Chemistry makes it seem that everything has its place and behaves according to different laws. Not always true! Disorder and chaos can and do happen in chemistry; scientists call this disorder entropy. Learn about entropy and its importance to scientists as it helps some chemical reactions move forward and determines the useful work of some reactions.  

Concepts

entropy, laws of thermodynamics, free energy

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Additional Tags

science

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Instructional Ideas

• Discuss and explore entropy and use video to support findings
• Replicate demonstration from the video in the classroom for learners to feel the energy change

Classroom Considerations

• Classroom must have a computer, Internet access, and a projection system 

• This video is hosted on YouTube

Pros

• Good demonstration of entropy, mixing barium hydroxide octahydrate and ammonium chloride to show entropy

Cons

• Features a lot of information in a short amount of time; some learners may struggle with these concepts 

Common Core

RL.9-10.4