Introduction to cellular respiration, including glycolysis, the Krebs Cycle, and the electron transport chain. Created by Sal Khan.

In this activity, learners conduct an oxidation experiment that turns old pennies bright and shiny. Learners soak 20 dull, dirty pennies in a bowl of salt and vinegar for five minutes. They rinse half the pennies with water, then compare the rinsed pennies to the unrinsed after all pennies sit and dry for about an hour. Learners also observe what happens when they submerge a screw and nail in the liquid compared to a nail only half-way submerged.

Students create silver nanoparticles using a chemical process; however, since these particles are not observable to the naked eye, they use empirical evidence and reasoning to discover them. Students first look for evidence of a chemical reaction by mixing various solutions and observing any reactions that may occur. Students discover that copper and tannic acids from tea reduce silver nitrate, which in turn form silver. They complete the reaction, allow the water to evaporate, and observe the silver nanoparticles they created in plastic dishes using a stereo microscope. Students iterate on their initial process and test to see if they can improve the manufacturing process of silver nanoparticles.

This is a continuation of Freshman Organic Chemistry I (CHEM 125a), the introductory course on current theories of structure and mechanism in organic chemistry for students with excellent preparation in chemistry and physics. This semester treats simple and complex reaction mechanisms, spectroscopy, organic synthesis, and some molecules of nature.

This illustration depicts the first two stages of aerobic respiration: glycolysis and the citric acid cycle.

Overview: glycolysis, pyruvate oxidation, the citric acid cycle (Krebs cycle), and oxidative phosphorylation.

Through this lab, students are introduced to energy sciences as they explore redox reactions and how hydrogen fuel cells turn the energy released when hydrogen and oxygen are combined into electrical energy that can be read on a standard multimeter. They learn about the energy stored in bonds and how, by controlling the reaction, this energy can be turned into more or less useful forms.

Oxidation and reduction reactions power your phone and make it possible for your body to use the oxygen you inhale. We will learn about oxidation states (numbers), oxidation-reduction (redox) reactions, galvanic/voltaic cells, electrolytic cells, cell potentials, and how electrochemistry is related to thermodynamics and equilibrium.