STEM Source

Lab in which students use spectral lines (produced from Geissler Tubes) to identify an element. Materials required include Geissler Tubes filled with argon, mercury, neon, hydrogen, and helium, power supply boxes for the tubes, and spectroscopes.

This activity can be used as a card sort for naming simple hydrocarbons (unbranched alkanes, alkenes, alkynes). My original intention, though, was a game/contest: I give each student a card and have them match with the corresponding name/ structure (I participate if an odd number of students). I time how long it takes my students to do this (twice- I switch their cards for the second trial). Whichever of my classes does it fastest earns something like no homework or bonus points