Magic beakers
Declan Fleming shows you how to capture your students’ imaginations with spectacular demonstrations
When first taught to distinguish between a chemical and a physical change, students are often asked to watch out for changes that may suggest the creation of new materials. Examples include a change in temperature, formation of a precipitate, effervescence or a change in colour.
For the latter, chemists often turn to a ‘coloured beakers’ demonstration in which a series of liquids are poured one into the other to reveal a succession of impressive colour changes. The most commonly used is the ‘water into wine’ demonstration but adventurous teachers can extend this by adding a few more carefully chosen ingredients. This demonstration is based on one shown by Catherine Smith at the 2012 Association for Science Education annual conference.
With an accompanying video, Declan Fleming shows how to conduct the 'magic beakers' demonstration, from preparation to demonstration and considers how to discuss the results.
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