Apologia Chemistry: Balancing Equations

 Module 4 has a bit about chemical reactions.  My Co-op class is working through discrepant events and nomenclature.  But, the next topic is Chemical Reactions.  The Properties of Matter slideshow has new slides with types of chemical reactions.  Balancing Equations is an introduction using nuts, bolts, and bottle caps. Below are the videos I made to teach how to balance equations with a few tips.  Hope these materials are useful!

 

Even More Chemistry for Girls

 Just one more post for girls.  Here is baking soda paint.  Here is a high school lesson about baking soda and baking powder, the history, and some nomenclature.  Do Reaction in a Bag from Flinn.  (HST has calcium chloride and phenol red.)   Steve Spangler has clear instructions and science explanation for Sharpie Art.  Now browse this site for more ideas, such as mugs and glasses.  Yesterday I mentioned Colorful Lather Prints, which is Suminagashi.  Martha Stewart’s prints are divine! Coasters!  Acrylic paint and pour canvases are still trending.  Here is the science underlying acrylic pour painting on canvas.  Yes, make Christmas presents!  Use art to win over her heart for science—especially chemistry.

More Chemistry for Girls

 Many girls love color.  Try Melting Ice.  I thought this might be lame the first time I did it.  The kids loved melting the ice and coloring it with tempera paint—much cheaper than watercolor paint.  Try melting ice with calcium chloride, Driveway Heat.  Here is the ChemMatters article about Salting Roads.  Ask your daughter how melting ice with salt is Chemistry.  Next is Marbled Rocks.  We did this in Chemistry Co-op class last year.  The kids marbled dozens of rocks. The Science relates to  the density of the nail polish.  I think there may be some bonding between the rock and nail polish, too. Use  clear nail polish and black construction paper to make Rainbow Paper, which exhibits Thin Film Interference.  Sorry, the Rainbow Paper is really Physics.  So cool!  Rock Marbling is similar to Colorful Lather Prints—another hit with girls!  You can reuse the dyed shaving cream to make more cards.  Here are instructions to make alcohol dyes.  Use the sharpies to test Solubility or make Ink Water Prints. Here is an article about dyes,  pigments, and inks.  Here is Chemistry Colors Our World, the 2015 National Chemistry Week pamphlet with more experiments to try.  Have fun!

Hands-on Plastics

 Hands-on Plastic Kits are about $20.  You don’t need a kit.  The background and lessons are free.  One of the first lessons is a plastic scavenger hunt.  Gather as many types of plastic as possible.  Cut small pieces of different plastics to use to test.  Be sure to label the type of plastic.   The density lab requires 70% isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol) and calcium chloride, Driveway Heat.  HST sells CaCl2 for $3.75 if you live in a warm state.  The hands-on plastics labs are School not fun.  They work well for kids 10-14.  Hope you find this useful

Chemistry for Girls

You may have seen some of the new chemistry kits tailored to girls.  Ouch!  They are expensive.  Girls like Chemistry?  Didn’t your daughter just use a gallon of glue to make slime all afternoon?  Does she like to tie-dye?  Does she like color?  Household chemistry?  DIY lip gloss or soap?   Let’s start with slime.  Here is an ACS article about the science of slime with a lab.  I doubt you need a recipe for slime.  Let her make a batch of Oobleck to explore the properties discussed in the article, such as viscosity and shear thickening.

  Next is tie dye which is currently a trend.   I like to use Dharma dyes, especially for Camp.  The dyes produce vibrant hues.  Here is a tie dye lesson on color.  Here is a bit of information about the chemicals, such as soda ash or salt, used with tie dyes.  Learn about different mordants and fixatives.  

Use olive oil and make lip balm.  Make bath bombs.  I’ve made these.  There is some real experimentation required to get the mixture into a ball without reacting the chemicals.  DIY Bath Salts are much easier!  Let’s make soap!  Here is the hand-out, Chemistry Keeps Us Clean.  There are more activities., such as Bubble Trouble.  Let your daughter research recipes for scrubs.  Make up different batches and compare results.  Use plain vanilla extract as a scent.  I had one more idea—make bouncy balls!  Having a Ball with Chemistry and Engineering has instructions.   Make a slime recipe and try adding cornstarch or baking soda.  I’ve done the bouncy ball challenge a number of times for boys and girls.  Girls do tend to spend more time perfecting their bouncy balls and enjoying the process.

It is completely fair game to entice your daughter to make presents or homemade kits.  Have her create ‘how to’ videos explaining the kit contents and experiments.  Won’t your daughter have fun?

Is this lot of Pyrex glassware a good deal?

