Ben Meacham

@KatyDornbos I like this as a potential way to minimize those who tend to rely a bit too much on answer keys I post. Checking their understanding at a few points should reassure those doing things right and remediate those who need it before continuous errors are made.

@Meachteach @ChemEd2025 This is a paper practice. As students get to the check boxes they call me over to look at/check their work. They can also move past this (while they’re waiting). I could take it as a grade…or not. But it’s a nice way for me to get eyes on their work.

Adding this to chemistry practice sets has been a game changer for me. #chemed @ChemEd2025

@KatyDornbos Could be as simple as “For every 4 mol of Fe, 3 mol of O2 will react. Therefore, if 1.43 mol of Fe react, 1.07 mol of O2 will react since 4/3 = 1.43/1.07” This use of proportional reasoning is where I see lots of kids slip up until they finally “get it”

@KatyDornbos I’d consider another box where -1.07 mol is and ask… -why does 1.07 mol have a minus (-) sign but box c doesn’t? -using proportions, justify why -1.07 mol is the correct value for that cell. **something that gets them to recall the role that the stoichiometric ratios play.

Sometimes there's a gap between numbers/math and "Yeah, but what does this MEAN?" This attempts to close that gap. Or at least reduce it.

@KatyDornbos That last part is where my mind went right away and that’s what I thought original intent was. But you’re totally right about the value of simply writing a statement about what each box means. I’m def going to try this out later on. Thx!

@Meachteach Yeah, for box C that is the goal. And you know, the word “produced” does indicate that they know what’s going on with that number. So though it’s a little easier, it’s still a nice question. One other question I want to ask is “why will Box C always be half Box A?”

@KatyDornbos Not sure how true this is, but I had heard this was for evolutionary purposes. If the child looks more like dad (initially), I’m more likely to stay and contribute to raising the child, which benefits both mother/child.

A friend posited that the firstborn child very often looks like the parent of the opposite sex. What's your opinion?

Access to @VernierST melting station is going to help with our properties lab this year. Usually just have kids record melting order on hot plate which can often get messy and wasteful.

@RyTriGuy @aserkin @ChemixLab Their selection is crazy now! I’m surprised by how often I use the little things like the bubbles just for that seemingly unnecessary detail

We did a qual lab in my general chem class today as a part of their final exam. I made procedure sheets using @ChemixLab & put them in protective sheets, taped them to the lab bench. I provided a dry erase marker so Ss could check off each step. Absolute success #iteachchem

@claremclellan One period (about 55 mins) to collect data and do calculations. Next day used for analysis and writing CER

Which salt would be best for an effective and economical cold pack? Fun lab to do and student CER whiteboards.

@DrDSteele_PhD Go right ahead!

@ashley_green2 Lab doc and overview of CER for whiteboards docs.google.com/document/d/14h… docs.google.com/presentation/d…

@dragan39 Lab doc and overview of CER for whiteboards docs.google.com/document/d/14h… docs.google.com/presentation/d…

@Meachteach Would love a lab copy of this!

A slightly difrn’t approach to help students visualize limiting reactant. Before discussing the concept, we generated these balloons (vinegar + baking soda). The fact that several were same size created a perfect opportunity to dive into what was happening. #chemchat

@MrHambley Here’s what I’m giving students. Tried coming up with some random products and it got a bit tricky at times due to balancing so I settled on these.

@Meachteach Thanks for the advice! I was leaning towards it and it’s great to have some confirmation that it works. What equations do you provide as choices to students?

Hey HS Chem Teachers! I use Argument-Driven Inquiry for SCH3U Ss to apply their stoich knowledge in the thermal decomp. of baking soda. The problem: I had a handful of Ss absent and want to do a different reaction. Any ideas on a simple decomp rxn that gives good results?

@MrHambley @KatyDornbos Link to copper (II) carbonate hydroxide from Flinn if interested: flinnsci.com/copperii-carbo…

@KatyDornbos Thanks! I was thinking about other carbonates too. I might just have each of the groups try a whole bunch of different reactants to see what other alternative than baking soda works best!

@KatyDornbos Soooo would Fluorine have the most “rizz”? 🤔

Proud (?) to say that the day I learned this word last year, I explained electronegativity and bond types using “rizz”. And the kids then really understood it quite well.

@mrfarabaugh 💯 thank you!

@Meachteach In the Google doc, I have inserted multiple copies of little circles representing the ions they need to build the particle diagram. So students just need to "drag and drop" the ions they need into the box to create their diagram, if that makes sense.

#iteachchem With 90 students in #apchemistry, I need to streamline how I give feedback on #apchem HW. Here's the link to some Unit 4 stuff. It's a work in progress. I'm especially proud of Q#2 part (e), with an interactive particle diagram. bit.ly/3rxKwtV