Active Education Posts « Education

How To: Draw the Lewis structure for ammonia

In this how-to video, you will learn how to make the Lewis structure for Ammonia. The formula for Ammonia is NH3. Now, write down H, N, and H in a horizontal line. Place an H under the N. Place two dots in between the spaces found in the H's and the N. Also place two dots above the N. Since the valance electrons are balanced, draw a line between the two dots connecting the H to the N. Leave the two dots above the N alone. This video shows just how easy it is to create a Lewis structure for Am...

How To: Make Handwriting Fun

Letter formation can be fun! Few children enjoy traditional handwriting practice. Copying the same black letters over and over again with a pencil is boring! Here is how you can make letter formation fun while practicing with your child at home.

How To: Make solid rocket fuel ignition with zinc and sulfur

Once used as solid rocket fuel because the reaction requires no oxygen, sulfur and zinc react vigorously. The reaction with zinc produces flame and a near explosion. Sparks fly and smoke billows in this dramatic chemical demonstration.

How To: Use a Peltier module to create free electricity from heat

A Peltier module allows you to turn heat into electricity. Because you can place it in areas that are normally warm anyway, the electricity created is "free" in a sense, though it does work best when one side of the module is cold and the other is hot. In other words, all you'll need for this project is the Peltier module and a cooler surface such as soil or water, and a warm area such as a well lit window or warm pan.

How To: Use a Three-Way Stopcock in the Chemistry Lab

For your chemistry experiments, you'll eventually need to know how to use a stopcock. Well, this science tutorial, interactive animation will show you how to use a three-way stopcock in the chemistry lab.

How To: Use a Desiccator in the Chemistry Lab

For your chemistry experiments, you'll eventually need to know how to use a desiccator. Well, this science tutorial, interactive animation will show you how to use a desiccator in the chemistry lab.

How To: Perform Paper Chromatography in the Chemistry Lab

Find out how everything in a chemistry lab works, from pipettes to burners to recrystallization to storage. You'll get precise instructions on how to work and perform certain scientific duties in the chem lab, whether it's chemical or just ordinary high school science.

How To: Perform Thin-Layer Chromatography in the Chemistry Lab

Find out how everything in a chemistry lab works, from pipettes to burners to recrystallization to storage. You'll get precise instructions on how to work and perform certain scientific duties in the chem lab, whether it's chemical or just ordinary high school science.

How To: Convert American Pounds to Kilograms

In this video, learn how to convert the American pound (lb.), a United States customary unit of mass, into kilograms (kg), a metric unit of mass in the International System of Units (SI).

How To: Make Ammonium Nitrate with NaHSO4 and Nitrate Salt

OK, so you don't necessarily have to make ammonium nitrate to have ammonium nitrate — ammonium nitrate can simply be obtained from fertilizers and instant cold packs. Making homemade NH4NO3 can be much more expensive then buying it, but this method is not meant to be a viable route, it's an exploration of science and chemistry.

How To: Make a Crazy Foam Explosion Science Experiment

Check out this video to see our Fantastic Foamy Fountain in action. The experiment uses Hydrogen peroxide and dry yeast. Hydrogen peroxide is similar to water but has an extra oxygen atom. This makes it more dangerous, and only adults should handle the hydrogen peroxide.

Make Slime Without Borax: 5 Easy Recipes for Gooey Homemade Ooze

One of the only things I remember from watching Nickelodeon as a kid is the epic green slime. Looking back, I don't know what was so great about it, but every kid my age thought that being drenched in slime would be the coolest thing on earth.

How To: Make Gooey Green Slime Using Elmer's Glue and Borax

Remember the movie "Flubber," about mad professor Robin Williams and his gravity-defying invention of slime that could walk, talk, and transform into just about anything? Well, you can make a very similar type of green goo at home using stuff you already have lying around.

How To: Store Crystalline Chemistry Samples in Storage Paper

Find out how everything in a chemistry lab works, from pipettes to burners to recrystallization to storage. You'll get precise instructions on how to work and perform certain scientific duties in the chem lab, whether it's chemical or just ordinary high school science.

How To: Use an Electronic Balance in the Chemistry Lab

Find out how everything in a chemistry lab works, from pipettes to burners to recrystallization to storage. You'll get precise instructions on how to work and perform certain scientific duties in the chem lab, whether it's chemical or just ordinary high school science.

How To: Use a Volumetric Flask in the Chemistry Lab

Find out how everything in a chemistry lab works, from pipettes to burners to recrystallization to storage. You'll get precise instructions on how to work and perform certain scientific duties in the chem lab, whether it's chemical or just ordinary high school science.

How To: Use a Volumetric Pipette and Filler in the Chem Lab

Find out how everything in a chemistry lab works, from pipettes to burners to recrystallization to storage. You'll get precise instructions on how to work and perform certain scientific duties in the chem lab, whether it's chemical or just ordinary high school science.

How To: Perform Titration with a Burette in the Chemistry Lab

Find out how everything in a chemistry lab works, from pipettes to burners to recrystallization to storage. You'll get precise instructions on how to work and perform certain scientific duties in the chem lab, whether it's chemical or just ordinary high school science.

