The easiest experiment in chemistry. Acetone and copper wire

Did you know that May 29 is Chemist's Day? Which of us in childhood did not dream of creating peculiar magic, amazing chemical experiments? It's time to turn your dreams into reality! Read on and we will tell you how to have fun Chemist Day 2017, as well as what chemistry experiments for kids are easy to do at home.

home volcano

If you are no longer attracted, then ... Want to see a volcanic eruption? Try making it at home! To arrange a chemical experiment "volcano" you will need soda, vinegar, food coloring, a plastic cup, a glass of warm water.

Pour 2-3 tablespoons of table soda into a plastic cup, add ¼ cup of warm water and a little food coloring, preferably red. Then add ¼ of vinegar and watch the "eruption" of the volcano.

Rose and ammonia

A very interesting and original chemical experiment with plants can be viewed on a video from YouTube:

self-inflating balloon

Do you want to conduct safe chemistry experiments for children? Then you will definitely like the balloon experiment. Prepare in advance: a plastic bottle, baking soda, a balloon and vinegar.

Pour 1 teaspoon of baking soda inside the ball. Pour ½ cup of vinegar into the bottle, then put the ball on the neck of the bottle and make sure that the soda gets into the vinegar. As a result of a violent chemical reaction, which is accompanied by the active release of carbon dioxide, the balloon will begin to inflate.

pharaoh snake

For the experiment you will need: calcium gluconate tablets, dry fuel, matches or a gas burner. See the YouTube video for the steps:

color magic

Do you want to surprise a child? Rather, conduct chemical experiments with color! You will need the following available ingredients: starch, iodine, a transparent container.

Mix white starch and brown iodine in a container. As a result, you will get an amazing mixture of blue.

We grow a snake

The most interesting home chemistry experiments can be done using available ingredients. To create a snake, you will need: a plate, river sand, powdered sugar, ethyl alcohol, a lighter or burner, baking soda.

Pour a sand slide onto a plate and soak it with alcohol. In the top of the slide, make a recess where you carefully add powdered sugar and soda. Now we set fire to the sand hill and observe. After a couple of minutes, a dark wriggling ribbon will begin to grow from the top of the hill, which resembles a snake.

How to conduct chemical experiments with an explosion, see the following video from Youtube:

Municipal budgetary educational institution

"Secondary school No. 35", Bryansk

Entertaining experiments in chemistry

Developed

chemistry teacher of the highest category

Velicheva Tamara Alexandrovna

When conducting experiments, it is necessary to observe safety precautions, skillfully handle substances, utensils and appliances. These experiments do not require complex equipment and expensive reagents, and their effect on the audience is enormous.

"Golden" nail.

Pour 10-15 ml of copper sulfate solution into a test tube and add a few drops of sulfuric acid. An iron nail is dipped into the solution for 5-10 seconds. A red coating of metallic copper appears on the surface of the nail. To give shine, the nail is rubbed with filter paper.

Pharaoh snakes.

Crushed dry fuel is placed on the asbestos mesh. Norsulfazole tablets are placed around the top of the hill at the same distance from each other. During the demonstration of the experiment, the top of the hill is set on fire with a match. During the experiment, it is monitored that three independent “snakes” are formed from three norsulfazole tablets. To prevent sticking of the reaction products into one "snake", it is necessary to correct the resulting "snakes" with a splinter.

Bank explosion.

For the experiment, they take a can of coffee (without a lid) with a capacity of 600-800 ml and punch a small hole in the bottom. The jar is placed on the table upside down and, having closed the hole with a damp piece of paper, a gas outlet tube from Kiryushkin's device for filling with hydrogen is brought from below ( the jar is filled with hydrogen for 30 seconds). Then the tube is removed, and the gas is ignited with a long splinter through the hole in the bottom of the jar. At first, the gas burns quietly, and then the buzz begins and an explosion occurs. The jar bounces high up and flames burst out. The explosion occurs because an explosive mixture has formed in the bank.

"Dance of the Butterflies".

For experience, “butterflies” are made in advance. The wings are cut out of tissue paper and glued to the body (fragments of a match or toothpick) for greater stability in flight.

