Equilibrium reactions are those that are dynamic: the reaction can shift to form more reactants or more products depending on the physical or chemical conditions present. They were discovered and described empirically, but have a thermodynamic basis in the Gibbs Energy of the reaction. A reaction at equilibrium has both reactants and products present, and the rate of formation of products is equal to the rate of formation of reactants. A common application of equilibrium is the chemistry of aqueous acids. Acid strength is measured by the pH scale.

This in-class activity is designed to follow the linked lecture/demonstration on soapmaking. The soaps cure enough to be handled in 48 hours if kept warm, and the students can feel the difference in the canola/coconut oil soaps.

The calcuations go through the major reactions, functional groups, and physical properties of soap molecules, and ends with the calculation of molecular weight for a mixture of substances. This could be related to a later polymer unit.

In this activity, a pair of students are show an object or molecule and are asked to determine the point group before their competitor.

Groups of 3-4 students follow this handout to create models of the 7 crystal systems and the 14 Bravais lattices using DOTS gumdrops, bamboo skewers and wood toothpicks. 

The slides provide review questions for a senior-level treatment of the spectroscopy and reactivity of metal carbonyl complexes. These are intended to be dispersed through one to three class periods.

The first slide is a review of electron counting and the 18-electron rule.

The second slide quizzes the students on the relationship between the electron-density of the metal center and the strength of the C-O bonds in the carbonyl ligands. It is intended to be given after a discussion of how IR can be used to assess the strength of M-C and C-O bonds in the compounds.