Chemistry teachers answers only! Help me with amusing experiments?

Question

I am not chemistry teacher, but Maths and Physics in a small school. Can you help me with amusing experiments, their formulas and what are they teaching the kids? (10 to 15 years old)
i.e. Make smoke, make sparkles, small bangers, colour changes etc... to keep them interested.

(They often ask "how to make explosives"! I can't teach them how to make nitro, can I?)

Have already show H²O electrolise, bang of H and reanimation of a match in O²..

Nice one, Rod. Formulaes?

Tks, Doug. That's how I keep my kids: make fun. Unfortunately, it is not for life: I am 58 and do it just to help the school (I am the only engineer 60 miles around!)

Answer 1

I am a chem teacher and have learned MANY ideas by looking in the children's section of our public library for books that say "Science experiments" or "Magic Tricks". You will especially find many physics demonstrations.

Good way to organize? Write down every demonstration you do on an index card and save. Use different index card for every demonstration. Soon you will have many, and you can put them in to categories, like "physics demonstrations", or "chemistry demonstrations", or "earth science demonstrations", etc. Very useful method of organization for a teacher to use. Over time, you will have many, and easy to find.

There are so many......
... Check the teacher edition of your chemistry textbook, and look (borrow your chem teacher's...he probably will loan it to you, as he may never use it).

You might try typing into Google: "chemistry, demonstrations" and see what turns up.

Use my method of index cards. Buy file box. Cheap but VERY effective. Will grow throughout your career.

Always try demo's first , before you show them! To make sure all goes smoothly.

You can also do expt's in front of kids as a demonstration.

Demonstrations are one of the BEST ways to teach. Keep on teaching!!! YOU HAVE THE RIGHT IDEA! The kids will ALWAYS love to watch chemistry demos! And they will love you in return. Right on, bro!!! YOU GOT IT.

Note: feresha... above has his chemicals confused, or just plain wrong. He is trying to say (or should be) ammonium dichromate. Use Mg ribbon to act as a fuse. Do it on a metal plate (not glass, it will break. I don't know what is so fascinating about it, but kids just love to watch this "volcano". Clean up with small hand broom.

Answer 2

you can't teach them how to make explosives but a fun experiment you can try outdoors is making hydrogen. Very simple put a battery in a bottle of carbonated water and see what happens. Stand clear. or alternatively check the reaction sparkling drinks have to soda bicarb

Answer 3

get salts of common metals eg. (copper sulphate), about 3 to 4 of them....
mix 3 tablespoon of the metal salts mixture with 2 tablespoons of sugar. then add a drop of concentrated sulphuric acid to it. viola... there you have it a colorful fireworks.....
this is safe... we have done this for very long time now...
make sure that the kids will not touch any of the chemicals.... do this under the fumehood...

best answer?

Answer 4

you can use potasiumcoromat.when you fire it ,it become as volcano.