French-educated, free man of color before the Civil War, and went on to translate Egyptian hieroglyphics. There is something of interest for almost...
Earth Day Network
Staying Green While Being Clean
Clean up the environment with a lesson that focuses on replacing hazardous cleaning supplies with green, environmentally-friendly products. Using a dirty patch of surface as a control area, kids clean other parts of various surfaces...
American Chemical Society
The Discovery of Fullerenes
Carbon is the most common element on earth, so the innovative discovery of a new type of carbon molecule won the 1996 Nobel Prize. In the ready-to-go lesson, scholars learn about C60 and how it has opened up the entire area of...
Curated OER
Is the Coast Really Toast?: A Lesson About Volcanoes, Phase Changes, and the Art of Estimation
Clever! Use a clip from the 1997 film, Volcano, to get your chemistry class knee-deep in heat concepts related to lava. In the movie scene, lava flow is stopped in the nick of time. Your class must use calculations to determine if this...
Curated OER
Changing Planet: Ocean Acidification - the Chemistry is Less than Basic!
A video and laboratory investigation are highlights to this lesson on acidification of ocean water due to increased atmospheric carbon dioxide. Using bromothymol blue (BTB) as an indicator, pupils analyze the amount of carbon dioxide...
Curated OER
Lip Balm Chemistry
Students explore density, mixture and solutions in a reaction. In this chemistry lesson, students create their own chap-stick using ingredients they analyze for their chemical contents. They discuss measuring skills, melting points and...
Millennium Schools
Lifestyle Chemistry
My name is Bond, Hydrogen Bond. Written for distance scholars working on chemistry at the high school level, the lesson includes eight weeks worth of material divided into six parts: substances you use, mixing it up, your skin, what's...
K20 LEARN
Untwining And Intertwining: Chemical Reactions
What happened when the chemistry teacher told a bad joke? There was no reaction! A creative take on the traditional reaction types lesson invites learners to draw their own conclusions about how compounds and elements combine. Groups...
Beyond Benign
Writing the Principles
What is the difference between chemistry and green chemistry? The first lesson of the 24-part green chemistry series introduces scholars to its 12 principles. The tendency is toward nontoxic materials and sustainability.
Curated OER
Mentos Geyser! What's the Fizz Factor?
What is it that makes Mentos candy and cola such an explosive combination? Find out through scientific inquiry and experimentation. This presentation walks learners through the scientific process and allows them to speculate whether it...
Curated OER
Ziplock Chemistry
Learners investigate various chemical reactions when creating mixtures in ziplock baggies. In this chemistry lesson plan, students will recognize various chemical reactions and cite evidence. Safety and assessment strategies are included...
Curated OER
How Strong is the Solution
Students investigate the strength of solutions. In this scientific inquiry lesson plan, students examine various solutions of food color and water as they discover the concentration of the solutions by adding bleach to clear the color.
American Chemical Society
Joseph Priestley, Discoverer of Oxygen
Do you want to hear a joke about nitrogen and oxygen? NO. We all know there is oxygen in the air and that plants produce oxygen, but how was it discovered? Scholars read a handout, answer questions, and analyze material in the...
American Chemical Society
Man and Materials Through History
From the start of the Industrial Revolution, it only took 147 years for someone to invent plastic. This may seem like a long time, but in the history of inventing or discovering new materials, this is incredibly fast. An informative and...
NASA
Supernova Chemistry
By measuring the wavelength, frequency, and intensity of electromagnetic radiation, scientists determine the temperature, density, and composition of far away items. Scholars rotate through ten lab stations using a spectroscope at each...
Curated OER
What Are The Properties of Sea Water?
Ninth graders conduct research on the subject of sea water. They use a variety of resources to obtain information. There are helpful resource links listed in the lesson. In conjunction with the research students make inquiry of the...
Kenan Fellows
Reaction Stoichiometry—How Can We Make Chalk?
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...
Beyond Benign
In a Lather
Time to come clean! Scholars continue preparing the shampoo they created in the previous two lessons. The purpose of this stage is to calculate the perfect amount of additive to make the shampoo lather.
University of California
Hot! Hot! Hot!
Calories are not tiny creatures that sew your clothes tighter every night, but what are they? A science lesson plan, presented at multiple levels, has learners experiment with heat, heat transfer, and graph the function over time. It...
Cornell University
Vitamin C Module
Test the levels of vitamin C in different juices. After a instructional activity on the importance of vitamin C in our diets, learners use titration to determine the vitamin C content in juice. They use their experience with the...
National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network
Hiding Behind the Mask
Microchips are a man-made wonder. Investigate the manufacturing wonder with a hands-on inquiry-based lesson. Scholars simulate the process of pattern transfer using photoresist. Their conclusion identifies how their process replicates...