Your first lab assignment in Chemistry B is to take care of lab-related business-- the lab safety contract and finding, buying or ordering the materials you'll need starting in Week 2. This information will also be listed in your Chemistry B Resources packet (the last packet in this course) so you can find it again easily when you need it. LAB SAFETY (If you have taken MNOHS Chemistry A, you may be able to skip some of the steps below. But please be sure to print and reread the Lab Safety Contract.) An important first step in laboratory safety is for you and your parents to sign a contract that will help guide your steps when doing at-home science experiments. We won't require you to handle dangerous materials, but any activities involving heat, electricity, water, etc. require your conscientious participation. Please go to this web site to print out the Flinn Scientific Student Safety Contract: http://www.flinnsci.com/Documents/miscPDFs/Safety_Contract.pdf. (Be patient; the document can take a few minutes to load!) Print two copies--one to sign and mail to MNOHS, and one for your work area. Be sure to read the contract carefully before signing, and before taking The Week 1 Lab Safety Quiz. You must sign the lab safety sheet. If you are under 18, your parents must sign it as well. Send it to:
Minnesota Online High School
Att: Ms. Raffa
University Technology Center, Suite 227
1313 Fifth Street SE
Minneapolis, MN 55414 If you have any questions about the contract, please post them in the General Whole Class Discussion area of this course.
REQUIRED EQUIPMENT AND SUPPLIES Most weeks in Chemistry B, you will have one or more at-home lab activities. These can generally be completed using common household supplies and utensils that can be bought at your local supermarket, discount store, pharmacy, hardware store, etc. There are, however a few items that might be more difficult to find. You will need to go to a hobby store, or to order these items online. Ordering information, if you need it, is included below. The items (and their approximate cost) are: - Safety goggles ($4.00)
- A thermometer -- digital or alcohol-filled, partial emersion. It must cover the range of -20 to 110 °C (0 to 230 °F) ($4.50)
- A 100 ml graduated cylinder (unbreakable polypropylene is best) ($4.00)
- (optional) A basic equal-arm balance ($35.50)
Item #4 is not required; in fact the Week 2 lab activity for this course is to build and calibrate your own home made balance like the one pictured on the left below. However, if gathering the materials and storing the assembled balance present a problem for you, you might want to buy a simple balance like the one pictured on the right below to use instead. Whether you buy or build, you'll need the balance several times throughout the semester.
 
Items #1-3 can be ordered online or on the phone from Ward's Natural Science for an approximate total of $20.75 (this includes their minimum shipping charge of $8.00). An equal arm balance can be added to the order from Ward's for approximately $36 and does not raise the shipping fee. Please click here for a sample order form which shows the exact item numbers, descriptions, and prices. Remember, you can order these items in any combination and the shipping fee will be $8.00. You do not need to order all four. They are all listed on the form so that you can make sure you are getting the right item. - To order using a credit card, follow the link above to the Ward's site. Use Product Search on the left menu bar to search, one at a time for 'goggles', 'thermometer', 'graduated cylinder' and/or 'balance'. Each search term will bring up all the choices in their catalog. Be sure to select the one that matches the information on the sample order form, click on 'BUY NOW' and add one of each item you want to your cart. Double check quantity and price, and then proceed to checkout. Fill out the online form and complete the purchase. Your order should arrive within a week.
- If you want to pay by check (or if you prefer not to use your credit card online), call Ward's customer service at 800-962-2660. Use the sample order form to place your order on the phone. The person you speak to will take your credit card number, or they will give you an order number and ask you to mail a check for the correct amount with the correct order number written on it. When your check is received and verified your order will be shipped. This will obviously take longer than a week. Please do not send a check without calling first!
Below you will find a week-by-week list of other materials you will need for Chemistry B. If you have any questions about your Lab Safety Contract or lab equipment and supplies, please post them in the General Whole Class Discussion area of this course.
Thank you! Chemistry B Lab Materials List (revised 1/17/07)
Week #
| Lab title and materials needed
| 1
| - Pocket caculator (you'll need this every week)
| | 2 | Building a Balance
- 3.5 or 4-inch nail (8-10 cm)
- 5-10 paper clips (large or small)
- Piece of wood, 18 inch x 1.5 inch x ¼ inch (46 x 3.8 x 0.64 cm) or thereabouts. The length may be less (minimum 12 inches, 30 cm) but the width and thickness should be pretty close to these dimensions
- Other items to measure masses: pain relief tablets or caplets, toothpicks, candies (e.g. M&M’s or skittles), etc.
