This is a laboratory activity in which students will compare the amount of carbon dioxide in four different sources of gas and determine the carbon dioxide contribution from automobiles. They test ambient air, human exhalation, automobile exhaust, and nearly pure carbon dioxide from a vinegar/baking soda mixture.

The impact of natural disasters is made vivid in this video segment adapted from NOVA. A small town in Iceland, prepared for recurrent avalanches, is devastated when one takes a new and damaging path.

Overview:

On this webpage you will find OER Chemistry textbooks along with supplemental materials and a few lecture videos.
The purpose of these discipline-specific pages is to display content that might be of interest to faculty who are considering adopting open educational resources for use in their classes. This list of content is by no means exhaustive. The nature of open educational resources is very collaborative and it is in that spirit that we encourage any comments about the content featured on this page or recommendations of content that are not already listed here.

Students are introduced to the concept of engineering biological organisms and studying their growth to be able to identify periods of fast and slow growth. They learn that bacteria are found everywhere, including on the surfaces of our hands. Student groups study three different conditions under which bacteria are found and compare the growth of the individual bacteria from each source. In addition to monitoring the quantity of bacteria from differ conditions, they record the growth of bacteria over time, which is an excellent tool to study binary fission and the reproduction of unicellular organisms.

In this experiment, two chemicals that can be found around the house will be mixed within a plastic baggie, and several chemical changes will be observed.

Play with objects on a teeter totter to learn about balance. Test what you've learned by trying the Balance Challenge game.

How do you know if a chemical equation is balanced? What can you change to balance an equation? Play a game to test your ideas!

This lesson is one to two hours long. It assumes students have already learned the basics of molecules and atoms. Using manipulatives, students learn what a balanced equation looks like and how to balance an equation. Additional links are included.There is a teacher plan and a student handout.Materials: colored marshmallows/gumdrops/paper circles (at least 4 colors), toothpicks or spaghetti sticks, napkins optional.

This chemistry activity was created to enhance student learning around balancing chemical equations. It guides students through Phet simulations and then asks comprehension questions thereafter.

This module introduces balancing chemical reactions with stoichiometric coefficients.  Includes a link to an interactive website for practicing balancing reactions, a video showing specific practice problems, and a video with animations as visual aids demonstrating why we balance chemical reactions.

In this quick and simple activity, learners explore how the distribution of the mass of an object determines the position of its center of gravity, its angular momentum, and your ability to balance it. Learners discover it is easier to balance a wooden dowel on the tip of their fingers when a lump of clay is near the top of the stick. Use this activity to introduce learners to rotational inertia.

This activity is an extension of the common balloon cars, where students explore if and how different gases used as a fuel source effect the distances traveled by the cars.

Experiment with a helium balloon, a hot air balloon, or a rigid sphere filled with different gases. Discover what makes some balloons float and others sink.

Students explore static electricity by rubbing a simulated balloon on a sweater. As they view the charges in the sweater, balloon, and adjacent wall, they gain an understanding of charge transfer. This item is part of a larger collection of simulations developed by the Physics Education Technology project (PhET). The simulations are animated, interactive, and game-like environments.

Why does a balloon stick to your sweater? Rub a balloon on a sweater, then let go of the balloon and it flies over and sticks to the sweater. View the charges in the sweater, balloons, and the wall.

Explore the origin of energy bands in crystals of atoms. The structure of these bands determines how materials conduct electricity.

Explore the origin of energy bands in crystals of atoms. The structure of these bands determines how materials conduct electricity.

These recitation, lab, and chapter worksheet ancillary materials for basic chemistry courses were developed under a Round 13 Mini-Grant.

Students hypothesize whether vinegar and ammonia-based glass cleaner are acids or bases. They create designs on index cards using these substances as invisible inks. After the index cards have dried, they apply red cabbage juice as an indicator to reveal the designs.

Students learn the basics of acid/base chemistry in a fun, interactive way by studying instances of acid/base chemistry found in popular films such as Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and National Treasure. Students learn what acids, bases and indicators are and how they can be used, including invisible ink. They also learn how engineers use acids and bases every day to better our quality of life. Students' interest is piqued by the use of popular culture in the classroom.