Biscuit Bashing
This video from the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), aimed at primary teachers, demonstrates an experiment which may be used when learning about solids. A demonstrator uses biscuits to show children that some solids are made of tiny pieces and can be poured. Using a biscuit and crushing it into tiny pieces helps children see…
Slime and Goo
This video from the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), aimed at primary teachers, demonstrates an experiment which may be used when learning about solids and liquids. PVA glue, borax solution is mixed to create slime. The PVA and borax solution combine to create a new material which acts like both a liquid and a solid. This…
Bouncy Custard
This video from the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), aimed at primary teachers, demonstrates an experiment which may be used when learning about solids. Mix PVA glue, water, borax and corn flour to create ‘bouncy custard’. The glue combines with the borax solution and corn flour to create a new material which flows…
Leaky Bottle
This video from the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), aimed at primary teachers, demonstrates an experiment which may be used when learning about gases. A bottle of water has two wooden skewers inserted through the bottle. The two skewers are slowly pulled out but the water does not come out of the holes as the gases in the air…
Bath Bomb
This video from the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), aimed at primary teachers, demonstrates an experiment which may be used when learning about changing materials and irreversible reactions. Bicarbonate of soda, citric acid and salt are mixed then combined with oil, fragrance and food colouring to produce a bath bomb. The bath…
Carbon from a Candle
This video from the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), aimed at primary teachers, demonstrates an experiment which may be used when learning about changing state and irreversible reactions. A candle is lit and a ceramic tile is placed above the flame. Usually a candle burns to produce carbon dioxide but as the amount of oxygen…
Fire Extinguisher
This video from the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), aimed at primary teachers, demonstrates an experiment which may be used when learning about the gases, changing state and irreversible reactions. Night lights are placed in a glass bowl and lit whilst bicarbonate of soda is placed in a jug and vinegar added slowly. Carbon…
Freaky Hand
This video from the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), aimed at primary teachers, demonstrates an experiment which may be used when learning about irreversible reactions. Vinegar is poured into a jar and a plastic glove containing bicarbonate of soda is fitted onto the top. When the bicarbonate of soda is tipped into the vinegar…
Heavy Sugar
This video from the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), aimed at primary teachers, demonstrates an experiment which may be used when learning about densities of liquids or keeping healthy. A can of diet cola is placed in a container of water alongside a can of non-diet cola and the level at which they float is compared. The diet…
Rainbow of Colours
This video from the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), aimed at primary teachers, demonstrates an experiment which may be used when learning about separating ink through chromatography. Different coloured inks are dotted onto strips of water colour paper and then strips then placed in water. The different colours in the dye separate…
Lava Lamp
This video from the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), aimed at primary teachers, demonstrates an experiment which may be used when learning about liquids, gases and irreversible reactions. Coloured water and oil are poured into a container and they separate according to their densities. The oil on top when an effervescent tablet…
Suspended Ice
This video from the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), aimed at primary teachers, demonstrates an experiment on density which may be used when learning about separating mixtures and the properties of liquids. Oil, water and an ice cube are all put in a clear container and the resulting levels compared. The oil floats on top of…
Intriguing Ice
This video from the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), aimed at primary teachers, demonstrates an experiment which may be used when learning about changing state. Different kinds of liquid are frozen and the results observed and discussed. Pre-boiled water results in a mostly clear ice, salt water a cloudy ice, lemonade an ice…
Racing Liquids - Art on a Plate
This video from the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), aimed at primary teachers, demonstrates an experiment which may be used when learning about liquids. Milk is poured onto a plate and drops of food colouring dotted onto it. The colours hang in the liquid due to a mixture of surface tension and the properties of milk. A cotton…
Anti-gravity Bottle
This video from the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), aimed at primary teachers, demonstrates an experiment which may be used when learning about gases and forces. A milk bottle is filled with water then a ping pong ball placed on the top. When up-turned the water stays in the bottle as the large surface area of the ping pong…
Particle Disco
This video from the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), aimed at primary teachers, demonstrates an experiment which may be used when learning about dissolving. The demonstrator shows that water molecules move faster when heated. Using two glass of water, one hot and one cold, and putting in a few drops of food colouring, the two…
Sticky Cups
This video from the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), aimed at primary teachers, demonstrates an experiment which may be used when learning about the properties of gases. Two plastic beakers are heated with hot water and a kitchen roll soaked in hot water placed between them and they are stuck together. After being left to cool…
Learning about Materials
The resources in this book from the Royal Society of Chemistry provide a variety of activities for pre-16 and post-16 students to give them opportunities to apply chemical ideas in unfamiliar contexts. There are three main topics each related to modern materials. Each main section is subdivided and the individual sections can generally…
Which Compound? Which Route?
