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Teaching activities

Microscale chemistry:
experiments for schools
Elias Kalogirou and Eleni Nicas
introduce a selection of very small-
scale chemistry experiments for
school.

Chemistry
Ages 11-19
An important part of the
job of a science teacher
is to teach not only sci-
entific theory but also
experimental skills. For
this reason, traditional
practical work cannot
and should not be
replaced. However, con-
siderations such as eco-
nomic factors and envi-
Image courtesy of tap10 / iStockphoto
ronmental awareness
and protection are also
valuable in this age of
‘green chemistry’. Inte-
grating some microscale
B y industrial
Im
ag

chemistry into tradition- standards, all school

e
co
ur

al laboratory practical chemistry is small-scale – 50

te
sy
of

work will help develop ml here, 1 g there. For the past three dents to
Kr
as
ka

these ideas. Working years, however, we have been doing think about
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REVIEW

with microscale quanti- microscale chemistry experiments at environmental

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ties is also appropriate our school – using one or two drops protection. Although
for younger children. of each reagent. safety precautions are
Marie Walsh, Republic Working at this scale has many still necessary, the risk
of Ireland advantages. Using smaller amounts of involved is lower with smaller
reagent reduces the time, cost and volumes – and the students had
waste involved, and encourages stu- no difficulties manipulating such

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small quantities. At this scale, the The tables (experimental procedures Aims
experiments do not need normal labo- and results) for all the experiments The purpose of Experiment 1 is for
ratory glassware but can be per- can be downloaded as a Word® docu- the students to realise both that acids
formed using simple household mate- ment from the Science in School web- and bases change the colour of pH
rials such as chewing-gum packets; sitew1. indicators, and that the colour change
these are cheap, can be reused several is different between acids and bases.
times and require little storage space. Preparation In Experiment 2, the students
Below are instructions for some To prepare the red cabbage indica- observe how acids react with metals.
microscale experiments that we per- tor, cover 10 g fresh, chopped red They should observe the production
form with 14- to 15-year-old students. cabbage leaves with 200 ml distilled of bubbles (effervescence) and also
Our students carried out the experi- water and bring to the boil. Boil until that magnesium reacts more strongly
ments in groups of four. Alternatively, the liquid turns light purple. Leave it (producing more heat and more bub-
the teacher could demonstrate the to cool and strain off the liquid, which bles) with acid than iron does –
experiments by placing the apparatus is the indicator solution. although less acid is used. We explain
on an overhead projector. To prepare the sodium hydroxide to our students that the gas produced
The reactions are part of the usual (NaOH) solution, dissolve 0.4 g sodi- is hydrogen.
Greek education curriculum for this um hydroxide in 100 ml water. In Experiment 3, the students
age of students, but would normally To prepare the limewater (saturated observe how acids react with carbon-
be studied on a larger scale. calcium hydroxide solution), fill a ates. They should observe the produc-
500 ml beaker one-third full with cal- tion of bubbles (effervescence). We
Experiments cium hydroxide [Ca(OH)2] and add explain that the gas in the bubbles is
Rather than using normal, full-scale distilled water up to the 400 ml mark. carbon dioxide.
laboratory equipment, these experi- Stir the mixture well and leave the Experiment 4 gives the students the
ments are carried out in a chewing- resulting suspension to settle for opportunity to practise using pH
gum blister packet, from which the several hours. The colourless, saturat- indicator paper. They should learn
foil and the gum have been removed ed solution (limewater) should be that the pH of a solution can be deter-
(see image). Tablet packets would be poured into a dropping bottle, taking mined with indicator paper and the
fine too, if the tablets were large care not to disturb the sediment. solutions classified as either acid or
enough. Each experiment takes place Hydrochloric acid solution (15% base.
in a separate well of the packet. w/w) can be bought in the supermar- In Experiment 5, the students inves-
ket in some countries. Alternatively, tigate the conductivity of distilled
Image courtesy of Elias Kalogirou and Eleni Nicas make a 1 M solution (approximately) water, hydrochloric acid and sodium
in the laboratory. hydroxide solution. They should learn
(Note that the hydrochloric acid that whereas distilled water does not
solution used is more concentrated conduct electricity, both acid and base
than the sodium hydroxide solution, solutions do.
to ensure that the acid reactions can
be observed with the naked eye,
while the base reactions do not waste
Our reaction vessel: a chewing-gum reagents.)
packet For the experiments, each of the Red cabbage
solutions should be placed in a
dropping bottle.
Safety notes:
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ho

· Hydrochloric acid and sodium

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hydroxide, required for the majority

