The book Chemistry on a Budget contains inexpensive chemistry labs that are useful with easy to obtain materials.
There are two versions of each lab, one with a ten-question conclusion and one with directions for a full lab report. This way the teacher has the option! Each lab is two pages to allow for one two-sided handout.
A 5-Star Customer Review of Chemistry on a Budget at amazon.com states:
“[S]traight forward, to the point, using household chemicals…this is the lab book for you.
I teach high school chemistry and this is exactly what i was looking for. Labs included simple household chemicals that could be easily found. Nice format, easy to follow along procedures, and touches on every topic of our chemistry curriculum.”
You can buy this lab book for $23 at amazon.com or lulu.com. It will take 1-2 weeks to get to you -- Order Now. It’s a great resource!
http://www.amazon.com/Chemistry-Budget-Marjorie-R-Heesemann/dp/0578129159/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1389410170&sr=1-1&keywords=chemistry+on+a+budget
http://www.lulu.com/shop/marjorie-r-heesemann/chemistry-on-a-budget/paperback/product-21217600.html
*Some of you have already purchased my lab book – be sure to check out Page 141 !
*This Blog contains several entries that would be helpful to your chemistry classroom. Check out the Topic List to help you to find past Blog entries.
Also, Write To Me about your successes, challenges, or questions in the Chemistry Classroom.
“Fuel cell vehicles use hydrogen gas to power an electric motor. Unlike conventional vehicles which run on gasoline or diesel, fuel cell cars and trucks combine hydrogen and oxygen to produce electricity, which runs a motor. Since they’re powered entirely by electricity, fuel cell vehicles are considered electric vehicles (‘EVs’)—but unlike other EVs, their range and refueling processes are comparable to conventional cars and trucks.
Converting hydrogen gas into electricity produces only water and heat as a byproduct, meaning fuel cell vehicles don’t create tailpipe pollution when they’re driven. Producing the hydrogen itself can lead to pollution, including greenhouse gas emissions, but even when the fuel comes from one of the dirtiest sources of hydrogen, natural gas, today’s early fuel cell cars and trucks can cut emissions by over 30 percent when compared with their gasoline-powered counterparts. Future renewable fuel standards—such as the requirements currently in place in California—could make hydrogen even cleaner.
Because fuel cell vehicles are only beginning to enter the U.S. market, interested drivers should ensure they live near hydrogen refueling stations.”
http://www.ucsusa.org/clean-vehicles/electric-vehicles/how-do-hydrogen-fuel-cells-work#.We4ELzBrzcs
“Hydrogen fuel is a zero-emission fuel when burned with oxygen, if one considers water not to be an emission. It often uses electrochemical cells, or combustion in internal engines, to power vehicles and electric devices. It is also used in the propulsion of spacecraft and might potentially be mass-produced and commercialized for passenger vehicles and aircraft.
Hydrogen lies in the first group and first period in the periodic table, i.e. it is the first element on the periodic table, making it the lightest element. Since hydrogen gas is so light, it rises in the atmosphere and is therefore rarely found in its pure form, H2. In a flame of pure hydrogen gas, burning in air, the hydrogen (H2) reacts with oxygen (O2) to form water (H2O) and releases energy [which is an exothermic reaction].
2H2(g) + O2(g) → 2H2O(g) + energy
If carried out in atmospheric air instead of pure oxygen, as is usually the case, hydrogen combustion may yield small amounts of nitrogen oxides, along with the water vapor.
The energy released enables hydrogen to act as a fuel. In an electrochemical cell, that energy can be used with relatively high efficiency. If it simply is used for heat, the usual thermodynamics limits on the thermal efficiency apply.
