CLAW At-Home Experiment: Crystallization of Borax
At a Glance
Discipline
- STEM
- Chemistry
Instructional Level
- College & CEGEP
- University
Tasks in Workflow
Social Plane(s)
- Individual
Type of Tasks
- Analyzing
- Experimenting & conducting inquiry
Technical Details
Class size
- Medium (50-99)
Time
- Single class period (< 90 mins)
Instructional Purpose
- Exploration & inquiry
Overview
In this CLAW (Chemistry Laboratory Alternative Work) At-Home experiment, students will perform an experiment using household chemicals and materials. It was designed as a substitute for in-person laboratories, usually performed at the college level, during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, it may also be used as an experiment that students can carry out in the lab or for student projects.
Instructional Objectives
The objective of this at-home chemistry experiment is to qualitatively introduce the purifying technique of crystallization.
Workflow & Materials
Activity Workflow
Contributor's Notes
Benefits
Challenges
Tips
Benefits
- This hands-on home experiment is an engaging way to manipulate and measure chemical compounds outside an official laboratory set-up;
- Experimental data recorded by the students can be analyzed to write a complete lab report.
Challenges
- It may be difficult to estimate the time needed for students to complete this activity at home.
- Gathering of chemicals and material usually carried out by a technician must be done by each student.
Tips
The list of chemicals and material necessary for the experiment should be given to students as soon as possible to make sure they have the time to purchase and gather the needed items.
Applied Strategies
Published: 29/03/2021
Copyright: © 2024 Leung and Brouillette. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication on this website is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.