Osmosis - biology demo

Over the summer break I managed to complete a few courses on Future Learn.One of them touched on the topic of osmosis. I mentioned last year an easy practical for that topic (click here to read more) and this demo is a great addition to that lesson.

I wish you great lessons!

Karolina

Water density

A few years ago I came across an article in the Catalyst magazine called "Water in the oceans". Apart from discussing whether or not salty water in the oceans would mix, it had a simple experiment which explored water density.

Start with two cups of water. In one, make a saturated solution salt solution and add food colouring of your choice. To the second cup of water just add different food colouring. Once done, try mixing the two together and you will get two distinctive layers.

This is a great experiment to use in a lesson on density. Super easy and cheap to prepare.

I wish you great lessons!

Karolina

Chemical magic

If you need to run an open evening and showcase your department it´s good to have a selection of experiments and demos that will leave the audience speechless. I have already discussed the classic ammonium dichromate volcano (click here) and today I would like to share some chemical magic. This simple to set up experiment when paired up with a bit of acting can easily surprise your audience as you turn water into wine:

Then wine into water:

and lastly water into milk:

I tested it in beakers but for your "official" demo I suggest following the instructions and use wine glasses and a glass milk bottle.

If not used as a demo, you could use it in your lessons to discuss phenolphthalein as a narrow range indicator. Furthermore, it could be used in precipitation reactions lesson.

I wish you great lessons!

Karolina

Let YouTube help you teach Science #7

I think every single chemistry teacher has done the ammonium dichromate volcano at least once in their career. It's a show stopper at open evenings and the audience is always wowed by it. I came across this great video from the Royal Society of Chemistry showing a different way of doing this experiment which allows you to clean afterwards much easily. All is also done according to the guidance from CLEAPSS.

Which topic/s could you use this video with?
- chemical vs. physical change
- exothermic reactions
- oxidation states

Key words: ammonium dichromate (VI), disposal, safety

I wish you great lessons!

Karolina

Let YouTube help you teach Science #6

As a Chemistry teacher I feel confident to deliver demos and practicals within my subject specialism. I always know how to modify the experiments to cater to my students' needs. When I need to deliver Biology or Physics lessons, I always like to do extra research to make sure the lesson is interesting and that my subject knowledge is sound. A few years ago I came across this demo to show how the digestive system works and it's absolutely brilliant!

Which topic/s could you use this video with?
 - digestive system

Key words: bile, blood, digestion, enzymes, large intestine, mouth, oesophagus, saliva, small intestine, rectum, stomach,  teeth, villi

I wish you great lessons!

Karolina

Let YouTube help you teach Science #5

Today I would like to share a fantastic demo which you can use in your classroom or as a part of an open evening.

The rainbow flame demonstration is easy to set up and gives you an opportunity to have a great show stopper.

Which topic/s could you use this demo with?
- alternative to the flame test
- transition metals

Key words:
- emission spectrum, metal ions, safety, transition metals

Click here to get more information.

I wish you great lessons!

Karolina