Since there is very little free hydrogen gas, hydrogen is in practice only an energy carrier, like electricity, not an energy resource. Hydrogen gas must be produced, and that production always requires more energy than can be retrieved from the gas as a fuel later on.[3] This is a limitation of the physical law of the conservation of energy. Most hydrogen production induces environmental impacts.“
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen_fuel
This author of an opinion article shares a concern about a hydrogen-powered vehicle, “Pictures of the Hindenburg and H-bombs flash through my mind. Would that be my fate in the event of a fender-bender? According to the Toyota Mirai’s website, if a high-speed collision were sensed by the vehicle, the flow of hydrogen would shut down. Which honestly makes me feel much safer, but does little to quell my imagination.”
https://www.cartalk.com/blogs/jc-howard/hy-life-behind-wheel-hydrogen-vehicle
“A hydrogen fuel cell is a simple machine. The core of the tech is a proton exchange membrane. On one side of the membrane you have pure hydrogen, and on the other side you have ordinary air. Ordinary air is about 80-percent nitrogen and 20-percent oxygen, plus trace amounts of other stuff. The proton exchange membrane is critical, because hydrogen and oxygen atoms really like to be together. …The membrane will allow hydrogen atoms to pass through to the oxygen, but only if the hydrogen atom gives up its electron on the way. We cleverly put some highly conductive metal like platinum on the walls of the fuel cell, so the electrons go there and run all the way around the fuel cell to get back to their hydrogen atoms; that action creates electrical current that we can use. When the oxygen and hydrogen are all coupled up and complete again, we’ve got a water molecule and some electricity for our trouble.” https://www.digitaltrends.com/cars/does-hydrogen-make-sense-as-an-automotive-fuel/
“There are a lot of ways to get hydrogen, and some are wackier than others. In the 19th century, people used to drop iron filings into barrels of sulfuric acid. The reaction produced hydrogen gas, which they ducted into balloons to go up in the air. … You can also use electricity to break apart water molecules using electrolysis, and you get pure hydrogen and oxygen. That’s great, but the laws of thermodynamics dictate that you’ll never get as much electricity back out of the hydrogen as you put into the system to break up the water molecules. …The third way to get hydrogen is equally problematic. You can reform natural gas, cracking the hydrocarbon molecules to break the hydrogen loose. But that means you’re still dependent on fossil fuel, and when you break out the hydrogen for your green power, you also produce carbon dioxide, which is a greenhouse gas. …Before we close on hydrogen generation, research is being done on photosynthesis of the element [hydrogen] using algae. It remains to be seen if that will work on a large scale, but it’s better than some of the other methods that have been tried.”
“On top of their high price tag, hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles have other disadvantages. Namely…a hydrogen fueling network is virtually nonexistent in the U.S. and would be expensive to build. Also, most hydrogen fuel is produced by burning natural gas to create hydrogen, a process called steam methane reformation. Natural gas is cleaner than gasoline, but the process does undercut the environmental benefits. There’s also the challenge of low gasoline prices.”
https://epic.uchicago.edu/news-events/news/will-hydrogen-fuel-cell-cars-be-america%E2%80%99s-car-future
“Listed below are alternative fuels that are already being tested and used for vehicles worldwide:
https://e3sparkplugs.com/blog/pros-and-cons-for-alternative-fuel-vehicles/
If you are talking/demonstrating/completing a lab generating hydrogen gas, this might be a handy topic to show a “real world” application.
A past blog post from 07/02/2015 titled “Hydrogen Production” may be a useful reference.
Remember, buying a copy of the lab book Chemistry on a Budget can be very useful to your Chemistry classroom with labs and class article ideas.
Have a great weekend!
There are two versions of each lab, one with a ten-question conclusion and one with directions for a full lab report. This way the teacher has the option! Each lab is two pages to allow for one two-sided handout.
A 5-Star Customer Review of Chemistry on a Budget at amazon.com states:
“[S]traight forward, to the point, using household chemicals…this is the lab book for you.
I teach high school chemistry and this is exactly what i was looking for. Labs included simple household chemicals that could be easily found. Nice format, easy to follow along procedures, and touches on every topic of our chemistry curriculum.”
