High School, Chemistry Projects, Lessons, Activities (62 results)

An experienced chemistry professor used to say that it took about one explosion per week to maintain college students' attention in chemistry lectures. At that rate, we'd get in pretty big trouble with a lot of parents and teachers! Don't worry, we still have lots of bubbles, fizzes, bangs, and color changes for you to explore.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ng_obFzcgVw

Make an Alka-Seltzer Powered Lava Lamp

STEM Activity

1251 reviews

Have you ever seen a lava lamp? They were the height of 1960's "groovy" room decorations. A few minutes after turning it on, a lava lamp has blobs of colored liquid floating towards the top of the lamp and then drifting back down. Making an actual lava lamp that you plug in would require some effort and unusual supplies, but you can create a non-electric version in just a few minutes with the help of the fizzing power of Alka-Seltzer. In this activity you can find out how to make your own… Read more

Investigate the Kinetics of the Color Changing Iodine Clock Reaction

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

The iodine clock reaction is a favorite demonstration reaction in chemistry classes that usually requires toxic or hazardous chemicals. During the reaction, two clear liquids are mixed, resulting in another clear liquid. After some time, the solution suddenly turns dark blue. The reaction is called a clock reaction because the amount of time that elapses before the solution turns blue depends on the concentrations of the starting chemicals. In this green chemistry project, you will use a… Read more

Chemistry of Ice-Cream Making: Lowering the Freezing Point of Water

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Have you ever made your own ice cream? If you have, you probably know that you need to get the ice cream mixture really cold to freeze it quickly. Ice cubes alone will not do the job, but if you add chemicals, such as salt or sugar, to the ice cubes that surround the ice cream container, the mixture gets cold enough to freeze. Why does that work? How does adding salt or sugar affect the freezing point of water? Find out with this ice-cold science project and use your results to make your own… Read more

Electrolyte Challenge: Orange Juice Vs. Sports Drink

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

The makers of sports drinks spend tens to hundreds of millions of dollars advertising their products each year. Among the benefits often featured in these ads are the beverages' high level of electrolytes, which your body loses as you sweat. In this science project, you will compare the amount of electrolytes in a sports drink with those in orange juice to find out which has more electrolytes to replenish the ones you lose as you work out or play sports. When you are finished, you might even… Read more

Explore Glow-in-the-Dark Water!

STEM Activity

204 reviews

Have you ever been fascinated by things that glow in the dark? It can be a lot of fun to play with bracelets, wands, and other toys that are glow-in-the-dark, like some stickers and creepy, crawly, plastic insects! Have you ever wanted to make something at home that glows? It turns out that it is not that hard to do — all you need is tonic water and a black light! Some common household chemicals can also affect this beverage's glow. In this science activity, you will make tonic water glow… Read more

How to Make a Battery with Metal, Air, and Saltwater

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Have you ever wondered how your cell phone or laptop keeps running once you unplug it? Sure, it is the battery that makes your portable electronics work, but how exactly does a battery do that, and from where does the electricity come? Generally, in a battery chemical energy is converted into electrical energy. In fact, many different types of batteries exist that are all based on a different set of chemical reactions. In this science project, you will explore a special battery variant called… Read more

Crime Scene Chemistry—The Cool Blue Light of Luminol

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

You may have seen police investigators on TV spraying a crime scene with a liquid that glows blue if there is any blood present. Luminol is the chemical which causes the glowing. In this chemistry science fair project, you will investigate what factors make this interesting molecule "light up." Read more

Launching Homemade Baking Soda Rockets

STEM Activity

122 reviews

Have you ever enjoyed watching something lift off into the air, like fireworks at a show or a spacecraft launching? It can be an amazing experience. It is thrilling to see something lift off against Earth's gravity. To launch a spacecraft, its rockets give it a strong push that is due to a chemical reaction. This means that every time you see a spacecraft launch, you are watching chemistry at work. In this activity you will get to blast an object into the air using two simple… Read more

Cold Pack Chemistry: Where Does the Heat Go?

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Instant cold packs are popular with coaches and parents for treating minor bumps and bruises. The instant cold packs are not pre-cooled—you just squeeze the cold pack and its starts to get cold. So how does it work? In this chemistry science fair project, you will investigate the chemical reaction that occurs in instant cold packs. Read more

Making Homemade Bath Bombs

STEM Activity

90 reviews

Have you ever had a refreshing bath using a bath bomb? It can be quite the relaxing experience, especially if your bath bomb has a nice fragrance or includes some bath salts. Have you ever wondered what causes a bath bomb to become so fizzy when it touches the water in the bathtub? It is due to a chemical reaction taking place between different ingredients within the bath bomb. In this activity, you will get to make your own homemade bath bombs and explore how changing the amounts of the… Read more

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