Chemical Reactions

Newcomers to chemistry compare hydrogen peroxide to water, realizing that the difference of one oxygen atom significantly affects the chemical properties. Other pairs of compounds and their formulas are also examined. A few chemical...

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

Alone, or as part of the intended unit on chemical reactions, this activity allows learners to experience an exothermic reaction. Here, learners add calcium chloride to a baking soda solution and watch the temperature rise! They will...

Now that learners have been exposed to chemical changes, they learn that some take in heat and therefore, decrease in temperature. The same reaction that they have been investigating between baking soda and vinegar is revisited,...

If you have taught the first instructional activity 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...

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...

Make sure your scientists are reporting their work effectively by providing them with a reference for their lab reports. The first few pages of this resource detail each element of a lab report, and the last few pages provide an example...

Everyone enjoys combining baking soda and water. Here is a lesson that challenges scholars to analyze the reaction three different ways — the real substances, the chemical equation, and the molecular models. Class...

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...

Want to add a wow factor to your current chemical changes lesson plan? Try a microscale experiment with colorful precipitates! Partnered learners conduct 10 single displacement reactions and record their observations.