A wide-mouthed jar is prepared, hermetically sealed with a stopper, into which a funnel is inserted. The diameter of the funnel at the top should be no more than 10 cm. Acetic acid CH 3 COOH is poured into the jar so much that the lower end of the funnel does not reach the surface of the acid by about 1 cm. Then, several tablets of sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO 3) are thrown through a funnel into a jar of acid, and the "butterflies" are placed in a funnel. They begin to "dance" in the air.

"Butterflies" are kept in the air by a jet of carbon dioxide formed as a result of a chemical reaction between sodium bicarbonate and acetic acid:

NaHCO 3 + CH 3 COOH \u003d CH 3 COONa + CO 2 + H 2 O

Lead coat.

A human figure is cut out of a thin zinc plate, cleaned well and lowered into a glass with a solution of tin chloride SnCl 2 . A reaction begins, as a result of which the more active zinc displaces the less active tin from the solution:

Zn + SnCl 2 = ZnCl 2 + Sn

The zinc figurine begins to be covered with shiny needles.

Fire cloud.

Flour is sifted through a frequent sieve and flour dust is collected, which settles far along the sides of the sieve. It dries well. Then two full teaspoons of flour dust are introduced into a glass tube, closer to the middle, and shake it a little along the length of the tube by 20-25 cm.

Then the dust is strongly blown over the flame of an alcohol lamp placed on a demonstration table (the distance between the end of the tube and the alcohol lamp should be about one meter).

A "fiery" cloud is formed.

"Star Rain.

Take three teaspoons of iron powder, the same amount of pounded charcoal. All this is mixed and poured into a crucible. It is fixed in a tripod and heated on a spirit lamp. Soon the "starry" rain begins.

These incandescent particles are ejected from the crucible by carbon dioxide formed during the combustion of coal.

Changing the color of flowers.

In a large battery glass, a mixture is prepared from three parts of diethyl ether C 2 H 5 ─ O ─ C 2 H 5 and one part (by volume) of a strong solution of ammonia NH 3 ( there should be no fire nearby). Ether is added in order to facilitate the penetration of ammonia into the cells of the flower petal.

Individual flowers or a bunch of flowers are dipped into an ether-ammonia solution. This will change their color. Red, blue and purple flowers will turn green, white (white rose, chamomile) will turn dark, yellow will retain their natural color. The changed color is preserved by flowers for several hours, after which it turns into natural.

This is due to the fact that the color of fresh flower petals is caused by natural organic dyes, which have indicator properties and change their color in an alkaline (ammonia) environment.

List of used literature:

Shulgin G.B. This fascinating chemistry. M. Chemistry, 1984.

Shkurko M.I. Entertaining experiments in chemistry. Minsk. Narodnaya Asveta, 1968.

Aleksinsky V.N. Entertaining experiments in chemistry. A guide for the teacher. M. Education, 1980.

A chemist is a very interesting and multifaceted profession, uniting many different specialists under its wing: chemists, chemical technologists, analytical chemists, petrochemists, chemistry teachers, pharmacists and many others. We decided together with them to celebrate the upcoming Chemist Day 2017, so we chose some interesting and impressive experiments in the field under consideration, which even those who are as far from the profession of a chemist as far as possible can repeat. The best chemistry experiments at home - read, watch and remember!

When is Chemist's Day celebrated?

Before we begin to consider our chemical experiments, let us clarify that the Chemist's Day is traditionally celebrated on the territory of the states of the post-Soviet space at the very end of spring, namely, on the last Sunday of May. This means that the date is not fixed: for example, in 2017 Chemist's Day is celebrated on May 28th. And if you work in the chemical industry, or study a specialty from this area, or are otherwise directly related to chemistry on duty, then you have every right to join the celebration on this day.

Chemical experiments at home

And now let's get down to the main thing, and we begin to perform interesting chemical experiments: it is best to do this together with young children, who will definitely perceive what is happening as a magic trick. Moreover, we tried to select such chemical experiments, the reagents for which can be easily obtained at a pharmacy or a store.

Experience No. 1 - Chemical traffic light

Let's start with a very simple and beautiful experiment, which received such a name by no means in vain, because the liquid participating in the experiment will change its color just to the colors of the traffic light - red, yellow and green.