How To: Rinse Volumetric Glassware in the Chemistry Lab

Find out how everything in a chemistry lab works, from pipettes to burners to recrystallization to storage. You'll get precise instructions on how to work and perform certain scientific duties in the chem lab, whether it's chemical or just ordinary high school science.

How To: Use a Bunsen Burner in the Chemistry Lab

Find out how everything in a chemistry lab works, from pipettes to burners to recrystallization to storage. You'll get precise instructions on how to work and perform certain scientific duties in the chem lab, whether it's chemical or just ordinary high school science.

How To: Heat Liquids with a Casserole in the Chemistry Lab

Find out how everything in a chemistry lab works, from pipettes to burners to recrystallization to storage. You'll get precise instructions on how to work and perform certain scientific duties in the chem lab, whether it's chemical or just ordinary high school science.

How To: Separate by Pipette Drawing in the Chemistry Lab

Find out how everything in a chemistry lab works, from pipettes to burners to recrystallization to storage. You'll get precise instructions on how to work and perform certain scientific duties in the chem lab, whether it's chemical or just ordinary high school science.

How To: Perform Separation by Decantation in the Chemistry Lab

Find out how everything in a chemistry lab works, from pipettes to burners to recrystallization to storage. You'll get precise instructions on how to work and perform certain scientific duties in the chem lab, whether it's chemical or just ordinary high school science.

How To: Perform Centrifugation in the Chemistry Lab

Find out how everything in a chemistry lab works, from pipettes to burners to recrystallization to storage. You'll get precise instructions on how to work and perform certain scientific duties in the chem lab, whether it's chemical or just ordinary high school science.

How To: Perform Gravity Filtration in the Chemistry Lab

Find out how everything in a chemistry lab works, from pipettes to burners to recrystallization to storage. You'll get precise instructions on how to work and perform certain scientific duties in the chem lab, whether it's chemical or just ordinary high school science.

How To: Perform Vacuum Filtration in the Chemistry Lab

Find out how everything in a chemistry lab works, from pipettes to burners to recrystallization to storage. You'll get precise instructions on how to work and perform certain scientific duties in the chem lab, whether it's chemical or just ordinary high school science.

How To: Do Hot Filtration & Recrystallization in the Chem Lab

Find out how everything in a chemistry lab works, from pipettes to burners to recrystallization to storage. You'll get precise instructions on how to work and perform certain scientific duties in the chem lab, whether it's chemical or just ordinary high school science.

How To: Measure the Melting Point in the Chemistry Lab

Find out how everything in a chemistry lab works, from pipettes to burners to recrystallization to storage. You'll get precise instructions on how to work and perform certain scientific duties in the chem lab, whether it's chemical or just ordinary high school science.

How To: Dispose of Liquid Wastes from Chemistry Labs

Find out how everything in a chemistry lab works, from pipettes to burners to recrystallization to storage. You'll get precise instructions on how to work and perform certain scientific duties in the chem lab, whether it's chemical or just ordinary high school science.

How To: Wash Laboratory Glass Apparatuses in the Chemistry Lab

Find out how everything in a chemistry lab works, from pipettes to burners to recrystallization to storage. You'll get precise instructions on how to work and perform certain scientific duties in the chem lab, whether it's chemical or just ordinary high school science.

How To: Use Transfer Pipettes and Wash Bottles in the Chem Lab

Find out how everything in a chemistry lab works, from pipettes to burners to recrystallization to storage. You'll get precise instructions on how to work and perform certain scientific duties in the chem lab, whether it's chemical or just ordinary high school science.

How To: Make nitric acid

Watch this science video tutorial from Nurd Rage on how to make nitric acid. They show three ways to make nitric acid based on two different chemical approaches, both of which can be done using easily accessible materials.

How To: Make fireballs you can hold in your hand

This flame you CAN hold, without burning your skin off. Learn to make fireballs you can hold in your hand. This amazing video tutorial shows you how to do it. All you'll need for this little science experiment or fiery weapon is 100% cotton cloth, scissors, lighter fuel, cotton string, and a needle. Be careful to follow the directions in this how-to video carefully otherwise you'll really be playing with fire.

Breathtaking Undersea Aliens: Interview with Deep Sea Photographer Alexander Semenov

In recent years, Russian marine biologist Alexander Semenov has built a stunningly beautiful collection of deep sea photography, capturing alien creatures only locatable in the hostile, icy depths of the far northern sea off the coast of Russia.

News: Hand Fully Submerged in Liquid Nitrogen (OUCH... Right?)

Apparently submerging a hand in liquid nitrogen isn't as painful as one might suspect (if you trust the Leidenfrost effect as much as Theodore of Gray Matter):

How To: Make MnSO4 from MNO2 (two separate ways)

What is MnSO4 and MNO2, anyway? They are they molecular formula for Manganese Sulfate and Manganese Dioxide. And you can make one from the other. But how?

How To: Cancel out in basic algebra

This video gives you brief tutorial on simplifying expressions, or canceling out common factors. He starts out by answering the question "What is canceling?" and demonstrates a basic example. You find the greatest common factor between the numerator and denominator, which you then divide both by. This can also be done if you have variables in your fraction. He then shows it can be done the same way if you have binomials in your fractions. However, you must be careful that the denominator does...