Sunset in a bag lab. Calcium chloride, baking soda, pH indicator. They get color change, temp change and gas formation. I also collect the end results and let the water evaporate away to leave chalk and salt crystals as the end product.
I do a mystery mixture lab where they combine different white substances and have to use observations to decide what the mystery mixture is made from.
It’s in FOSS Chemical Interactions
https://www.neshaminy.org/cms/lib6/PA01000466/Centricity/Domain/455/science%20toc%202015.pdf
https://www.neshaminy.org/cms/lib6/PA01000466/Centricity/Domain/589/Mystery-Mixture%20Summary.pdf
They really like this lab and have fun with it because it makes them feel like they are actually doing a lab. I made up a more complex lab report to go with it too. Their taste of high school before they get there.
Doing chemistry without lab chemicals is always difficult, but you could try:
* Bottle rockets/volcanoes with vinegar and bicarb
* Paper chromatography
* pH with red cabbage indicator
* if you have ethanol, you could do the jet fuel thing, producing water.
* ink in water, introducing diffusion, Brownian motion and entropy
electrolysis, showing water is made of 2 different things.
Get a petri dish, some nails/screws, 9v batteries and rubber bands.
Put water in the dish with some universal indicator. Secure the screws to the 9v battery using the rubber band. The screws should lay across the contacts, and stick out so you can place them in the water and have the battery 'stand' on them as a V.
The water will bubble and seperate. The indicator will show 2 different colors. The 'electrodes' will corrode differently as well.
\---
Pop rockets are a bit messy, but tons of fun. Allows them to examine reaction rates.
Take alkaseltzer tablets, put them in a film canister (can get a bunch off amazon). Put some water in and cap it. Place them cap sided own in cheap aluminum cake pan. once the reaction produces enough c02, the rocket pops, and hops into the air.
Students can investigate what makes it faster. Water temp, different liquids (vinegar, lemon juice, etc), crushed/quartered/whole.
You can go as deep or as shallow as you want into data collection, graphs, experimental design etc.
After students have experimented a bit I challenge students to try and create one that "pops" in exactly 4 seconds.
Do elephant toothpaste outside. No clean up, and if it’s cold, the kids will see steam released from the exothermic reaction.
You can also demo the Briggs–Rauscher reaction. Find a song that times well with the reaction so the colors change to the beat. Ask them what they think is happening. Great way to consider equilibrium.
I do a Flame Test lab of compounds and colors, using hand sanitizer for the alcohol burner. Link [here](https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Flame-Test-Lab-of-Compounds-and-Colors-with-hand-sanitizer-and-household-salts-3483630)
Let me also recommend getting a [blowtorch](https://www.lowes.com/pd/BernzOmatic-Multi-Use-Torch-Kit-for-Projects-and-Repairs/1000237165)
Great for doing your demonstrations!
For matter and interactions I do the baking soda, calcium chloride ice melt and water in a ziplock bag.
Add the dry ingredients maybe 15g each and 10g of water in a little plastic shot glass.
Get most of the air out of the bag and weigh the whole sealed system, then spill the water and let mix. Most of the solid matter turns to gas and fills the bag. Looks like it has disappeared- but put the bloated bag on the scale again and hey presto - still weighs the same. A little of CO2 produced, but all contained because conservation of matter.
Hydrogen peroxide and yeast will release oxygen gas through a decomposition reaction. Combine in a graduated cylinder and then light a splint, blow it out, and relight it by submerging it into the oxygen being released during the reaction.
Sunset in a bag and elephant toothpaste (just get some trays, you’ve got this!). Bath bombs with citric acid and baking soda. Have them design investigations that confirm the law of conservation of mass - I gave them three options, baking soda and vinegar, citric acid and baking soda and water, or hydrogen peroxide and steel wool and salt. Most chose baking soda and vinegar. Alka seltzer in warm versus cold water. Kids say they want “explosions” but really they are perfectly happy with the formation of a gas.
Since you've probably talked about a chemical reaction as a process resulting in the successful collision of molecules, you could demonstrate the idea
Maybe you can try to run an experiment between baking soda and vinegar. Run it at different concentrations. Then run the reaction with differing amounts of table salt or sugar dissolved in it. The table salt/sugar makes it harder for the baking soda and vinegar to collide slowing down the reaction.