You will need:

indigo carmine;
glucose;
caustic soda;
water;
2 clear glass containers.

Don't let the names of some of the ingredients scare you - you can easily buy glucose in tablets at a pharmacy, indigo carmine is sold in stores as a food coloring, and you can find caustic soda in a hardware store. It is better to take containers tall, with a wide base and a narrower neck, for example, flasks, so that it is more convenient to shake them.

But what is interesting about chemical experiments - there is an explanation for everything:

By mixing glucose with caustic soda, i.e. sodium hydroxide, we obtained an alkaline solution of glucose. Then, mixing it with a solution of indigo carmine, we oxidize the liquid with oxygen, with which it was saturated during the transfusion from the flask - this is the reason for the appearance of green color. Further, glucose begins to work as a reducing agent, gradually changing color to yellow. But by shaking the flask, we again saturate the liquid with oxygen, allowing the chemical reaction to go through this circle again.

How interesting it looks live, you will get an idea from this short video:

Experience No. 2 - A universal indicator of acidity from cabbage

Children love interesting chemical experiments with colorful liquids, it's no secret. But we, as adults, responsibly declare that such chemical experiments look very spectacular and curious. Therefore, we advise you to conduct another "color" experiment at home - a demonstration of the amazing properties of red cabbage. It, like many other vegetables and fruits, contains anthocyanins - natural dyes-indicators that change their color depending on the pH level - i.e. the degree of acidity of the environment. This property of cabbage is useful to us in order to obtain further multi-colored solutions.

What we need:

1/4 red cabbage;
lemon juice;
baking soda solution;
vinegar;
sugar solution;
drink type "Sprite";
disinfectant;
bleach;
water;
8 flasks or glasses.

Many substances on this list are quite dangerous, so be careful when doing simple chemistry experiments at home, wear gloves, goggles if possible. And do not let children get too close - they can knock over the reagents or the final contents of the colored cones, even want to try them, which should not be allowed.

Let's get started:

And how do these chemical experiments explain the color changes?

The fact is that light falls on all objects that we see - and it contains all the colors of the rainbow. Moreover, each color in the spectrum beam has its own wavelength, and molecules of different shapes, in turn, reflect and absorb these waves. The wave that is reflected from the molecule is the one that we see, and this determines what color we perceive - because other waves are simply absorbed. And depending on what substance we add to the indicator, it begins to reflect only rays of a certain color. Nothing complicated!

A slightly different version of this chemical experiment, with fewer reagents, see the video:

Experience number 3 - Dancing jelly worms

We continue to do chemical experiments at home - and we will conduct the third experiment on all our favorite jelly sweets in the form of worms. Even adults will find it funny, and children will be completely delighted.

Take the following ingredients:

a handful of jelly worms;
vinegar essence;
ordinary water;
baking soda;
glasses - 2 pcs.

When choosing the right candies, opt for smooth gooey worms, without sugar sprinkles. So that they are not heavy and move more easily, cut each candy lengthwise into two halves. So, we begin interesting chemical experiments:

Make a solution of warm water and 3 tablespoons of baking soda in one glass.
Put the worms in there and hold them there for about fifteen minutes.
Fill another deep glass with essence. Now you can slowly throw the jelly into the vinegar, watching how they begin to move up and down, which in some ways looks like a dance:

Why is this happening?

It's simple: baking soda, in which the worms are soaked for a quarter of an hour, is sodium bicarbonate, and the essence is an 80% solution of acetic acid. When they react, water, carbon dioxide in the form of small bubbles, and the sodium salt of acetic acid are formed. It is carbon dioxide in the form of bubbles that surrounds the worm, rises up, and then falls when they burst. But the process is still going on, causing the candy to rise on the resulting bubbles and descend until it is complete.

And if you are seriously interested in chemistry, and want Chemist's Day to become your professional holiday in the future, then you will probably be curious to watch the following video, which details the typical everyday life of chemistry students and their exciting educational and scientific activities:

Take it, tell your friends!

Read also on our website:

Entertaining physics in our presentation will tell you why in nature there cannot be two identical snowflakes and why the driver of an electric locomotive backs up before starting off, where the largest reserves of water are located and what invention of Pythagoras helps fight alcoholism.