This book from the Royal Society of Chemistry arose out of an exercise for students visiting the research laboratories of a pharmaceutical company. The students are presented with an exercise in decision-making in which they learn about the ways in which new drugs are designed, synthesised and produced commercially. They choose a…
Zinc and Zirconia
Zinc and its extraction are not directly included in pre-16 and post-16 syllabuses, however the processes by which it is isolated and its chemistry can be used to illustrate many aspects of chemistry in these courses. The first main section of this booklet, from the Royal Society of Chemistry, is designed to provide stimulating and…
Sodium Carbonate – a Versatile Material
This Royal Society of Chemistry booklet presents learning material based on the manufacture and uses of sodium carbonate made by the Solvay (ammonia-soda) process. None of the material assumes any prior knowledge of the Solvay process. Parts three and five are entirely self-contained and require no teacher input. The booklet was…
Developing a New Herbicide
This publication from the Royal Society of Chemistry contains material that can be to assist students in deciding how a new crop protection product could be developed and marketed, taking into account the roles of individual experts that are involved. The exercise is designed for students on post-16 courses, who have some knowledge…
Paracetamol
This book from the Royal Society of Chemistry consists of seven free-standing activities that can be used singly or as a coherent package in a wide range of teaching and learning situations in both academic and vocational courses. It is aimed at post-16 chemistry students and their teachers. The book is organised into two main…
Aspirin
This book from the Royal Society of Chemistry consists of eight free-standing activities that can be used singly or as a coherent package in a wide range of teaching and learning situations in both academic and vocational courses. It is aimed at post-16 chemistry and science students and their teachers. The book is organised in…
Industrial Chemistry Case Studies
This Royal Society of Chemistry publication presents material for chemistry teachers on a variety of aspects of the UK chemical industry (including the steel industry) in the late 1990s. In particular it covers the economic dimension of the chemical industry, some environmental concerns and constraints and the issue of scaling up…
Chemistry Now – Combinatorial Chemistry
This leaflet is part of the Royal Society of Chemistry’s series called Chemistry Now. The leaflet consists of four pages of information interspersed with questions to test student’s understanding of what they are reading, to help them to link what they have read to the chemistry they already know and to help them to understand…
Chemistry Now – Computational Chemistry
This leaflet is part of the Royal Society of Chemistry’s series called Chemistry Now. The leaflet consists of four pages of information interspersed with questions to test students' understanding of what they are reading, to help them to link what they have read to the chemistry they already know and to help them to understand…
Chemistry Now – Chemistry and Sport
This leaflet is part of the Royal Society of Chemistry’s series called Chemistry Now. The leaflet consists of four pages of information interspersed with questions to test students' understanding of what they are reading, to help them to link what they have read to the chemistry they already know and to help them to understand…
Chemistry and the Human Genome
This book from the Royal Society of Chemistry (2002) offers an account of the chemical science that underlies publication of the draft sequence of human genome at a level suitable for post-16 students of chemistry and also biology. The book was written for teachers of both chemistry and biology and for students. Questions are…
Cutting Edge Chemistry
Cutting Edge Chemistry was written by a group of leading young chemists in industry and universities. It was aimed at post-16 chemistry students to show them how the principles of chemistry learnt in schools and colleges applies in advanced research. The book was published in 2000 by the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) with the…
More Modern Chemical Techniques
This book from the Royal Society of Chemistry was one of a series produced by School Teacher Fellows. The aim of this book was to inform and update teachers on analytical techniques commonly used in industry, research and other analytical laboratories. A number of the techniques may be unfamiliar to teachers and students in schools…
Modern Chemical Techniques
This book from the Royal Society of Chemistry was one of a series produced by School Teacher Fellows. Each chapter in the book covers much of the basic theory for those coming new to the techniques. This theory is explained without emphasising the mathematics and physics involved. Where appropriate descriptions of the instrumentation…