AP Chemistry students, as well as general chemistry students, by virtue of signing up for the class, are highly motivated and responsible. They often go on to become the next generation of science and technology experts, making great contributions to all our lives. They willingly put in hours over the summer and on weekends in the lab, in addition to regular school days, to succeed in this challenging class. These are our highest achieving students.
These are the kids for whom extra resources make a huge impact.
By its nature, chemistry requires specialized equipment; some of which is slightly exotic and not found in a regular high school lab. Supporting these kids by helping to supply needed equipment is probably one of the most effective ways to make a direct difference in our public educational system.
My Project
A typical chem lab involves reactions that create very fine particles that must be separated from a solution. The gooch crucible contains a very fine, glass filter to trap those particles. The rubber crucible holder provides a seal between the crucible and the collection flask for the waste solution. The aspirator connects to the sink faucet and uses Bernoulli’s principle to generate low pressure through connecting to the filter flask that sits beneath the crucible.
A typical experiment using this equipment is determining the percentage of silver in a "silver" dime.
Dissolving the metal in nitric acid, then turning the silver atoms into small particles of solid silver chloride that are caught by the vacuum filtration system, makes up this lab.
DonorsChoose is the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.
As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Mr. Riechel and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.