Evening of entertaining chemistry

When preparing a chemical evening, careful preparation of the teacher for conducting experiments is required.

The evening should be preceded by long, careful work with students, and one student should not be assigned more than two experiments.

The purpose of the chemistry evening- repeat the knowledge gained, deepen students' interest in chemistry and instill in them practical skills in developing and implementing experiments.

Description of the main stages of the evening of entertaining chemistry

I. Introductory speech of the teacher on the topic "The role of chemistry in the life of society."

II. Entertaining experiments in chemistry.

Leading (the role of the leader is performed by one of the students of the 10-11th grade):

Today we are having an evening of entertaining chemistry. Your task is to carefully follow the chemical experiments and try to explain them. And so, we begin! Experience No. 1: "Volcano".

Experience number 1. Description:

A participant in the evening pours powdered ammonium dichromate (in the form of a slide) onto an asbestos net, puts several heads of matches on the upper part of the slide and sets them on fire with a splinter.

Note: The volcano will look even more spectacular if you add a little powdered magnesium to the ammonium dichromate. Mix the components of the mixture immediately, because. magnesium burns vigorously and being in one place causes the scattering of hot particles.

The essence of the experiment is the exothermic decomposition of ammonium dichromate under local heating.

There is no smoke without fire, says an old Russian proverb. It turns out that with the help of chemistry you can get smoke without fire. And so, attention!

Experience number 2. Description:

The participant of the evening takes two glass rods, on which a little cotton wool is wound, and wets them: one in concentrated nitric (or hydrochloric) acid, the other in an aqueous 25% ammonia solution. Sticks should be brought to each other. White smoke rises from the sticks.

The essence of the experience is the formation of nitrate (chloride) ammonium.

And now we present to your attention the following experience - “Shooting Paper”.

Experience number 3. Description:

The participant of the evening takes out pieces of paper on a sheet of plywood, touches them with a glass rod. When you touch each leaf, a shot is heard.

Note: narrow strips of filter paper are cut in advance and moistened in a solution of iodine in ammonia. After that, the strips are laid out on a sheet of plywood and left to dry until the evening. The shot is the stronger, the better the paper is impregnated with the solution and the more concentrated the solution of nitrogen iodide was.

The essence of the experiment is the exothermic decomposition of the fragile compound NI3*NH3.

I have an egg. Which one of you guys will peel it without breaking the shells?

Experience number 4. Description:

The participant of the evening places the egg in a crystallizer with a solution of hydrochloric (or acetic) acid. After a while, it pulls out an egg covered only with a shell membrane.

The essence of the experience is that the composition of the shell mainly includes calcium carbonate. In hydrochloric (acetic) acid, it turns into soluble calcium chloride (calcium acetate).

Guys, I have a figure of a man made of zinc in my hands. Let's dress him up.

Experience number 5. Description:

The participant of the evening lowers the figurine into a 10% lead acetate solution. The figurine is covered with a fluffy layer of lead crystals, reminiscent of fur clothing.

The essence of the experiment is that a more active metal displaces a less active metal from salt solutions.

Guys, is it possible to burn sugar without the help of fire? Let's check!

Experience number 6. Description:

The participant of the evening pours icing sugar (30 g) into a glass placed on a saucer, pours 26 ml of concentrated sulfuric acid into the same place and stirs the mixture with a glass rod. After 1-1.5 minutes, the mixture in the glass darkens, swells and rises above the edges of the glass in the form of a loose mass.

The essence of the experiment is that sulfuric acid removes water from sugar molecules, oxidizes carbon into carbon dioxide, and at the same time sulfur dioxide is formed. The released gases push the mass out of the glass.

What methods of making fire do you know?

Examples are given from the audience.

Let's try to do without these funds.

Experience number 7. Description:

A participant in the evening pours potassium permanganate (6 g) ground into powder on a piece of tin (or a tile) and drops glycerin on it from a pipette. After a while, a fire appears.

The essence of the experiment is that as a result of the reaction, atomic oxygen is released and glycerol ignites.

Other participant of the evening:

I will also get fire without matches, only in a different way.

