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First Post: Dan Meyers
Here it is. My first contributory post to the ChemEdX. My name is Dan Meyers and I am a chemistry teacher in Portage, MI which is south of Kalamazoo. The area is home to many science-related industries...
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Back to School Preparations
Ahh. My second blog post. It's back to school week for us teachers. Students start next week (the Michigan way). As I plan for the beginning units (intro and lab safety for Honors Chem 1 and...
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Melting Pennies
I am fascinated by the chemistry of pennies. Dissolving a penny in nitric acid is one of the most visually stimulating chemistry reactions I have ever seen. The combination of a bubbling green...
View ArticleScientific Practices Post #1: Model Building
At the beginning of the school year, I find that I am especially cognitive about my own teaching and learning philosophy and what it means for a student to engage in my science class. I’m certainly...
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Using an Introductory Video to set the stage for a Blended Classroom
Deanna Cullen wrote about her decision to move forward with a blended model this year and asked for some suggestions about videos. I've been using videos as a teaching tool in my class for the last six...
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Music for Chemistry
If you want to liven up your chemistry course with some music, check out the Griep Research Group Website. They are at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Many suggestions for music can be found. You...
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AACT: A Community for K–12 Teachers of Chemistry
On September 2, the American Association of Chemistry Teachers (AACT) launched its official website, loaded with lots of resources and member benefits. If you visit teachchemistry.org, you will find...
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Cautious Chemistry Corner #2: Methyl Alcohol Again
Another chemistry demonstration accident has happened. This one was at a museum in Nevada. In preliminary reports, it looks as if several children were injured. One child was held overnight in the...
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ACS Chemical Safety Committee Statement regarding "Tornado Experiment"
Statement from the ACS Committee on Chemical Safety regarding the “Tornado Experiment” Explosion in a Science Museum in Reno, NevadaOn Wednesday, September 3, 2014, we learned of chemical incident at a...
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Sweet Chemistry Resources for NCW
National Chemistry Week this October 19–25 offers a chance to take a trip to the candy shop with the theme "The Sweet Side of Chemistry—Candy." Looking for some tasty chemistry resources? Two upcoming...
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Making Measurement Meaningful or Why to Avoid Saying "Sig Figs" in Class.
Every year when the day came to discuss the rules for significant figures in measurements with my classes I would write the rules on the board, we’d work through a couple examples, and I’d try to find...
View ArticleShelly's Sharing . . .
Shelly Belleau is a chemistry and physics teacher from the Denver metro area. This school year she is working as a teacher on special assignment at the University of Coloroado, Boulder. Shelly...
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The Sweet Side of Chemistry: Chemical Mystery #3
National Chemistry week will be upon us in a little over a month. As you may have heard in Erica Jacobsen’s posts, this year’s theme is “The Sweet Side of Chemistry – Candy.” I have developed a...
View ArticleOxidation of diphenylmethanol to benzophenone
I'm looking for a reliable procedure for an undergraduate organic lab experiment: oxidation of diphenylmethanol to benzophenone. I am updating our lab experiments and was thinking about introducing...
View ArticleEncouraging Words
Here in Michigan we are entering into our 4th week of school. My Honors Chemistry 1 students will be having their first test this week and my Chemistry 2 students will be having their stoichiometry...
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Solution to Chemical Mystery #3: The Sour Side of Chemistry!
Congratulations to Grazyna Zreda who solved the Chemical Mystery of the Mentos candies! To conduct this trick, two white Mentos candies are placed in separate beakers that both contain universal...
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Build a Boat Collaboration
I want to learn more about the modeling approach to teaching chemistry, but have not yet found the time to attend training. It seems like modeling would be the next logical step after the flipped...
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The Atomic Dashboard
If you are on Twitter and follow #chemchat, you may have recently seen some beautiful, rotating 3D atomic and molecular models from Dave Doherty @atomsNMolecules. I was curious about these models and...
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Molympics - A Collaborative Project between HS teachers and Students
We teach it, some celebrate it, and we try to make it engaging for our students. What is it? The mole concept and Mole Day! So how do we make it engaging for our students? Let me introduce...
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JCE AP Special Issue
The Journal of Chemical Education AP Special Issue is in print. Greg Rushton and I were happy to highlight the special issue for high school chemistry teachers and other stake holders at BCCE in...
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