K-BLOG 3: Water is Strange: Part 2 Abracadabra Water Tricks

November 6, 2022 Richard Kurtz

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The Challenge:

Sometimes when we teach about the remarkable properties of water based on it being polar which enables hydrogen bonding, we lose students. How do we get students to really comprehend the concepts of water chemistry? This would allow them to see its place in their lives, so they can teach others, too.

A Solution:

Interacting with and observing the properties of water and how those properties enter everyday life is better for student learning then reading about those properties and their causes in a textbook. Make water chemistry real, get the students to do the demos; let them be creative and make the magic happen in your classroom. Teachers let go and let your students teach you and each other. Most water demonstrations that help explain water’s unique properties are safe, simple and do not require specialized equipment. Many of the materials needed are inexpensive and can be found at home or in school. The Internet is full of information, pictures and videos of demonstration that students can do. Let your students look for these online and assign individuals or groups to plan and do a class demonstration that illustrates a specific water property. They should of course explain the chemistry behind the demonstration. Have students sign up to do a specific demonstration to teach you and their fellow students.

Resources:

These videos have interesting sets of experiments/demonstrations that illustrate the properties of water. Your students will be able to find them on their own. Some of the properties included in these videos are:

Surface tension

Adhesion

Cohesion

Polarity

Capillary Action

Density and Freezing Point (Ice)

High specific heat

Freezing (ice)

Heat of Vaporization

Specific Heat Capacity

Solubility

Boiling point