Experience number 8. Description:

A participant in the evening sprinkles a small amount of potassium permanganate crystals on a brick and drips concentrated sulfuric acid on it. Around this mixture, he folds thin chips in the form of a fire, but so that they do not touch the mixture. Then he wets a small piece of cotton wool with alcohol and, holding his hand over the fire, squeezes a few drops of alcohol out of the cotton so that they fall on the mixture. The fire instantly lights up.

The essence of the experience is the vigorous oxidation of alcohol by oxygen, which is released during the interaction of sulfuric acid with potassium permanganate. The heat released during this reaction ignites the fire.

And now amazing lights!

Experience number 9. Description:

The participant of the evening puts cotton swabs moistened with ethyl alcohol into porcelain cups. On the surface of the tampons, he pours the following salts: sodium chloride, strontium nitrate (or lithium nitrate), potassium chloride, barium nitrate (or boric acid). On a piece of glass, the participant prepares a mixture (slurry) of potassium permanganate and concentrated sulfuric acid. He takes some of this mass with a glass rod and touches the surface of the tampons. Tampons flash and burn in different colors: yellow, red, purple, green.

The essence of the experience is that alkali and alkaline earth metal ions color the flame in different colors.

Dear children, I am so tired and hungry that I ask you to allow me to eat a little.

Experience number 10. Description:

The host addresses the participant of the evening:

Give me some tea and biscuits, please.

The participant of the evening gives the host a glass of tea and a white cracker.

The host moistens the cracker in tea - the cracker turns blue.

Leading :

Disgrace, you almost poisoned me!

Participant of the evening:

Excuse me, I must have mixed up the glasses.

The essence of the experiment - in the glass was a solution of iodine. The starch in the bread turned blue.

Guys, I received a letter, but there was a blank sheet of paper in the envelope. Who can help me find out what's wrong?

Experience number 11. Description:

A student from the audience (prepared in advance) touches a smoldering splinter to a pencil mark on a sheet of paper. The paper along the line of the drawing slowly burns out and the light, moving along the contour of the image, outlines it (the drawing can be arbitrary).

The essence of the experience is that the paper burns due to the oxygen of the saltpeter crystallized in its thickness.

Note: a drawing is preliminarily applied to a sheet of paper with a strong solution of potassium nitrate. It must be applied in one continuous line without intersections. From the outline of the drawing with the same solution, draw a line to the edge of the paper, marking its end with a pencil. When the paper dries, the pattern will become invisible.

Well, now, guys, let's move on to the second part of our evening. Chemical games!

III. Team games.

Participants of the evening are invited to break into groups. Each group takes part in the proposed game.

Game number 1. Chemical lotto.

The formulas of chemicals are written on the cards, laid out as in a regular loto, and the names of these substances are written on cardboard squares. The group members are given cards, and one of them pulls out the squares and names the substances. The winner is the member of the group who first closes all the fields of the card.

Game number 2. Chemical quiz.

A rope is stretched between the backs of two chairs. Sweets are tied to it on strings, to which pieces of paper with questions are attached. Group members take turns cutting candy with scissors. The player becomes the owner of the candy after answering the question attached to it.

The group members form a circle. They have chemical symbols and numbers in their hands. Two of the players are in the middle of the circle. On command, they make up the chemical formula of substances from the signs and numbers held by the other players. The participant who completes the formula the fastest wins.

The group members are divided into two teams. They are given cards with chemical formulas and numbers. They must write a chemical equation. The team that completes the equation first wins.

The evening ends with the presentation of prizes to the most active participants.

Such a complex but interesting science as chemistry always causes an ambiguous reaction among schoolchildren. The children are interested in experiments, as a result of which substances of bright colors are obtained, gases are released or precipitation occurs. But only a few of them like to write complex equations of chemical processes.

The Importance of Entertaining Experiences

According to modern federal standards in general education schools, such a subject of the program as chemistry was also not left without attention.

As part of the study of complex transformations of substances and solving practical problems, the young chemist hones his skills in practice. It is in the course of unusual experiments that the teacher forms an interest in the subject in his pupils. But in ordinary lessons, it is difficult for a teacher to find enough free time for non-standard experiments, and there is simply no time for children to conduct them.

