Wednesday, December 31, 2025

Physical Science: Chemistry

 I love teaching Chemistry to kiddos of all ages.  Not everyone loves it as much as I do.  Don’t be intimidated!  I teach with Apologia textbooks and supplement with everything else.  I like the sample Middle School Chemistry Home Science Tools has online; p54 has an acid-base titration lab which is sensational!  My favorite Middle School Chemistry is from ACS.  These lessons are designed to help teachers who don’t have a background in Chemistry.  Look at Chapter One: Matter; there are videos, lessons, simulations, readings, and teacher information.  Detour to these ACS lessons as you tackle the modules in Apologia’s Physical Science textbook.

Do some classic, Middle School labs: Rainbow Lab (follow directions), Ice Cream in a Bag (Freezing Point Depression), Mystery Powders (Tremendous details) (Mystery Powders-fewer details), and Red Cabbage Chemistry.

Build on the experiments in the textbook.  This Apologia PS sample has Experiment 1.1, Making Observations, which amounts to dropping an Alka-Seltzer tablet into water.  Let’s take this up a notch: Alka-Seltzer Rockets, Fizz Race,  and Temperature L3 (Vary the water temperature with the film cartridge rockets.)  

Branch out! Look over different lab collections: National Chemistry Week 2025, ACS NCW 2024, and ACS NCW 2023.

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