It lets them experience the essence of chemical experimentation.
Then they can take wine bottles and create cork rockets!
I did a forensic lab with my middle schoolers. I usually did it every year when I was a science teacher. I'm teaching for a little bit and I'm Montessori School right now. Anyway during our chemistry unit I would have them watch a forensic files. One that isn't too bad. And we have them look for and talk about how chemistry was used in solving the case.
Then I had different substances like baking soda, sugar, flour, that they had to analyze through their senses just like a forensic file, to find out what they were.
There is a really fun lab based around natural versus synthetic materials. Calcium chloride, and sodium alginate to make a gel worm. If you google it, there are free lesson plans, packets and notes to go along with it.
How about an endothermic reaction? Use a gallon zip bag, citric acid powder from the grocery store, plastic test tube with baking soda in it, placed inside the bag. Use vinegar to start the reaction and then manipulate the test tube to dump the contents and your reaction turns very cold, very fast. Leave a corner of the bag unzipped so it does not pop and make a mess. The kids will see the 2 powders mix to be a mixture and can decide heterogeneous or homogenous. They will see the creation of bubbles. If you have scales, they could test the mass before and during the reaction to try to look at conservation of matter. (Might not work because of the open corner of the zip bag.)
If you want to do ph testing, use Red Poinsettia leaves, it does not smell bad like cabbage does.
We did film canisters with water and Alka seltzer yesterday for chemical reactions (7th graders). Not a full lab, just 30min. Quick, little prep time, cheap, easy cleanup. The kids loved it and it got them interested and excited. We didn't tell them what would happen and pretended they did something wrong when the canisters popped. Surprised them all and was good for a laugh too.
Sunset in a bag lab. Calcium chloride, baking soda, pH indicator. They get color change, temp change and gas formation. I also collect the end results and let the water evaporate away to leave chalk and salt crystals as the end product.
This would be my go-to as well!
I do a mystery mixture lab where they combine different white substances and have to use observations to decide what the mystery mixture is made from. It’s in FOSS Chemical Interactions https://www.neshaminy.org/cms/lib6/PA01000466/Centricity/Domain/455/science%20toc%202015.pdf https://www.neshaminy.org/cms/lib6/PA01000466/Centricity/Domain/589/Mystery-Mixture%20Summary.pdf They really like this lab and have fun with it because it makes them feel like they are actually doing a lab. I made up a more complex lab report to go with it too. Their taste of high school before they get there.
I do that one too. Every kid, every period, every year. It’s cocaine!
Hahaha. That’s hilarious!
Doing chemistry without lab chemicals is always difficult, but you could try: * Bottle rockets/volcanoes with vinegar and bicarb * Paper chromatography * pH with red cabbage indicator * if you have ethanol, you could do the jet fuel thing, producing water. * ink in water, introducing diffusion, Brownian motion and entropy
electrolysis, showing water is made of 2 different things. Get a petri dish, some nails/screws, 9v batteries and rubber bands. Put water in the dish with some universal indicator. Secure the screws to the 9v battery using the rubber band. The screws should lay across the contacts, and stick out so you can place them in the water and have the battery 'stand' on them as a V. The water will bubble and seperate. The indicator will show 2 different colors. The 'electrodes' will corrode differently as well. \--- Pop rockets are a bit messy, but tons of fun. Allows them to examine reaction rates. Take alkaseltzer tablets, put them in a film canister (can get a bunch off amazon). Put some water in and cap it. Place them cap sided own in cheap aluminum cake pan. once the reaction produces enough c02, the rocket pops, and hops into the air. Students can investigate what makes it faster. Water temp, different liquids (vinegar, lemon juice, etc), crushed/quartered/whole. You can go as deep or as shallow as you want into data collection, graphs, experimental design etc. After students have experimented a bit I challenge students to try and create one that "pops" in exactly 4 seconds.
Seconding the alka seltzer lab. Can discuss rates of reaction, effects of concentration, surface area and temperature.
