Free preview · Senior 6 Chemistry · Laboratory activities
Senior 6 laboratory activities
14 units · 28 activities. In every unit, activity 1 is improvised (simple local materials) and activity 2 is conventional (school laboratory equipment): two different experiments. Below are 5 free pages; then get the whole level in one PDF.
- Title and aim of every experiment
- Required apparatus and safety notes
- A clear, labelled drawing of the set-up
- Step-by-step procedure and a results table to fill in
- Observation and conclusion
- Three questions per activity, with sample results and answers at the end of the unit
See all 28 activities of this level and what each one is about
- Unit 1: Properties and Uses of Transition Metals
- 1.1 Improvised · A catalyst from an old battery. To show that manganese(IV) oxide, a transition metal compound found in used dry cells, acts as a catalyst.
- 1.2 Conventional · Colours of complex ions. To observe colour changes when the ligands around transition metal ions change.
- Unit 2: Extraction of Metals
- 2.1 Improvised · Froth flotation: concentrating an ore. To model froth flotation, used to separate valuable mineral grains from rock waste in mining.
- 2.2 Conventional · From malachite to copper. To extract copper from a copper ore (malachite or copper(II) carbonate) in three steps.
- Unit 3: Benzene
- 3.1 Improvised · Smoky flames of aromatic compounds (teacher demonstration). To compare the burning of an aromatic compound (naphthalene in mothballs) with an alkane (candle wax).
- 3.2 Conventional · The stability of the benzene ring. To compare the reactivity of an aromatic compound (methylbenzene) and an alkene (cyclohexene) with bromine water and manganate(VII).
- Unit 4: Derivatives of Benzene
- 4.1 Improvised · Aspirin is an aromatic acid. To show that aspirin (2-ethanoyloxybenzoic acid), a benzene derivative, behaves as an acid.
- 4.2 Conventional · Phenol compared with ethanol. To compare the reactions of phenol and ethanol and show how the benzene ring changes the properties of the –OH group.
- Unit 5: Polymers and Polymerisation
- 5.1 Improvised · A plastic from milk. To make casein plastic, a natural polymer, from milk and vinegar.
- 5.2 Conventional · Making nylon: the rope trick (teacher demonstration). To prepare nylon-6,6 by condensation polymerisation at the boundary of two liquids.
- Unit 6: Solvent Extraction and Colligative Properties
- 6.1 Improvised · Getting the colour out of carrots. To show that a solute distributes itself between two immiscible solvents according to its solubility (partition).
- 6.2 Conventional · Freezing-point depression and molar mass. To measure the depression of the freezing point of water by a solute and use it to find the molar mass of the solute.
- Unit 7: Quantitative Chemical Equilibrium
- 7.1 Improvised · Dynamic equilibrium with two cups. To model how a reversible reaction reaches dynamic equilibrium.
- 7.2 Conventional · Le Chatelier’s principle in coloured equilibria. To observe how changing concentration and temperature shifts the position of equilibrium.
- Unit 8: pH of Acidic and Alkaline Solutions
- 8.1 Improvised · How acidic is our soil and rain?. To measure the pH of local soils and rain water and suggest how farmers could correct acidic soils.
- 8.2 Conventional · pH of strong and weak acids on dilution. To measure the pH of strong and weak acids at different concentrations and calculate the acid dissociation constant of ethanoic acid.
- Unit 9: Indicators and Titration Curves
- 9.1 Improvised · Comparing indicators from local flowers. To make indicators from different local plants and compare their colour changes.
- 9.2 Conventional · pH titration curves and the choice of indicator. To plot titration curves for a strong acid and a weak acid with sodium hydroxide and choose suitable indicators.
- Unit 10: Solubility and Solubility Product of Sparingly Soluble Salts
- 10.1 Improvised · How much salt can water hold?. To measure the solubility of table salt and sugar in cold and hot water.
- 10.2 Conventional · Solubility product of calcium hydroxide. To find the solubility product of calcium hydroxide by titrating saturated limewater with hydrochloric acid.
- Unit 11: Electrochemical Cells and Applications
- 11.1 Improvised · A lemon battery. To make electrochemical cells from fruit and two different metals and measure their voltage.
- 11.2 Conventional · Measuring cell e.m.f.s and electrode potentials. To build a Daniell cell and other metal/metal-ion cells, measure their e.m.f.s and compare them with standard electrode potentials.
- Unit 12: Factors that Affect the Rate of Reactions
- 12.1 Improvised · Balloon race: concentration and rate. To show how the concentration of an acid affects the rate of reaction, using balloons to collect the gas.
- 12.2 Conventional · Temperature and rate: the disappearing cross and activation energy. To measure how temperature affects the rate of reaction between sodium thiosulfate and hydrochloric acid and estimate the activation energy.
- Unit 13: Rate Laws and Measurements
- 13.1 Improvised · Fading colour: following a reaction over time. To follow the bleaching of a food dye over time and decide the order of reaction with respect to the dye.
- 13.2 Conventional · The iodine clock: finding the order of reaction. To determine the order of reaction with respect to iodide ions in the reaction between hydrogen peroxide and iodide ions.
- Unit 14: Radioactivity
- 14.1 Improvised · A decay chain with dice. To model a radioactive decay chain, parent → daughter → stable product, with dice.
- 14.2 Conventional · Background radiation and absorption (teacher demonstration). To measure background radiation and investigate the penetration of radiation through different materials.
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