This is a short activity I developed to help my students interpret Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS). Students rank unknown compounds from least safe to most safe, and the compounds' identities are revealed. The class discusses other factors to consider in evaluating the safety of an experiment. The "MSDS activity" word document contains a more full description.
Some interactive Jmol models of some common crystal systems and some geological systems.
Students read Oliver Sacks' autobiography "Uncle Tungsten" and take turns writing chapter summaries and discussion questions. Some chapters focus on Sacks' childhood chemical explorations and others on the historical period of his youth. In the summary, students are asked to either explain the chemistry in contemporary terms OR explain the context (what was going on in the world) of the historical pieces.
This paper describes the synthesis and characterization of a Cr(I) dimer with a very short Cr-Cr distance. Computational studies support fivefold bonding between the chromium atoms. I have used this paper to introduce metal-metal multiple bonds and discuss the molecular orbital interactions of homonuclear diatomics including d-orbitals. More generally, it is a nice example to stimulate the discussion of what constitutes a bond and the various interpretations of bond order.
This is a beginning-of-semester "warm up." The goals are to help students reconnect to their prior knowledge about atomic orbitals and to introduce and practice the fundamentals of good small group work.
Students construct models of ionic solids in class and answer a series of questions about the structures.
The students write a 2-page chemistry autobiography at the beginning of the semester in order to reflect on their previous chemistry learning experiences, express their expectations for the class, and help me get to know them.