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of the experiments described in this

f Tamara Kulikov

article, should be used only when

wearing gloves and safety glasses.
· With such small quantities and low
concentrations, any remaining
rtesy o

reagents can simply be washed

down the sink.
e cou
ag

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Teaching activities

Experiment 1: Colour change of indicators

Equipment Image courtesy of Elias Kalogirou and Eleni Nicas

· Chewing-gum blister packet (see image on page 28) Cut the drinking straw
· Drinking straws, cut diagonally (see images, right) diagonally, so that it
· Scissors can be used to meas-
· Disposable gloves ure out small quanti-
· Safety glasses ties of powder

Materials
· Hydrochloric acid solution (15% w/w or 1 M)
· Ammonia-containing household solution (e.g. Ajax ®

One drinking-straw tip

window cleaner)
· Sodium hydroxide solution (0.1 M, of iron powder
for preparation, see page 28)
· Limewater (see page 28)
· Red cabbage indicator (see page 28)
· Litmus indicator solution
· Phenolphthalein indicator solution
· Lemon juice
· Crushed aspirin tablet
· Distilled water
1. Referring to Table 1, add a test solution (e.g. lemon juice) and a pH indicator (e.g. litmus indicator solution) to each well.
Method

Well 1 Well 2
· 10 drops of lemon juice ·10 drops of limewater
· 2 drops of red cabbage indicator ·2 drops red cabbage indicator

Well 3 Well 4
· 1 drinking-straw tip of aspirin powder (see image above) · 10 drops household ammonia solution
· 10 drops of water · 2 drops litmus indicator solution
· 2 drops litmus indicator solution
Stir the mixture

Well 5 Well 6
· 10 drops hydrochloric acid solution · 10 drops of sodium hydroxide solution
· 2 drops of phenolphthalein · 1 drop of phenolphthalein
Table 1: Procedure for Experiment 1

2. Using Table 2, record the observed colour changes.

3. What can you conclude from your results?

Indicator Original colour of indicator Colour after acid is added Colour after base is added
Image courtesy of: alexeynovikov / iStockphoto

Red cabbage Well 1: Well 2:

Litmus indicator solution Well 3: Well 4:

Phenolphthalein Well 5: Well 6:

Table 2: Results for Experiment 1

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Experiment 2: Effect of acids on metals chalk) and an acid solution (hydrochloric acid) to each
Equipment well.

· Chewing-gum blister packet 2. What do you observe when the acid is added to the
· Drinking straws, cut diagonally carbonate?
· Scissors
· Disposable gloves Experiment 4: Using pH indicator paper
· Safety glasses Equipment
Materials
· Paper towels
· Iron (Fe) powder · A4 white paper
· Magnesium (Mg) powder · Scissors
· Hydrochloric acid solution (15% w/w or 1 M) · Disposable gloves
· Safety glasses
Method · pH indicator paper or universal indicator strips
1. Referring to Table 3, add a metal powder (e.g. iron) and
an acid solution (hydrochloric acid) to each well. Materials
2. What do you observe when hydrochloric acid is added · Vinegar

Image courtesy of Diffydave / iStockphoto

to the iron powder? · Hydrochloric acid solution (15% w/w or 1 M)
3. How does this differ from the effect of the acid on
magnesium?
· Ammonia-containing household solution
(e.g. Ajax window cleaner)
4. Can you explain the reason behind the difference?
· Limewater
Experiment 3: Effect of acids on carbonates
· Distilled water
Equipment Method
· Chewing-gum blister packet 1. Place a layer of paper towels on the table and lay an A4
· Drinking straws, cut diagonally sheet of paper on top of it.
· Scissors 2. Cut five 4 cm strips of pH indicator paper and lay them,
· Disposable gloves well spaced out, on the white sheet. (Alternatively, use
· Safety glasses five universal indicator strips.)
Materials 3. Onto each strip, pour two drops of a different test
solution (e.g. vinegar or limewater).
· Powdered chalk (CaCO ) 3

· Sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO ) 3

4. Once the strips have changed colour, compare the
colour to the colour chart for the indicator paper and
· Hydrochloric acid solution (15% w/w or 1 M) determine the pH.
Method 5. Using Table 5, record the pH of each solution and
1. Referring to Table 4, add a carbonate (e.g. powdered decide whether it is an acid or a base.

Well 1 Well 2 Well 1 Well 2

· 1 drinking-straw tip of · 1 drinking-straw tip of · drinking-straw tip
1 · 1 drinking-straw tip of
iron powder magnesium powder of chalk powder sodium bicarbonate
· 10 drops hydrochloric · 2 drops of hydrochloric · 5 drops of hydrochloric · 5 drops of hydrochloric
acid solution acid solution acid solution acid solution

Table 3: Procedure for Experiment 2 Table 4: Procedure for Experiment 3

Solution Vinegar Hydrochloric acid Ammonia Limewater Distilled water

pH

Acid or base

Table 5: Results of Experiment 4

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Teaching activities
Image courtesy of Jobalou / iStockphoto

Experiment 5: Conductivity of distilled water, The next step is to construct the electric circuit (see image,
acid and base solutions below).

