Whew! Our first actual lab in Chemistry, and this one was a heavy lab! It was the first time Gen Chem was going a lab of this sort in a while. I’m glad that the students were able to experience a “real” chemistry lab with “real” chemicals. Real is in quotes because all labs in chemistry are very much real and all deal with actual chemicals.
I know that there was a heavy discussion with what the purpose of this lab was. It falls as an introduction to the periodic table. I’m struggling to see how it would segue smoothly from The Copper Cycle into the Periodic Table. From what I gather, it should be about conservation of matter and an introduction to chemical reactions.
Our learning team leader, Ms. B, suggested that we have the materials for the lab pre-measured and ready to go. To prevent errors with all the clear, colorless liquids, we also handed the NaOH, HNO3, H2SO4, and water to the students when they reach that step. That seemed to work really well because students were forced to read through the directions again.
We asked students to add the nitric acid to the copper in the beaker outside. Last time, one of our colleagues did the lab, and we found it to be intense on the olfactory sense scale. So if had done it as written, inside the classroom, those toxic gases would have lingered longer than its welcome.
We were able to finish the lab. HOWEVER, it was this lab that I discovered that not all students know how to do the dishes. I witnessed one student squeeze 10 mL of soap into a 50 mL beaker. Another student left soapy glassware on the counter because they were clean. Next year, I may have to do washing glassware as one of the first activities we do early in the year.
Learning with Ms. Medrano 