Fun demonstrations and more

By 2008-03-01T00:00:00

Delights of chemistry webpage

Tony Tooth looks at some websites that may be of interest to chemistry teachers.

The delights of chemistry, ChemWeb and Massive AS and A2 resource

The delights of chemistry

This Leeds University site features descriptions of 40 chemistry demonstrations, supported by movies and over 500 photos. In most cases the movie clips are disappointingly short, though there is a longer, better quality clip of The barking dog (NO + CS2). In each case, by following the 'Experiments' links, you will find a detailed explanation of the underlying chemistry together with details of how to set up the demonstration and any relevant safety warnings (although anyone tempted to try anything new will also need to check the CLEAPSS documentation and do their own risk assessment). Many of the reactions will be familiar to most teachers but there are some interesting twists which may increase the entertainment value, such as setting up the reaction between Pb2+ and I- in aqueous solution as 'golden rain'. Other demonstrations include Blue bottle, Cryogenics, Volcano and Phosphorus moon. There is enough variety here to provide a resource that could be used at either GCSE or A-level. 

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