You can buy this lab book for $23 at amazon.com or lulu.com. It will take 1-2 weeks to get to you -- Order Now. It’s a great resource!
http://www.amazon.com/Chemistry-Budget-Marjorie-R-Heesemann/dp/0578129159/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1389410170&sr=1-1&keywords=chemistry+on+a+budget
http://www.lulu.com/shop/marjorie-r-heesemann/chemistry-on-a-budget/paperback/product-21217600.html
*Some of you have already purchased my lab book – be sure to check out Page 141 !
*This Blog contains several entries that would be helpful to your chemistry classroom. Check out the Topic List to help you to find past Blog entries.
Also, Write To Me about your successes, challenges, or questions in the Chemistry Classroom.
“Fuel cell vehicles use hydrogen gas to power an electric motor. Unlike conventional vehicles which run on gasoline or diesel, fuel cell cars and trucks combine hydrogen and oxygen to produce electricity, which runs a motor. Since they’re powered entirely by electricity, fuel cell vehicles are considered electric vehicles (‘EVs’)—but unlike other EVs, their range and refueling processes are comparable to conventional cars and trucks.
Converting hydrogen gas into electricity produces only water and heat as a byproduct, meaning fuel cell vehicles don’t create tailpipe pollution when they’re driven. Producing the hydrogen itself can lead to pollution, including greenhouse gas emissions, but even when the fuel comes from one of the dirtiest sources of hydrogen, natural gas, today’s early fuel cell cars and trucks can cut emissions by over 30 percent when compared with their gasoline-powered counterparts. Future renewable fuel standards—such as the requirements currently in place in California—could make hydrogen even cleaner.
Because fuel cell vehicles are only beginning to enter the U.S. market, interested drivers should ensure they live near hydrogen refueling stations.”
http://www.ucsusa.org/clean-vehicles/electric-vehicles/how-do-hydrogen-fuel-cells-work#.We4ELzBrzcs
“Hydrogen fuel is a zero-emission fuel when burned with oxygen, if one considers water not to be an emission. It often uses electrochemical cells, or combustion in internal engines, to power vehicles and electric devices. It is also used in the propulsion of spacecraft and might potentially be mass-produced and commercialized for passenger vehicles and aircraft.
Hydrogen lies in the first group and first period in the periodic table, i.e. it is the first element on the periodic table, making it the lightest element. Since hydrogen gas is so light, it rises in the atmosphere and is therefore rarely found in its pure form, H2. In a flame of pure hydrogen gas, burning in air, the hydrogen (H2) reacts with oxygen (O2) to form water (H2O) and releases energy [which is an exothermic reaction].
2H2(g) + O2(g) → 2H2O(g) + energy
If carried out in atmospheric air instead of pure oxygen, as is usually the case, hydrogen combustion may yield small amounts of nitrogen oxides, along with the water vapor.
The energy released enables hydrogen to act as a fuel. In an electrochemical cell, that energy can be used with relatively high efficiency. If it simply is used for heat, the usual thermodynamics limits on the thermal efficiency apply.
Since there is very little free hydrogen gas, hydrogen is in practice only an energy carrier, like electricity, not an energy resource. Hydrogen gas must be produced, and that production always requires more energy than can be retrieved from the gas as a fuel later on.[3] This is a limitation of the physical law of the conservation of energy. Most hydrogen production induces environmental impacts.“
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen_fuel
This author of an opinion article shares a concern about a hydrogen-powered vehicle, “Pictures of the Hindenburg and H-bombs flash through my mind. Would that be my fate in the event of a fender-bender? According to the Toyota Mirai’s website, if a high-speed collision were sensed by the vehicle, the flow of hydrogen would shut down. Which honestly makes me feel much safer, but does little to quell my imagination.”
