Topic: Introductory Chemistry

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Resource	Grade Level	Media Type
Anatomy of a Firework There's more to a fireworks display than meets the eye. This interactive activity from the NOVA Web site looks at the technology behind each burst of light.	6-12	Flash Interactive
The Atom In this interactive activity from ChemThink, take a closer look at atomic structure, properties, and behaviors.	6-12	Flash Interactive
Atoms: The Space Between This video segment adapted from A Science Odyssey takes a look at the scale of the atom and the tremendous amount of space between the electrons and the nucleus. If all this empty space exists in matter, how can any substance be solid?	6-12	QuickTime Video
Build a Steroid In this interactive activity from NOVA, learn about the molecular structure of steroids. See the intermediate molecules that are part of the pathway for synthesizing cortisone from diosgenin.	9-12	Flash Interactive
The Dating Game: Radioactive Carbon In this media-rich essay from the NOVA Web site, learn about the atomic structure of radioactive carbon and how it can be used to determine the age of organic remains, such as bones and teeth.	6-12	Shockwave Document
Disappearing Milk A magician pours milk into a glass, but when he turns the glass upside down, nothing comes out. How does he do it? Discover the science behind the "magic" in this video adapted from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.	4-12	Flash Interactive
Discovering Air Our understanding about the air we breathe has changed dramatically through time. This illustrated timeline from the NOVA Web site tracks the changing thought on air and the creation of the Periodic Table of the Elements.	6-12	HTML Document
Dust Explosion In these videos adapted from the Journal of Chemical Education, observe how a material that is usually hard to ignite becomes very flammable when its particles are suspended in air.	6-12	Flash Interactive
Elements of Steel This resource from the AMERICAN EXPERIENCE Web site, which contains both an interactive activity and illustrated text, looks at the composition of different types of steel and their impact on technology.	6-12	Flash Interactive
Energy Sources This video segment produced for Teachers' Domain illustrates a variety of energy sources used to generate electricity, some of which are in use and some of which are under exploration.	3-12	QuickTime Video
Everyday Radiation How much radiation are we exposed to every day? Find out in this video segment adapted from FRONTLINE.	6-12	QuickTime Video
Fireworks! Lifting Charge In this video segment adapted from NOVA, learn how pyrotechnicians use common compounds to blast fireworks into the sky and give them shape.	6-12	QuickTime Video
Fireworks! Making Color What gives a fireworks display its brilliant blue, green, and red colors? Learn how pyrotechnicians give fireworks color in this video segment adapted from NOVA.	6-12	QuickTime Video
Fuel Cells In this video segment adapted from NOVA scienceNOW, hydrogen fuel cell cars promise pollution-free driving, but will we see them anytime soon?	6-12	QuickTime Video
Fusion: Testing the First Hydrogen Device This video segment adapted from AMERICAN EXPERIENCE features original footage of the U.S. test of the first hydrogen device, code-named "Mike", that would trigger thermonuclear fusion.	6-12	QuickTime Video
Fusion: The Hydrogen Bomb Just after World War II, nuclear scientists turned their attention from fission to fusion. This video segment adapted from AMERICAN EXPERIENCE looks at the beginnings of thermonuclear power generation.	6-12	QuickTime Video
Global Warming and The Greenhouse Effect This video excerpt from Race to Save the Planet discusses the greenhouse effect and global warming.	6-12	QuickTime Video
Global Warming: Beyond Fossil Fuels Martin Hoffert, professor of physics at New York University, discusses global warming and alternative energies in this interview from the NOVA/FRONTLINE Web site.	6-12	HTML Document
Global Warming: The Hydrogen Car Is the hydrogen car the answer to global warming? This video segment adapted from NOVA/FRONTLINE looks at the pros and cons of this developing technology.	3-12	QuickTime Video
Graphing the Periodic Table This interactive activity from the American Chemical Society presents the properties and electron configurations for all the elements in the periodic table. Discover patterns by plotting the elements' properties according to their place in the table.	9-12	Flash Interactive
The Impact of Technology: Nylon This video segment adapted from A Science Odyssey looks at the invention of nylon.	6-12	QuickTime Video
Ionic Bonding In this interactive activity from ChemThink, learn how ionic bonds are formed and how an ionic bond structure is represented by its formula.	9-12	Flash Interactive
Island of Stability In this video segment adapted from NOVA scienceNOW, follow scientists in their quest to understand how stable elements are made and how to create the elusive element 114.	9-12	QuickTime Video