Equipment N P
· Chewing-gum blister packet –
+
· Scissors
· Disposable gloves
· Safety glasses
· Aluminium foil D G

· 3 connecting cables with crocodile clips A

· Sticky tape
B
· 4.5 V battery

Image courtesy of Elias Kalogirou and Eleni Nicas

· LED (5 mm in diameter) Well 1 Well 2

Materials F
· Distilled water C
· Hydrochloric acid solution (15% w/w or 1 M)
· Sodium hydroxide solution Assembling the
electric circuit
(0.1 M, prepared as above)

LED

An LED (light-emitting diode)

Image courtesy of Elias Kalogirou and Eleni Nicas

has two electrodes. The positive

electrode (anode) can be identi-
fied by its longer wire 3. Using one of the cables, connect the positive terminal of
the battery (P) with the anode of the LED (A). With a
second cable, connect the LED’s cathode (B) to one of
the aluminium foil strips (C). Via a third cable, connect
Longer wire (anode) Cathode the other strip of foil (D) to the negative terminal of the
battery (N).
4. Half-fill Well 1 with distilled water. This forms a com-
plete circuit.
Method
Does the LED light up?
1. Cut four strips of aluminium foil, each 6 cm x 0.5 cm.
What can you conclude? Does distilled water conduct
2. To form the electrodes, bend two strips of foil into Well
electricity?
1 of the blister packet, then use sticky tape to attach the
strips to the table to prevent them from moving (see 5. Add 3 drops of hydrochloric acid to Well 1.
image, below). Does the LED light up now?
What can you conclude? Does hydrochloric acid solution
conduct electricity?
6. Disconnect the cables from the two strips.
Image courtesy of Elias Kalogirou and Eleni Nicas

7. Bend two new strips into Well 2 and attach them to the
table (as in step 2).
8. Connect the cables to the ends of the new strips (F and
G).
9. Drop by drop, add sodium hydroxide solution to Well 2
until the ends of the aluminium strips are covered (we
needed six drops).
Does the LED light up?
What can you conclude? Does sodium hydroxide solu-
tion conduct electricity?
Attaching the electrodes

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Acknowledgement To view all chemistry-related articles Eleni Nicas trained as a biologist

in Science in School, see: and for the past six years has taught
The authors would like to thank
www.scienceinschool.org/chemistry biology, chemistry and physics at
Penelope Galanopoulou, who teaches
English at the 3rd Pyrgos Lyceum middle school (ages 13-15), currently
Pierre de Coubertin, for translating at the 4th Junior High School of
this article from Greek into English. Elias Kalogirou is a secondary- Pyrgos. For the last three years, she
school science teacher. He is responsi- has used microscale experiments in
Web references ble for the Laboratory Centre of her chemistry lessons, in collaboration
w1 – The tables (experimental proce- Physical Sciences, which works with with the regional Laboratory Centre
dures and results) for all the experi- secondary-school science teachers to of Physical Sciences. She is currently
ments can be downloaded as a promote the use of experimental work studying for a postgraduate degree in
Word document from the Science in in science teaching. In particular, he physics education.
School website: encourages the use of microscale
www.scienceinschool.org/2010/ experiments at school.
issue16/microscale#resources

Resources
Williams KL, Little JG (1997)
Microscale Experiments for General
Chemistry. Boston, MA, USA:
Houghton Mifflin. ISBN:
9780669416060
Zubrick JW (2003) The Organic Chem
Lab Survival Manual: A Student’s
Guide to Techniques 6th edition. New
York, NY, USA: John Wiley & Sons.
ISBN: 9780471215202
Skinner J (1998) Microscale Chemistry:
Experiments in Miniature.
Cambridge, UK: Royal Society of
Chemistry. ISBN: 9781870343497
Greek speakers may find the follow-
ing book useful:
Κ. Γιούρη ∠ Τσοχατζή (2003) Σχο−
λικά Πειράματα Χημείας, Από τη
Μακρο− στη Μικροκλίμακα. Θεσ−
σαλονίκη , Ελλάδα : Εκδόσεις Ζήτη
ΙSBN: 9604318608
For another activity using red
cabbage indicator, see:
Lorenc A (2008) Investigating the
action of urease. Science in School 9:
Image courtesy of DOConnell / iStockphoto

39-44.
www.scienceinschool.org/2008/
issue9/urease
If you enjoyed this article, you might
like to browse all the other teaching
activities that have been published
in Science in School. See:
www.scienceinschool.org/teaching

32 Science in School Issue 16 : Autumn 2010 www.scienceinschool.org