To remedy this, additional elective and elective courses were invented. By the way, many children who are fond of chemistry in grades 8-9 become doctors, pharmacists, scientists in the future, because in such classes a young chemist gets the opportunity to independently conduct experiments and draw conclusions from them.

What courses are associated with entertaining chemistry experiments?

In the old days, chemistry for children was available only from the 8th grade. No special courses or extracurricular activities in the field of chemistry were offered to children. In fact, there was simply no work with gifted children in chemistry, which had a negative impact on the attitude of schoolchildren to this discipline. The guys were afraid and did not understand complex chemical reactions, they made mistakes in writing ionic equations.

In connection with the reform of the modern education system, the situation has changed. Now in educational institutions are offered in the lower grades. The children are happy to do the tasks that the teacher offers them, learn to draw conclusions.

Optional courses related to chemistry help high school students gain skills in working with laboratory equipment, and those designed for younger students contain vivid, demonstrative chemical experiments. For example, children study the properties of milk, get acquainted with those substances that are obtained when it is sour.

Experiments with water

Entertaining chemistry for children is interesting when, during the experiment, they see an unusual result: gas evolution, bright color, unusual sediment. A substance such as water is considered ideal for conducting a variety of entertaining chemical experiments for schoolchildren.

For example, chemistry for children of 7 years old may begin with an acquaintance with its properties. The teacher tells the children that most of our planet is covered with water. The teacher also informs the pupils that in a watermelon it is more than 90 percent, and in a person - about 65-70%. Having told schoolchildren about how important water is for humans, we can offer them some interesting experiments. At the same time, it is worth emphasizing the “magic” of water in order to intrigue schoolchildren.

By the way, in this case, the standard set of chemistry for children does not involve any expensive equipment - it is quite possible to limit yourself to available devices and materials.

Experience "Ice Needle"

Let's give an example of such a simple and also interesting experiment with water. This is a building of ice sculpture - "needles". For the experiment you will need:

water;
salt;
ice cubes.

The duration of the experiment is 2 hours, so such an experiment cannot be carried out in a regular lesson. First you need to pour water into the ice mold, put in the freezer. After 1-2 hours, after the water turns into ice, entertaining chemistry can continue. For the experience, you will need 40-50 ready-made ice cubes.

First, the children must arrange 18 cubes on the table in the form of a square, leaving an empty space in the center. Then, after sprinkling them with table salt, they are carefully applied to each other, thus gluing together.

Gradually, all the cubes are connected, and as a result, a thick and long “needle” of ice is obtained. To make it, 2 teaspoons of table salt and 50 small pieces of ice are enough.

It is possible, by tinting the water, to make the ice sculptures multi-colored. And as a result of such a simple experience, chemistry for children of 9 years old becomes an understandable and exciting science. You can experiment by gluing ice cubes in the form of a pyramid or rhombus.

Experiment "Tornado"

This experiment will not require special materials, reagents and tools. The guys will be able to make it in 10-15 minutes. For the experiment, stock up:

a plastic transparent bottle with a cap;
water;
dishwashing detergent;
sequins.

The bottle must be filled 2/3 with plain water. Then add 1-2 drops of dishwashing detergent to it. After 5-10 seconds, pour a couple of pinches of sparkles into the bottle. Tighten the cap tightly, turn the bottle upside down, holding the neck, and twist clockwise. Then we stop and look at the resulting vortex. Until the moment the "tornado" works, you will have to scroll the bottle 3-4 times.

Why does a "tornado" appear in an ordinary bottle?

When a child makes circular movements, a whirlwind similar to a tornado appears. The rotation of water around the center occurs due to the action of centrifugal force. The teacher tells the children about how terrible tornadoes are in nature.

Such an experience is absolutely safe, but after it, chemistry for children becomes a truly fabulous science. To make the experiment more vivid, you can use a coloring agent, for example, potassium permanganate (potassium permanganate).

Experiment "Soap Bubbles"

Want to teach kids what fun chemistry is? Programs for children do not allow the teacher to pay due attention to experiments in the lessons, there is simply no time for this. So, let's do this optionally.

For elementary school students, this experiment will bring a lot of positive emotions, and you can do it in a few minutes. We will need:

liquid soap;
jar;
water;
thin wire.