Life's Little Essential: Liquid Water Why is water necessary for life? Why is it the best and possibly only liquid to do the job? This illustrated essay from NOVA Online answers these questions, explaining why planetary scientists are on the lookout for water elsewhere in the solar system.	6-12	HTML Document
Making Cortisone From Plants This video segment adapted from NOVA is a dramatized story of chemist Percy Julian’s work to synthesize cortisone. Find out how a biological process, not a chemical one, proved the key to producing cortisone in bulk.	6-12	QuickTime Video
Metals in Hydrochloric Acid In this interactive activity adapted from Iowa State University, observe how hydrochloric acid dissolves some metals to form oxidized metal chlorides and hydrogen gas.	9-12	Flash Interactive
Molecular Shapes In this interactive activity from ChemThink, learn about covalent molecules and how the VSEPR theory predicts the shapes of covalently-bonded molecules.	9-12	Flash Interactive
Nature's Pharmacy In this interactive activity from NOVA, learn about chemicals in nature that are used in medicine.	3-12	Flash Interactive
Nuclear Reaction: Fission This video segment adapted from FRONTLINE looks at nuclear fission as an energy source that can be used to generate electricity.	6-12	QuickTime Video
Nuclear Reaction: Meltdown What happens when a nuclear reactor overheats? This video segment adapted from FRONTLINE looks at the nuclear reactor meltdown at Chernobyl, the worst accident of its kind.	6-12	QuickTime Video
Nuclear Reaction: Plutonium One by-product of nuclear fission is plutonium. This video segment adapted from FRONTLINE takes a look at this toxic element.	6-12	QuickTime Video
On Fire Learn about the chemical reactions that take place when things burn in this interactive activity from the NOVA Web site.	6-12	Flash Interactive
The Origin of the Elements This video segment adapted from NOVA explains the origin of the elements and how scientists use unique element profiles to identify supernova types.	6-12	QuickTime Video
Ozone Hole This video segment adapted from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center gives a detailed explanation of the catalytic chemical process that has led to the creation of the ozone hole.	6-12	QuickTime Video
Particulate Nature of Matter In this interactive activity from ChemThink, examine the basic properties of matter at an atomic level and consider how various atoms affect the way a substance behaves.	6-12	Flash Interactive
Periodic Table of the Elements This interactive periodic table developed for Teachers' Domain provides detailed information about the chemical properties of elements and illustrates the electron configurations that determine those characteristics.	6-12	Flash Interactive
Periodic Table of the Elements Chart This downloadable periodic table of elements, produced for Teachers' Domain, provides easy, transportable access to a wealth of chemical information, including the oxidation state number of each element.	6-12	PDF Document
Photosynthesis This video segment from Interactive NOVA: "Earth" looks at photosynthesis, the chemical process plants use to make their own food.	3-12	QuickTime Video
Pyrotechnically Speaking Meet chemistry professor Dr. John Conkling in this interview from the NOVA Web site and learn why fireworks are his passion.	6-12	HTML Document
Pyrotechnics: It's Elemental In this interactive periodic table from the NOVA Web site, find out the role of various elements in making fireworks.	6-12	HTML Interactive
Quantum Mechanical Atom This illustrated essay, written for Teachers' Domain, describes the orderly arrangement of electrons around the nucleus of an atom and explains how to determine each element's configuration based on the number of electrons it has.	9-12	PDF Document
Radiometric Dating In this video segment from A Science Odyssey: "Origins," scientists explain how Earth's age was determined by radiometric dating.	6-12	QuickTime Video
Ringed-Carbon Compounds In this interactive activity adapted from NOVA, learn about alkaloids and steroids, both examples of compounds with carbon rings. Short videos with interviews, animations, and photographs are featured.	9-12	Flash Interactive
Scientific Processes In this interactive activity adapted from NOVA, expand your understanding of the scientific process. Watch two videos featuring animations and interviews with scientists, and notice how the processes unfold and vary from one investigation to the other.	9-12	Flash Interactive
The Structure of Metal In this interactive activity from the NOVA Web site, animations explain different aspects of the properties of metal.	6-12	Flash Interactive
Synthesizing an Alkaloid In this video segment, adapted from NOVA, learn how chemist Percy Julian revolutionized chemistry by synthesizing the alkaloid physostigmine from scratch—the first total synthesis of a chemical compound.	9-12	QuickTime Video
Synthesizing a Steroid This video segment, adapted from NOVA, tells the story of chemist Percy Julian's quest to make progesterone from a plant steroid, an important medical advancement of the 1940s.	9-12	QuickTime Video

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Topic: Introductory Chemistry