Structure and properties of materials

Gas Laws / Equilibrium (age 16-18)

Using a spreadsheet you can change the variables in the Ideal Gas Law and see graphs reflect that change. Or you can solve equilibrium problems - such as finding out the equilibrium constant from initial and equilibrium concentrations. The two chemistry examples on Science Spreadsheets seem useful - although they are also in Clarisworks spreadsheet format. (Help! Can anyone convert this?)

Assorted, fun activities as a taste of a career in chemistry (age 9+)

Join a chemist and find out how to melt styrofoam, make plastic jewelery and 'silly clay'. Find out too why, when it came to a career 'Her Choice Was Chemistry'.

Why does styrofoam collapse when mixed with acetone?
Why should something become firm when it turns into a polymer?
What happens to thermoplastics when you heat and cool them?

Periodic Table (age 14-16)

Make a graph of the atomic number verses the atomic mass.

Plot on a world map the location of the discovery site of each element.

Use a timeline to show the discovery date of each element.

Trace the language history of the names of five of the elements.

Write a biographical sketch of the discoverer of the most common element in the human body.

Make a bar graph showing the value ($/gram) of each element.

Identify the two elements MOST active and the two elements least active. Compare and contrast their properties.

Identify the two elements that are used most often in industrial situations.

Identify the two elements most useful in the medical field.

Identify the element that would have the most economic impact if the natural reserves were consumed.

Visit the Periodic Table Online OR Periodic Table Online and answer these questions culled from the site.

Chemical kinetics (age 16-18)

Teachers may want to see this tutorial on chemical kinetics designed for our NEAB modular A-level. Advanced chemistry notes

Exploring the structure of materials (age 15-18)

See Microworlds - exploring the structure of materials.for some interesting case studies about some special materials. For example see Kevlar - the wonder material to find a nicely structured tutorial essentially about polymers:

Find three things that Kevlar is used for.
Why would a chain structure be important to strength?
What is the connection between spaghetti and Kevlar?
Which polymers contain aromatic groups? Which contain amides? Which contain both?
How are the polymer strands of Kevlar held together?
How does synchrotron light help us understand Kevlar?
How did the element selenium wipe out a large portion of herons? How did the scientists discover selenium as the cause?
Is carbon hard or soft? See Exploring the material world in this same section.
The advanced light source solve mysteries of materials. What is it?

Assorted, fun activities as a taste of a career in chemistry (age 10-12)

Join a chemist and find out how to melt styrofoam, make plastic jewelery and ‘silly clay’. Find out too why, when it came to a career Her choice was chemistry’

Why does styrofoam collapse when mixed with acetone?

Why should something become firm when it turns into a polymer?

What happens to thermoplastics when you heat and cool them?

Analytical chemistry (Age 17+)

The Chemistry Hypermedia Project is a set of teaching notes written for the Internet. They cover analytical chemistry, physical chemistry and inorganic chemistry. This undergraduate area is by no means complete, let us know what you what think of this approach.

Element information (age 12-16)

For quite readable information on the uses, sources, cost and even the history of each of the elements see the which also includes basic atomic information. Visit the Los Alamos National Labs Periodic Table and answer these questions:

What is unique about the density of Lithium metal?
How is the element Lithium produced?
What does lithium do to the colour of a flame?
Why is the metal good for use in batteries?

Element information (age 15-18)

If you need a single piece of information - such as the toxicity, abundance, or reflectivity of an element see the Periodic Table of the Elements and try this:

Click on potassium, note its melting point then…
Click on down arrow to go below potassium and note the melting point of the other elements in this group. How does the melting point change as you go down the group?
Return to potassium. Click right arrow to go to Calcium and note the melting points of the other elements in this period. How does the melting point change as you go across the period?
Click on potassium, and under Thermal properties, click on Graphic representation of melting point. Choose 'colour-coded table' and describe any patterns in melting point that you notice.
Go back to Thermal properties and click on Graphic representation of thermal conductivity.

Hazardous chemicals (age 16+)

Excellent: The Hazardous Chemical Database lets you search records of 1300 hazardous chemicals and find physical data such as their specific gravity, melting point and flash point. You can also find a safety guide about a chemical. Go to the Hazardous Chemical Database at the University of Akron and then:

Find the name of any chemicals with the formula C6H6.
Find the specific gravity, melting point and flash point of Benzene?
Say what these properties tell you about Benzene - for example, would it sink or float in water?
Find out what precautions are necessary for dealing with Benzene?

Radioactive decay (age 16+)

Radon is a big issue in certain parts of the world - just glance at the amount of information at the US Geological Society site. Radon is a dangerous material which leaks from the ground into our homes and can lead to serious illnesses. Visit the link below and then write a leaflet explaining the problem to a concerned young scientist. The questions below will help you to cover the main points. To learn about the chemistry of radon see Radon information from the US Geological Society

What is Radon and what is its physical state?
Where does it come from?
How does Radon find its way into our homes?
Why are we concerned about radon?
A number of US maps are available here, why do you think they have been prepared?
What types of radiation come from Radon and Uranium?
Explain how Radon is formed, saying what happens inside the atom.

Physical chemistry (Age 17+)

Information about physical chemistry topics such as quantum mechanics, air pollution, x-ray diffraction, molecular dynamics, statistical mechanics, spectroscopy. Presented as a series of slides, here you'll find multimedia teaching materials with colour and animation. For someone, this is just what they're looking for. See Physical Chemistry - The Wilson Group

Simulation for structural properties of materials

Demonstrates graphs for the structural properties of materials. It allows the acessor to choose the differnt materials used, dimensions and load.The page then runs a simulation of the bending of the beam. Possible uses : to support coursework, investigations on diving boards, aeroplane wings,etc.

From: Anna Barrow and Anna Giltinan