I work at a boy scout camp over the summers and I just the go ahead to teach chemistry merit badge next year. I'm looking for some good ideas for
demos or teaching suggestions. So anything at all would be greatly appreciated.
(I have a lot of reaction ideas but it seems most of the impressive ones are pyrotechnic and I really only want to try one of those.)
Thanks in advance
-ssddYT2095 - 3-8-2007 at 07:59
the 1`st ever Science lesson I took as a kid was Glycerol added to a small dish containing KMnO4.
nothing happen when he added it and he was talking as if nothing would explaining stuff, and then suddenly "smoke" and a lovely purple lilac fire.
that got our attention pretty good YT2095 - 3-8-2007 at 08:01
oh yeah and Ammonium Dichromate Volcanos Rock! I still love seeing that even now YT2095 - 3-8-2007 at 08:03
and another one, get some pine cones and soak them in Strontium chloride or Barium Chloride for a good few days.
let them dry, and throw them into the camp fire, Barium gives Green flames and Strontium gives Red.chromium - 3-8-2007 at 11:36
If you want quite impressive and very simple non-pyro experiments then you could play with red cabbage juice as indicator. It shows creat color
changes for small amount of acid or alkali and you may pour liquid of three different colors from one beaker if you put some acid or alkali to
destination beakers.
Another is mixing waterglass with some not too diluted acid. This is how two completely transparent liquids will yield white nontransparent
dry-looking mass.evil_lurker - 3-8-2007 at 11:37
Biodiesel.Xenoid - 3-8-2007 at 12:12
Check out the eye-popping .... demonstrations at the University of Leeds,
Chemistry Department;
Some of the chemicals may be a little difficult to aquire though!
My personal favorite demonstration, the memory of which has remained all my life, since witnessing it at my local university as a teenager, is the
Pharaoh's Serpent;
It is a delayed reaction, using para-nitroacetanilide and sulphuric acid, it is described in full here;
Another is mixing waterglass with some not too diluted acid. This is how two completely transparent liquids will yield white nontransparent
dry-looking mass.
Another harmless experiment with waterglass, is growing a "chemical garden" using coloured salts as "seeds".
Xenoidssdd - 3-8-2007 at 14:21
This may sound like a rather dumb question, but where is the bast place to obtain KMnO3 these days, I have a few demos I have done in the past (Using
my schools lab), but it seems new regulations make it harder to get.
Also Ammonium Dichromate is on my list I love the volcano as well. It also makes for some fun/easy oxidation states reactions.
Thanks for all the ideas so fast.
-ssddFleaker - 3-8-2007 at 15:39
Do you mean KMnO4? That's what works for the glycerine oxidation. It is used to remove iron from water filters and can be purchased by the 1 and 5lb
bottle at home improvement stores.Ozone - 3-8-2007 at 16:39
How about basic inorganic and/or organic qualitative analysis? Either involves lots of colors, smells, etc. and can be used to teach basic chemical
reactivity. Cap it off with the identification of several unknowns (smell counts!).
The old Mg° on dry ice trick is pretty cool.
Luminol with H2O2/Fe (alkaline) chemiluminescence (could also do the synthesis from 3-nitrophthalic acid. Actually preparing such a cool compound is
quite inspiring (and not too difficult).
Lookup the old ninhydrin synthesis contest (where whoever gets the greatest yield fastest wins a prize of some sort--I think this was Fieser). Just be
sure that a) you can do it better/faster and b) you always lose due to some technicality.
Thermite is always a winner (especially with Mythbusters using it in the Hindenburg scenario).
Chromatography, paper and thin layer (esp. 2-D) can be quite stiking and cool. There is a lot of room for technical instruction that can go with it.
Electrolysis of water is a winner (particularly if you detonate some H2), or make a small fuel cell model car go, etc.
Sugar rockets!
Destructive distillation of wood to yield a liquid chemical mix and a gas which can safely be ignited.
Galvanic cells! Beer cans and bleach, etc.
There are so many more.... But, I need to stop somewhere.
Good luck!
O3The_Davster - 3-8-2007 at 17:04
Why not make it really scouts related, like using chemicals to start campfires, making batteries, gunpowder, making glow sticks, or other things that
have applications to scouts. (and some thermite)
I would avoid the dichromate volcano, you are out in the woods, no real place to dispose of the chromium waste, I would not like to be dumping the
ammount of Cr2O3 waste that comes from a good looking volcano into your living environment for the duration of the camp.ssdd - 6-8-2007 at 18:23
O3, the Mg and dry ice is one I've never heard of. After looking it up it is defiantly something I would like to try either as a demo or as something
I do on my own.
Distillation of wood is also a great one I forgot all about. That would be a good one as well.
Davster, I pondered about that as well wondering how well it would go over with those damn picky scoutmasters. I think it would be fun to talk about
some of those things though. Also, good point about that volcano. The Cr2O3 is so light it seems to blow around easily which would only worsen things.
demonstrations at the University of Leeds,
Chemistry Department;
.
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