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Disappearing X Lab
Hello readers! While I do not make New Year's resolutions, I am making it a goal to update my ChemEd X blog on a more regular basis using video as my medium. In the video below, I will walk you through...
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Using Evidence to Determine the Correct Chemical Equation: A Stoichiometry...
During our stoichiometry unit, I wanted my students to take part in an engaging investigation. Many of the stoichiometry labs I had done in the past followed more of a traditional structure involving...
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Reflections from a Paperless Classroom
Like many schools, this year my school went 1:1. Each of our students was issued an 11 inch Chromebook with a webcam. Our upperclassmen have the the older Samsung models with a front-facing webcam and...
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Especially JCE: January 2018
Where do students do most of their learning about science? In the classroom? I got a surprise only two sentences into my reading of Characterizing the Landscape: Collegiate Organizations’ Chemistry...
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Mass Spectrometer Model
"What are we doing to help kids achieve?"My students just finished an activity about isotopes. Each year there is always one or more student who ask about the mass of isotopes. How do scientists solve...
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The case of aluminium metal in single replacement REDOX reactions
Displacement reactions are an essential way to demonstrate the reactivity series of metals. I have tried many different methods to demonstrate or perform displacement reactions over the years with...
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Announcing AACT Teacher Awards
The American Association of Chemistry Teachers (AACT) has just made a major announcement. The first AACT Chemistry Teacher of the Year Awards have just opened their nomination process. Awards will be...
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Richard Feynman on "Why?" Questions
For better or worse, I've seen very little of Richard Feynman's work/videos/lectures/etc. But a while ago, somewhere in my Twitter Timeline, somebody mentioned a transcription of a Richard Feynman...
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A simple method to measure the wavelength of light
For a few years now, I have been using a simple laboratory experiment that allows students to calculate the wavelength of various colors of light. I use the activity near the beginning of the semester,...
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I Have My Students Learn All of the Elements...and 6 Ways You Can Too
I have a confession to make: I’m a mean teacher. I make my junior chemistry students learn the element names and symbols--all one hundred and eighteen of them.You might say that’s impossible, a waste...
View ArticlePlease choose the statement that reflects your requirements for memorization...
I have my students memorize all of the elements on the periodic table.I have my students memorize a short list of element names and symbols.I do not have my students memorize any element names or...
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Teaching Moles through Beans
"What are we doing to help kids achieve?"The concept of the mole has always been a challenging topic for myself and my students. The challenge comes in part when we try to imagine 6.02 x 1023 of...
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JCE 95.02 February 2018 Issue Highlights
Curricular Alignment for Student Success The February 2018 issue of the Journal of Chemical Education is now available online to subscribers. Topics featured in this issue include: diversity within the...
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Bringing a Radio Program in to Chemistry Class
As I drive home from work every day in Houston, TX I am greeted by the entrancing voice of Dr. John Lienhard, now an Emeritus Professor of Mechanical Engineering and History at the University of...
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Break the Ice with Mystery Blocks
In an effort to align my lessons with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), I have tried to take the content I have traditionally taught, and shift the design to focus on student engagement...
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Especially JCE: February 2018
I love the periodic table. Proclaiming this feels appropriate for Valentine’s Day week, with its modern-day opportunity to declare one’s love and affection (although typically not for a chemistry tool,...
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Argument Driven Inquiry in Chemistry
Something about Ben Mecheam's Blog, "Using Evidence to Determine the Correct Chemical Equation: a Stoichiometric Investigation" really got my interest. First, I was interested because my students...
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Connections to the 2018 Winter Olympics
ChemEdX February 2018 UpdateVideo of ChemEdX February 2018 UpdateChemEdX February 2018 UpdateBy now, a lot of you have been able to watch the Winter Olympics. If you are like me, you have been able to...
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Acid Base Speed Dating
The unit of acids and bases is difficult for most students in Advanced Placement Chemistry. The variety of various calculations can be overwhelming. I decided it was time to make the pH calculations...
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Temperature Experiments with the Scrub Daddy Sponge
In a previous post, I learned that a Scrub Daddy sponge is mainly comprised of a polymer called polycaprolactone.1 I have continued to gather information on polycaprolactone and also to experiment with...
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