- 2 ceramic coffee mugs or sturdy drinking glasses of the same height
- 3-inch bubble level (a carpentry tool) or small (2 inch (5 cm)) pin or nail
- Small paper or plastic bathroom cups (3 oz or 88.7 mL)
| | 3 | Molar Mass - The balance you built in Week 2
- Small paper or plastic bathroom cups
- Three pure compounds from this list of commercial equivalents for chemicals: http://www.science-house.org/learn/CountertopChem/appendixc.html. You can choose any three that you have on hand, as long as they are safe to handle (be sure to read the package), and as long as they are pure compounds not mixtures. Ask your teacher if you have questions about this. Anything that has a % listed next to it, for example 'vinegar 5%' is not a pure compound. Anything that can burn the skin or eyes should not be used. If you want, you can buy plain uniodized table salt and baking soda since you'll need one teaspoon of each of these in Week 4 as well.
- 3 empty, clean quart-sized jars, plastic containers, or zip-lock bags--for comparing you samples when you have weighed them, and for storing the samples if you can't return them to their original container.
| | 4 | Counting by Measuring Mass - The balance you built in Week 2
- Small paper or plastic bathroom cups
- Measuring spoon (teaspoon)
- 1t Water (H20) -- distilled or deionized is best
- 1t Sodium chloride (NaCl) -- plain table salt -- uniodized
- 1t Sodium hydrogen carbonate (NaHCO3, also called sodium bicarbonate) -- baking soda
| | 5 | Modeling Chemical Reactions
- 36 colored paper clips (12 each of 3 different colors)
Removing Silver Tarnish
- Aluminum foil, 20 cm x 20 cm
- Large beaker, glass jar, or glass pan
- Tarnished silver fork or spoon. If you have a silver fork or spoon that is not tarnished, you can tarnish it by exposure to air, rubber bands, or egg yolk.
- Measuring spoon (teaspoon)
| | 6 | Video Reactions - Online. No materials needed.
| | 7 | Conversion of Ammonia into Urea -- online. No materials needed.
Create-A-Graph -- online. No materials needed. | | 8 | Observing Volume Changes
- Spherical balloon (non-latex if you are allergic)
- Freezer (with enough space for the balloon when it is blown up)
- Metric tape measure (or string and meter stick)
Carbon Dioxide from Antacid Tablets
- 6 effervescent antacid tablets
- 3 spherical balloons (non-latex if you are allergic)
- Plastic medicine dropper or clean dropper bottle from contact lens solution
- Metric tape measure (or string and meter stick)
| | 9 | Cat's Meow
- food color (4 different colors)
| | 10 | This week you will choose 2 out of 3 quick at-home activities.
#1: Salt and the Freezing Point of Water
- 20-cm piece of string or narrow ribbon
- Table salt (NaCl), table sugar, and baking soda
#2: Solubility of Gases
- Unopened bottles of soda--one cold and one warm
- Other materials, for a procedure that you will design
#3: Concentration of Fruit in Juice Drinks
- Bottles or boxes from 2 different brands of juice drinks--these can be ones you have at home, unopened ones in the store or even empty ones.
(OPTIONAL) Ice Cream in a Bag!
- 1 large ziplock bag (gallon size)
- 1 small ziplock bag (quart size)
- Measuring cups and measuring spoons
- 250 ml whole milk (1 cup)
- 5 ml vanilla extract (1 teaspoon)
- 30 ml sugar (2 tablespoons)
| | 11 | Heat of Fusion and Ice
- 100-ml graduated cylinder
Heat of Combustion -- You may want a second person to give you a hand with this! one
- Two or more types of nuts -- peanuts, walnuts, hazelnuts, cashews, almonds, and pecans work fine
- Modeling clay or Playdoh®
- Long fireplace matches or lighter
- Pin or needle (2-3 inches long)
- Scale (your trusty balance)
- Thermometer (that can measure temperatures between 0 – 100°C, 32 −212°F)
| | 12 | Temperature and Reaction Rates
- 4 plastic or styrofoam cups
- 4 effervescent antacid tablets
- Clock or watch with a second hand
| | 13 | Acid-Base Indicators
- Clean white cloth (or coffee filter and funnel)
- 3 sheets of plain white paper
- 10-15 clear (colorless) plastic cups
- Medicine dropper or clean dropper bottle from contact lens solution
- About 10-12 household substances (suggestions: vinegar, white wine, colorless soda like 7-Up®, aspirin, cleaning solvents, toilet bowl cleaner, window/glass cleaner, shampoo, deodorant, other cosmetics, over the counter medicines or vitamins, baking soda, fruits & vegetables or their juices, egg whites, ammonia, antacids)
| | 14 | To be announced
| | 15 | To be announced
| | 16 | What Dissolves What?
- Three china or glass plates
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