Runaway reactions

2020-11-02T06:41:00

A photo of reddish-brown smoke rising above a city

Source: © Janine Haidar/AFP/Getty Images

Ask your 16–18 students to take a closer look at ammonium nitrate and enthalpy

The devastating fire at a Beirut hangar in August 2020 provides context for 16–18 students to explore the structural formula of compounds and the enthalpy of the bonds within those compounds. Students should already be familiar with the mechanisms of a decomposition reaction but they may not have made the connection between their classroom learning and this news story. In the downloadable worksheet, students will apply mathematical skills to make sense of the observable phenomena of explosions.

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