 Good Will has a lot of Pyrex glassware.  Is it a good deal?  Compare prices with Home Science Tools.  There is an Erlenmeyer flask.  HST sells a 250 mL flask for $4.55.  A 250 mL beaker is $2.75.  A 400 mL beaker is $3.30.  Glass stirring rods are $ 0.90 each.  Test tubes are $2.70 for two.  HST charges $6.95 to ship most orders.  The value of the Good Will lot is about $20 plus 6.95 for shipping.  The Pyrex lot from Good Will is a fair deal.  But, the savings is not great.  Wait for a bigger lot and check prices at HST.

Lego Boost

Update.  I did not realize yesterday we just needed to attach the treads to finish. The last image is a completed Auto builder. Spoiler!  It’s an elaborate conveyor belt.  Huh.

 We spent 45 minutes building the Auto builder, the last of the five projects in Lego Boost.  Our little household works together on the build because it’s a pain to locate bitty parts.  It’s not quite finished.  BTW Good Will has Lego Boost lots.  Take a look.

Apologia Chemistry: Module 4 Properties of Matter

 I started Properties of Matter.  Here is my slideshow.  I put everything, notes, examples, homework into the slideshow for the Zoom class.  My kids are watching discrepant events and using Claim Evidence Reasoning or CER to describe each phenomenon.  Discrepant events make kids think.  I’m using this Flinn video, which has three discrepant events and the two videos below.  The kids watch the video and explain the discrepant event.  Additionally, the kids are working on Experiment 4.1, Separating a Mixture of Sand and Salt.  I gave them mixtures with sand, salt, and iron filings in their Chem kits.  Some of the sand is hydrophobic.  I’ll let you know how the lab goes.

Slime Round-up!

Tomorrow is Election Day!  Your entire family may be home!  Lay in basic supplies: liquid starch, baking soda, borax powder, different types of Elmer’s glue, glitter, iron filings, tempera, PVA, saline solution,  polymer beads, maybe shaving cream. You may want a set of Slime Add-ins I keep a box of supplies in the basement.  Let’s make slime!  Frugal Fun has instructions for Gold Slime and Magnetic Slime.  (Here is Steve Spangler’s magnetic slime.  Just add iron filings.  Some Magnet Kits have small tubes of iron filings.). Here is DIY Floam.  HST has basic slime recipes and sells Polyvinyl Alcohol.  Here is a Glow in the Dark slime using the saline recipe. Instructables has Color Changing Slime.  Here is Fluffy Slime with the Saline Slime Recipe.  What about Jello Slime?  Michaels has Slime Headquarters in case I missed a variety of Slime, Flubber, or Oobleck.  What are we making?  Magnetic slime and Glow Slime.  I had a bottle of Elmer’s Glow glue.  Here is the Science Bob Slime kit I bought for the polyvinyl alcohol.  Yes, I do want to try Steve Spangler’s String Slime. Nope, I have no idea what is in the activator.  Last note.  If you want to make magnetic slime, add the filings to the borax or saline solution before you add glue or polyvinyl alcohol.  Many types of glue have PVA, which is why they make slime.

Catapults Round-up

We are about to be cooped up in the house for months.  Lay in supplies of giant marshmallows, Skittles, rubber bands,  popsicle sticks,  and ping pong balls.  Let’s make catapults!  My favorite is  this one, Simple Catapults.  The plan calls for scrap wood.  Let your kids hammer them together and decorate the catapults with colorful duct tape.  The Up-cycled Catapult requires a wooden spoon, hair elastic, and paper roll.  Is this your first time making catapults?  Try the DIY catapult.  There are very complete instructions. I like this plastic spoon catapult because there is a clear explanation about the catapult as a simple machine with a lever and fulcrum.  I use this design as an inquiry lesson.  What happens if you add more sticks to the fulcrum?  Change the length of the spoon?  Once kids have a basic design, try Design a Catapult from Teach Engineering.  Have fun!

Chemistry Experiments for Kids Round-up

Do you want to make up science kits this Christmas?  Start collecting science experiments so you can assemble balloons, citric acid,  food coloring, etc. into a kit.  Adventures in Chemistry has fun experiments such as Poke But Don’t Soak.  Steve Spangler has great experiments.  HST has detailed science projects, such as Top 50 Summer Science Projects.  Science Fun has some original experiments, such as Marbled Gift Wrap.  Science is Fun has Home Experiments including Mystery Beads Bottle.  So cool!  Science Bob has fun experiments, too.  Collect your favorites in a digital folder for your kids.  Put the shaving cream, food dyes, baking soda, etc in a giant tub with a bow.  Imagine how much fun your kids are going to have!