In a jar, mix one part liquid soap with six parts water. We bend the end of a small piece of wire in the form of a ring, lower it into the soap mixture, carefully pull it out and blow it out of the mold with a beautiful soap bubble of our own making.

Only wire that does not have a nylon layer is suitable for this experiment. Otherwise, children will not be able to blow soap bubbles.

In order to make it more interesting for the guys, you can add food coloring to the soap solution. You can arrange soap competitions between schoolchildren, then chemistry for children will become a real holiday. The teacher thus introduces the children to the concept of solutions, solubility and explains the reasons for the appearance of bubbles.

Entertaining experience "Water from plants"

To begin with, the teacher explains how important water is for cells in living organisms. It is with the help of it that the transport of nutrients occurs. The teacher notes that in case of insufficient amount of water in the body, all living things die.

For the experiment you will need:

spirit lamp;
test tubes;
green leaves;
test tube holder;
copper sulfate (2);
beaker.

This experiment will take 1.5-2 hours, but as a result, chemistry for children will be a manifestation of a miracle, a symbol of magic.

Green leaves are placed in a test tube, fixed in the holder. In the flame of an alcohol lamp, you need to heat the entire test tube 2-3 times, and then do this only with the part where the green leaves are.

The glass should be placed so that the gaseous substances released in the test tube fall into it. As soon as the heating is completed, to a drop of the liquid obtained inside the glass, add grains of white anhydrous copper sulfate. Gradually, the white color disappears, and copper sulfate becomes blue or blue.

This experience leads children to complete delight, because the color of substances changes before their eyes. At the end of the experiment, the teacher tells the children about such a property as hygroscopicity. It is due to its ability to absorb water vapor (moisture) that white copper sulfate changes its color to blue.

Experiment "Magic Wand"

This experiment is suitable for an introductory lesson in an elective course in chemistry. First, you need to make a star-shaped blank from it and soak it in a solution of phenolphthalein (indicator).

During the experiment itself, the star attached to the "magic wand" is first immersed in an alkali solution (for example, in a solution of sodium hydroxide). Children see how in a matter of seconds her color changes and a bright crimson color appears. Next, the colored form is placed in an acid solution (for the experiment, the use of a hydrochloric acid solution would be optimal), and the crimson color disappears - the asterisk becomes colorless again.

If the experiment is carried out for kids, during the experiment the teacher tells a "chemical fairy tale". For example, the hero of a fairy tale can be an inquisitive mouse who wanted to know why there are so many bright colors in a magical land. For students in grades 8-9, the teacher introduces the concept of "indicator" and notes which indicators can determine the acidic environment, and which substances are needed to determine the alkaline environment of solutions.

The Genie in the Bottle Experience

This experiment is demonstrated by the teacher himself, using a special fume hood. The experience is based on the specific properties of concentrated nitric acid. Unlike many acids, concentrated nitric acid is able to enter into chemical interaction with metals located after hydrogen (with the exception of platinum, gold).

Pour it into a test tube and add a piece of copper wire there. Under the hood, the test tube is heated, and the children observe the appearance of “red gin” vapors.

For students in grades 8-9, the teacher writes the equation of a chemical reaction, highlights the signs of its course (color change, the appearance of gas). This experience is not suitable for demonstration outside the walls of the school chemistry room. According to safety regulations, it involves the use of nitric oxide vapors (“brown gas”) are dangerous for children.

Home experiments

In order to warm up the interest of schoolchildren in chemistry, you can offer a home experiment. For example, to conduct an experiment on growing salt crystals.

The child should prepare a saturated solution of table salt. Then place a thin branch in it, and, as the water evaporates from the solution, salt crystals will “grow” on the branch.

The jar of solution must not be shaken or rotated. And when after 2 weeks the crystals grow, the stick must be very carefully removed from the solution and dried. And then, if desired, you can cover the product with a colorless varnish.

Conclusion

There is no more interesting subject in the school curriculum than chemistry. But in order for children not to be afraid of this complex science, the teacher must devote sufficient time in his work to entertaining experiments and unusual experiments.

It is the practical skills that are formed in the course of such work that will help stimulate interest in the subject. And in the lower grades, entertaining experiments are considered by the Federal State Educational Standards as an independent project and research activity.