https://www.cartalk.com/blogs/jc-howard/hy-life-behind-wheel-hydrogen-vehicle
“A hydrogen fuel cell is a simple machine. The core of the tech is a proton exchange membrane. On one side of the membrane you have pure hydrogen, and on the other side you have ordinary air. Ordinary air is about 80-percent nitrogen and 20-percent oxygen, plus trace amounts of other stuff. The proton exchange membrane is critical, because hydrogen and oxygen atoms really like to be together. …The membrane will allow hydrogen atoms to pass through to the oxygen, but only if the hydrogen atom gives up its electron on the way. We cleverly put some highly conductive metal like platinum on the walls of the fuel cell, so the electrons go there and run all the way around the fuel cell to get back to their hydrogen atoms; that action creates electrical current that we can use. When the oxygen and hydrogen are all coupled up and complete again, we’ve got a water molecule and some electricity for our trouble.” https://www.digitaltrends.com/cars/does-hydrogen-make-sense-as-an-automotive-fuel/
“There are a lot of ways to get hydrogen, and some are wackier than others. In the 19th century, people used to drop iron filings into barrels of sulfuric acid. The reaction produced hydrogen gas, which they ducted into balloons to go up in the air. … You can also use electricity to break apart water molecules using electrolysis, and you get pure hydrogen and oxygen. That’s great, but the laws of thermodynamics dictate that you’ll never get as much electricity back out of the hydrogen as you put into the system to break up the water molecules. …The third way to get hydrogen is equally problematic. You can reform natural gas, cracking the hydrocarbon molecules to break the hydrogen loose. But that means you’re still dependent on fossil fuel, and when you break out the hydrogen for your green power, you also produce carbon dioxide, which is a greenhouse gas. …Before we close on hydrogen generation, research is being done on photosynthesis of the element [hydrogen] using algae. It remains to be seen if that will work on a large scale, but it’s better than some of the other methods that have been tried.”
“On top of their high price tag, hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles have other disadvantages. Namely…a hydrogen fueling network is virtually nonexistent in the U.S. and would be expensive to build. Also, most hydrogen fuel is produced by burning natural gas to create hydrogen, a process called steam methane reformation. Natural gas is cleaner than gasoline, but the process does undercut the environmental benefits. There’s also the challenge of low gasoline prices.”
https://epic.uchicago.edu/news-events/news/will-hydrogen-fuel-cell-cars-be-america%E2%80%99s-car-future
“Listed below are alternative fuels that are already being tested and used for vehicles worldwide:
- Biodiesel Vehicles - PROs: Renewable and somewhat available, it can run in older diesel engines. CONs: Cost more than diesel plus there are supply issues.
- Plug-In Hybrid Vehicles - PROs: Runs on electric for short commutes with gas engine for longer hauls. CONs: Big expensive batteries and the vehicle still uses gas.
- Electric Battery Vehicles - PROs: Good torque, no harmful emissions and low operating cost per mile. CONs: Lacks convenience with limited range and long charging times.
- CNG Vehicles - PROs: Compressed Natural Gas burns cleaner and cost less than gasoline. CONs: Limited range, huge tanks, non-renewable source and few refueling stations.
- Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles - PROs: Emission is water vapor, renewable energy source and great mileage. CONs: Few places to refuel, expensive and requires high-pressure for storage.
- Ethanol Powered Vehicles - PROs: Can potentially be produced from garbage and waste with less harmful emissions. CONs: Currently made from natural gas and a very limited infrastructure for refueling.
https://e3sparkplugs.com/blog/pros-and-cons-for-alternative-fuel-vehicles/
If you are talking/demonstrating/completing a lab generating hydrogen gas, this might be a handy topic to show a “real world” application.
A past blog post from 07/02/2015 titled “Hydrogen Production” may be a useful reference.
Remember, buying a copy of the lab book Chemistry on a Budget can be very useful to your Chemistry classroom with labs and class article ideas.
Have a great weekend!
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