Top 30ish Demos

The title is video link (where available). PDF file is below the description.

Choose from the awesome/common demo list

  • Acidic and Basic Oxides – Dissolve several oxides (CaO, ZnO, CO2, P4O10) in water containing universal indicator to show a range of basic and acidic oxides
  • Acidity and Basicity of Salts 1 – Dissolve various salts in water containing Yamada indicator to demonstrate their acidity or alkalinity in solution.
  • Acidity and Basicity of Salts 2 – Dissolve various transition metal salts in water containing Yamada indicator to demonstrate their acidity or alkalinity in solution.
  • Alka Seltzer in Water at Three Temperatures –Three students add Alka-seltzer tablets to flasks containing water at different temperatures and quickly seal the flasks with stoppers fitted with balloons, which will inflate at different rates
  • Ammonia Fountain – Show the solubility of NH3 (g) in H2O due to hydrogen-bonding.
  • Avogadro’s Law – Three flasks containing equal amounts of acetic acid are fitted with balloons containing different amounts of NaHCO3; mix the reagents by lifting and shaking the balloons: the balloons will inflate with CO2 to a volume proportional to the number of moles produced, in accordance with Avogadro’s law.
  • Briggs-Rauscher – Introduce the mystery of mechanisms with the Briggs-Rauscher Oscillating Reaction.
  • Burning Mg Ribbon – Burn a piece of magnesium ribbon in air to produce MgO
  • Cathode Ray Tube/Pinwheel – Demonstrate the deflection of an electron beam with a magnet (CRT), and the particle nature of electrons by using a beam of electrons to spin a pinwheel.
  • Charles’ Law – Pour liquid nitrogen over a balloon to show that a decrease in T is accompanied by a decrease in V.
  • Cobalt Complexes and Temperature  – Demonstrate effects of concentration and temperature changes on the Co(H2O)62+/CoCl42- equilibrium
  • Combustion of Candy  – Contrast the oxidation of sucrose in the body (by eating some candy) with the oxidation of sucrose by KClO3 (as shown by dropping some candy into molten KClO3, producing steam and a lavender flame. Body temperature is ~37°C, and the melting point of KClO3 is 368°C.
  • Combustion EtOH Vapor – Allow a small amount of ethanol to vaporize in a large carboy, pour out the excess liquid, and hold a lighted splint to the mouth of the container – the impressive reaction also demonstrates the flammability of organic vapors.
  • Combustion of Methane Bubbles – Use a candle on a dowel rod to ignite large soap bubbles filled with CH4 – this is very impressive!
  • Conductivity Tester Demos
  • Cu-Zn voltaic cell – Demonstrate a copper/zinc voltaic cell turning a motor to show that a spontaneous reaction can be harnessed to do work.
  • Supersaturated Sodium Acetate– Add a tiny crystal of sodium acetate to a 2 L flask of a super-saturated solution to cause the solid to crystallize out, leaving almost no liquid – this demonstration is beautiful and dramatic, as well as being quite exothermic.
  • Elephant Toothpaste – Demonstrate the decomposition of 30% H2O2 in the presence of dishwashing liquid and KI, producing an upsurge of steaming foam.
  • Gas Discharge Tubes of the Noble Gases– show that different gases give different colors when subjected to an electric discharge (H2 tube also available)
  • Genie in a Bottle – Use MnO2 to catalyze the decomposition of 30% H2O2, producing a large cloud of hot water vapor. The heat generated is intense enough to shrink the 2 L bottle used for the demo
  • H2-O2 balloons – Ignite a balloon filled with a stoichiometric mixture of hydrogen and oxygen to show the extremely exothermic reaction to produce water.
  • Halogens – Display flasks containing the halogens chlorine, bromine, and iodine.
    Optional: Talk about phases of matter and use N2 (ℓ) to freeze the Br2 flask

  • Hot and Cold Packs – Combine NH4NO3 (s) and water in a Ziploc bag to make an instant “cold pack”.
  • Iodine Clock – Perform the iodine clock reaction with three different initial concentrations of IO3-
  • LeChatelier- Iron(III) Thiocyanate – Apply stress to the Fe3+ + SCN- ⇔ FeSCN2+ system in five different ways to show the equilibrium shifts accompanying changes in the concentration of reactants
  • Like Dissolves Like – Contrast the solubility of I2(s) and CuCl2(s) in both water and hexane in large test tubes
  • Luminol Reaction – Pour solutions of luminol and H2O2 into a tall glass spiral to produce a beautiful chemiluminescent reaction. The light-emitting species is the dicarboxylate ion, aminophthalate, the product of the oxidation of luminol with H2O2
  • Marshmallow Snowman – Demonstrate the effect a decrease in P has on V by placing a marshmallow snowman in a bell jar and then evacuate the jar.
  • Metal Redox Reactions
    Copper and Zinc – Immerse a strip of Cu in ZnSO4 (aq) and compare to a strip of Zn in CuSO4 (aq).
    Copper Star Oxidation – Immerse copper wire in AgNO3 (aq). This is best done on the document camera over a lengthy period of time so students can observe the continuing reaction.

  • Money to Burn – Soak a dollar bill in a water-alcohol mixture and then light it with a match; the high specific heat of water keeps the combustion temperature low enough to prevent burning the bill
  • Paramagnetic O2 – Demonstrate the paramagnetism of liquid oxygen by pouring first N2(ℓ), then O2(ℓ) between the poles of a powerful magnet on the overhead projector or document camera.
  • Periodic Properties – Add pieces of Li, Na, K, Mg, and Ca, to beakers of water to observe the reactivity of metals from different parts of the periodic table. If desired, you can add HCl to those beakers where no reaction occurred.
  • Rainbow Cups – Add a colorless liquid to 6 “empty” beakers, producing the colors of the rainbow – use this demonstration to show how evaluation of observations and experimental results leads to hypotheses and further testing (the scientific method)
  • Smashing things with Liquid Nitrogen  – Demonstrate the coolant properties of liquid nitrogen by freezing a racquet ball or another object of your choice and smashing it.
  • Yamada and Dry Ice – Add a chunk of dry ice to a 2 L cylinder containing a basic solution and Yamada universal indicator; the dry ice gradually acidifies the solution causing the color to change in the order purple, blue, green, yellow, orange