Stoichiometry Lab Ideas
I'm teaching chemistry in a different order this year:
First semester: particles, reactions, kinetics, energetics, moles, and stoichiometry and then going into atomic structure and bonding
Second semester: atomic theory, electrons, light, bonding, etc.
I like this as I can jump into chemical reactions and labs earlier, but it does make things a bit awkward at times.
Anyway, I just finished the mole and am about to do stoichiometry, but my stoichometry labs involve Bunsen burners (e.g., carbonate decompositions) and I didn't introduce that to them as I normally do a Bunsen burner lab before we do flame tests, which will be second semester.
Does anyone have a good introduction to stoichiometry lab that doesn't involve bunsen burners and has the students do mass to mass stoichiometry calculation? I was thinking just baking soda/vinegar and the students could weigh before and after to see how much carbon dioxide was lost and compare that to a calculated value. Would that work? Is there anything better?
I've seen airbag stoichiometry labs involving baking soda and vinegar, but I'm not really sure I get how that is done (are they trying to fill it up all the way, what calculations are they doing, is it just more like trial and error?)
Thanks!