AP Chemistry students generate chemical reactions in lab

On Thursday, August 27, students in Mrs. Worrel’s Advanced Placement Chemistry class put their laboratory skills to the test in order to learn about chemical reactions.  Students performed eight different chemical reactions involving different elements and their reaction to other elements.  Many of the students’ favorite part was seeing the final reaction that involved placing a block of pure Sodium in an evaporating dish filled with water.  To many students’ surprise, when the Sodium, an extremely reactive metal came in contact with the water, it caused sparks to fly from the dish and then exploded under the fume hood.

Sam Collie, who volunteered to place the sodium in the water, especially enjoyed the sodium’s reaction with the water, stating, “I suppose my favorite part of the lab was seeing the huge explosive reaction caused by just adding water to one element.  It really taught me the power that is involved in chemical reactions.”

Corynn Hebert also enjoyed the lab, stating that she really learned a lot from the reactions and that it was fun to actually perform the labs rather than just write down the equations.

The lab was a great way for helping students learn how chemical reactions work and how to write the chemical equation for the reaction by balancing it properly with the correct symbols. The lab also gave students the opportunity to learn first-hand by interacting in the classroom to learn the objective.

Click here to view more photos from this lab.

Story by: Hannah Janus; Photo by: Hannah Janus