In this activity students study the reaction between magnesium and hydrochloric acid using a pre-recorded video.
The reaction equation shows that a gas is produced. By measuring the amount of gas that is produced during a certain amount of time, the reaction rate can be determined. Students follow the rate of gas production by following the position of floating plastic balls in the collecting cylinder. By using the correct scaling, the moment of the balls can be correlated to a certain volume of gas. This scaling has already been prepared so that students can focus on the chemical aspects of this experiment.
Activity Magnesium and hydrochloric acid
In this activity students study an existing model of an irreversible reaction of N2O4 to NO2 and expand it in order to create a chemical equilibrium. In order to teach students to critically assess a model, the concentration quotient has to be calculated at some point in the activity. This activity focusses on the essence of modelling and less on the workings of an equilibrium.
Activity Gasses in equilibrium