May 20, 2019Penny Diffusion LabUsing penny mint marks to model gas diffusion. Categories Chemistry/Modeling/Science Education Comments: 0
February 26, 2017Videos of building molecules, and showing chemical reactions, with candy and toothpicksThis post includes a couple of videos to provide students with examples of how to solve a couple of tasks in chemistry. One is “building chloromethane” and the other is “Ester synthesis from acetic acid and ethanol.” Categories Chemistry/Science Education Comments: 0
January 26, 2017Modeling Instruction and NGSS: Energy as a Crosscutting ConceptNotes from a talk on Modeling Instruction and energy as a Crosscutting Concept. Categories Chemistry/Modeling/Physics/Science Education Comments: 0
December 2, 2016The periodic spiral of the elementsVideo of a periodic table rotating to show that the periodic table is not flat; that the Alkali metals are next to the Noble gasses. Categories Chemistry Comments: 0
November 22, 2016Excel spreadsheet for calculating molar masses and percent compositionOver a decade ago I made a Quatro-Pro spreadsheet to make quick calculations from masses on the periodic table. Well, now Excel rules the roost, so I created a similar version using Excel. The fundamental element of the spreadsheet is that the cell with each mass is given a name that is the symbol for the element. So, for example,... Categories Chemistry/Computers and the web/Science Education Comments: 2
June 11, 2016Physics/Chemistry of Espresso Machines: Part 1Here’s an activity based on observing espresso machines in action. Watch the following video showing the milk steaming container (with a short sidetrack to the espresso pot). What do you notice about the milk as it steams? Can you explain what is happening? Here are some details of how this espresso machine works: The water boiling tank is filled about... Categories Chemistry/Physics Comments: 0
July 31, 2015How close are you? The “Why” behind Percent ErrorThere’s an old saying, “Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.” People would say this in response to someone saying “Well, I was close.” So, why does close count in horseshoes and hand grenades, and why is this the introduction to a science paper? Horseshoes: If you’ve never played before (I bet most of you haven’t), the goal is... Categories Chemistry/Math education/Modeling/Physics/Science Education Comments: 0
March 27, 2014If a nucleus is full of positively charged protons, why doesn’t it fly apart?In my physical science class this week, I realized the textbook was introducing the structure of the atom and positive and negative charges, but not answering addressing the clear question that follows the presented information is “what the heck keeps all those protons together in the nucleus?” The book does get around to the nuclear forces, but not until many... Categories Chemistry/Physics/Science Education Comments: 0