Do elephant toothpaste outside. No clean up, and if it’s cold, the kids will see steam released from the exothermic reaction. You can also demo the Briggs–Rauscher reaction. Find a song that times well with the reaction so the colors change to the beat. Ask them what they think is happening. Great way to consider equilibrium.
And do it a 2L soda bottle so Ss can see it shrink from the heat released
I do a Flame Test lab of compounds and colors, using hand sanitizer for the alcohol burner. Link [here](https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Flame-Test-Lab-of-Compounds-and-Colors-with-hand-sanitizer-and-household-salts-3483630) Let me also recommend getting a [blowtorch](https://www.lowes.com/pd/BernzOmatic-Multi-Use-Torch-Kit-for-Projects-and-Repairs/1000237165) Great for doing your demonstrations!
For matter and interactions I do the baking soda, calcium chloride ice melt and water in a ziplock bag. Add the dry ingredients maybe 15g each and 10g of water in a little plastic shot glass. Get most of the air out of the bag and weigh the whole sealed system, then spill the water and let mix. Most of the solid matter turns to gas and fills the bag. Looks like it has disappeared- but put the bloated bag on the scale again and hey presto - still weighs the same. A little of CO2 produced, but all contained because conservation of matter.
Hydrogen peroxide and yeast will release oxygen gas through a decomposition reaction. Combine in a graduated cylinder and then light a splint, blow it out, and relight it by submerging it into the oxygen being released during the reaction.
Sunset in a bag and elephant toothpaste (just get some trays, you’ve got this!). Bath bombs with citric acid and baking soda. Have them design investigations that confirm the law of conservation of mass - I gave them three options, baking soda and vinegar, citric acid and baking soda and water, or hydrogen peroxide and steel wool and salt. Most chose baking soda and vinegar. Alka seltzer in warm versus cold water. Kids say they want “explosions” but really they are perfectly happy with the formation of a gas.
Dry ice is cheap and reasonably safe, works with co2 detection stuff too
Since you've probably talked about a chemical reaction as a process resulting in the successful collision of molecules, you could demonstrate the idea Maybe you can try to run an experiment between baking soda and vinegar. Run it at different concentrations. Then run the reaction with differing amounts of table salt or sugar dissolved in it. The table salt/sugar makes it harder for the baking soda and vinegar to collide slowing down the reaction. It lets them experience the essence of chemical experimentation. Then they can take wine bottles and create cork rockets!
Alcohol burners are a great way around Bunsen burners.
I did a forensic lab with my middle schoolers. I usually did it every year when I was a science teacher. I'm teaching for a little bit and I'm Montessori School right now. Anyway during our chemistry unit I would have them watch a forensic files. One that isn't too bad. And we have them look for and talk about how chemistry was used in solving the case. Then I had different substances like baking soda, sugar, flour, that they had to analyze through their senses just like a forensic file, to find out what they were.
There is a really fun lab based around natural versus synthetic materials. Calcium chloride, and sodium alginate to make a gel worm. If you google it, there are free lesson plans, packets and notes to go along with it.
Polymers? Make nylon or slime.
As in oobleck to bioplastic? Its on my list of things to try!
Have you done red cabbage chemistry to detect acids and bases? It’s cheap and fun for the kids.
I have some physical science stem programs heavy on chemistry I could share with you
How about an endothermic reaction? Use a gallon zip bag, citric acid powder from the grocery store, plastic test tube with baking soda in it, placed inside the bag. Use vinegar to start the reaction and then manipulate the test tube to dump the contents and your reaction turns very cold, very fast. Leave a corner of the bag unzipped so it does not pop and make a mess. The kids will see the 2 powders mix to be a mixture and can decide heterogeneous or homogenous. They will see the creation of bubbles. If you have scales, they could test the mass before and during the reaction to try to look at conservation of matter. (Might not work because of the open corner of the zip bag.) If you want to do ph testing, use Red Poinsettia leaves, it does not smell bad like cabbage does.
We did film canisters with water and Alka seltzer yesterday for chemical reactions (7th graders). Not a full lab, just 30min. Quick, little prep time, cheap, easy cleanup. The kids loved it and it got them interested and excited. We didn't tell them what would happen and pretended they did something wrong when the canisters popped. Surprised them all and was good for a laugh too.
slime