Wow, February is almost over! I hope your classes have gone well and the weather has been cooperating with you.
There isn't much money left in most 2014-2015 science department budgets. For inexpensive chemistry lab ideas, buy my lab book "Chemistry on a Budget" for $20.56 at amazon.com or $23 at lulu.com. It will take a few weeks to get to you, so order now!
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
This book contains 13 labs using consumable materials purchased from local stores. 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 double-sided handout.
The past two blog entries, 02/11/2015 and 02/18/2015, were about Nuclear Chemistry. With the current cold weather, an interesting phenomenon has occurred with the Great Lakes freezing over.
Here is a recent television news article:
http://www.cnn.com/videos/weather/2015/02/24/lklv-weather-extreme-cold-in-us.cnn
Lake Ontario, the largest of the Great Lakes, is over 80% frozen – this situation can lead to discussion of the special properties of water.
I have written two past blog posts -- one about Heat & Energy (on 03/05/2014) which discusses the measurement of heat energy transfer and shows a lab regarding Specific Heat; and, the other titled Dipole-Dipole Forces, etc. (on 03/16/2014) which includes a detailed discussion of Hydrogen Bonding.
Here is one newspaper article about this phenomenon:
http://thevane.gawker.com/why-wont-lake-ontario-freeze-over-1536706402
From this article:
A reporter for the Toronto Star asked a climatologist with Environment Canada (Canada's version of the National Weather Service) why Lake Ontario has so little ice during even the harshest of winters. The expert listed three reasons as to why the lake sees less freezing than its four counterparts:
- Lake Ontario is deep, so it retains more heat than the other four lakes.
- The Niagara River feeds water into Lake Ontario from Lake Erie, providing agitation which keeps the water's surface from freezing.
- Its geographic location protects it from the brutal temperatures that Lake Superior and northern Lake Michigan experience most of the winter.
Here is a Syracuse, NY newspaper article briefly discussing the phenomenon:
http://www.syracuse.com/weather/index.ssf/2015/02/lake_ontario_ice_lake_effect_snow_watertown_cold_february.html
Students could be required to research this phenomenon either as a Class Assignment or for Extra Credit. I’d love to hear about your results of this research.
Check out the Topic List to help you to find past Blog entries.
Have a good weekend!
There isn't much money left in most 2014-2015 science department budgets. For inexpensive chemistry lab ideas, buy my lab book "Chemistry on a Budget" for $20.56 at amazon.com or $23 at lulu.com. It will take a few weeks to get to you, so order now!
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
This book contains 13 labs using consumable materials purchased from local stores. 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 double-sided handout.
The past two blog entries, 02/11/2015 and 02/18/2015, were about Nuclear Chemistry. With the current cold weather, an interesting phenomenon has occurred with the Great Lakes freezing over.
Here is a recent television news article:
http://www.cnn.com/videos/weather/2015/02/24/lklv-weather-extreme-cold-in-us.cnn
Lake Ontario, the largest of the Great Lakes, is over 80% frozen – this situation can lead to discussion of the special properties of water.
I have written two past blog posts -- one about Heat & Energy (on 03/05/2014) which discusses the measurement of heat energy transfer and shows a lab regarding Specific Heat; and, the other titled Dipole-Dipole Forces, etc. (on 03/16/2014) which includes a detailed discussion of Hydrogen Bonding.
Here is one newspaper article about this phenomenon:
http://thevane.gawker.com/why-wont-lake-ontario-freeze-over-1536706402
From this article:
A reporter for the Toronto Star asked a climatologist with Environment Canada (Canada's version of the National Weather Service) why Lake Ontario has so little ice during even the harshest of winters. The expert listed three reasons as to why the lake sees less freezing than its four counterparts:
- Lake Ontario is deep, so it retains more heat than the other four lakes.
- The Niagara River feeds water into Lake Ontario from Lake Erie, providing agitation which keeps the water's surface from freezing.
- Its geographic location protects it from the brutal temperatures that Lake Superior and northern Lake Michigan experience most of the winter.
Here is a Syracuse, NY newspaper article briefly discussing the phenomenon:
http://www.syracuse.com/weather/index.ssf/2015/02/lake_ontario_ice_lake_effect_snow_watertown_cold_february.html
Students could be required to research this phenomenon either as a Class Assignment or for Extra Credit. I’d love to hear about your results of this research.
Check out the Topic List to help you to find past Blog entries.
Have a good weekend!
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