What students learn

Two complete levels: 24 lectures total. Designed by chemistry educators with a focus on safety, real-world relevance, and college readiness. Click any topic for the full breakdown — what students learn, the safety knowledge, the hands-on demo, and the question they leave able to answer.

24
Total lectures across two levels
~26 hrs
Total student instruction time
$0
Cost — to schools, students, and volunteers

Course philosophy: No grades, no tests, no homework. Attendance is voluntary — students come for knowledge, not credit. Focus: what you need to know to stay safe, make better decisions, and be ready for college chemistry if you choose.

Level 1 — Life Safety Chemistry

Eleven lectures, math-light, no grades. Each topic is anchored to a household example and a question students can answer afterward. Total: about 8.5 hours of instruction.

Life applicability

  • Understanding radiation (medical X-rays, smoke detectors, radon in homes)
  • why some materials are magnetic
  • how screens (phones/TVs) work

Safety knowledge

  • What radioactive symbols mean
  • why you shouldn't open old electronics (CRT TVs, some clocks) that may contain radioactive materials
  • safe distance from sources

Foundation for further study

How electrons behave; why atoms bond; basis for all other chemistry topics

Students leave able to answer: Is this old clock with radium paint dangerous to keep in my house?

Hands-on demo

Build a model atom using household objects (marbles, beans, or paper circles)

Session length

45 minutes

🎬 Present in browser 📥 Slides (.pptx, with animations) 📄 Lecture notes (PDF)

Life applicability

  • Why salt (NaCl) is safe but sodium metal explodes in water
  • why some supplements (iron, calcium, magnesium) are essential
  • how to read ingredient labels

Safety knowledge

  • Reactive metals (lithium in batteries, sodium/potassium in labs) — never put in water
  • safe handling of household chemicals based on element families

Foundation for further study

Predicting how elements behave before seeing them; understanding chemical families

Students leave able to answer: Why does my multivitamin have iron but not sodium metal?

Hands-on demo

Print a blank periodic table and color-code families (alkali metals, halogens, noble gases)

Session length

45 minutes

🎬 Present in browser 📥 Slides (.pptx, with animations) 📄 Lecture notes (PDF)

Life applicability

  • Why water dissolves soap but not oil
  • why non-stick pans work (Teflon coating)
  • why some plastics are recyclable and others aren't

Safety knowledge

  • Why mixing bleach and ammonia (different bonding types) creates deadly chloramine gas
  • why some containers are safe for acids and others dissolve

Foundation for further study

Understanding molecules; why chemical reactions happen; basis for organic chemistry

Students leave able to answer: I accidentally mixed bleach and window cleaner — should I leave the house? (Yes — open windows and evacuate)

Hands-on demo

Oil and water in a clear bottle — shake and observe; add dish soap and see emulsion form

Session length

50 minutes

🎬 Present in browser 📥 Slides (.pptx, with animations) 📄 Lecture notes (PDF)

Life applicability

  • Why food cooks (browning meat, baking bread)
  • why batteries die (chemical reactions stop)
  • why rust forms on cars

Safety knowledge

  • Recognizing signs of dangerous reactions (heat, gas, smoke, unexpected color change)
  • what to do if two household chemicals fume (ventilate, evacuate, call poison control 1-800-222-1222)

Foundation for further study

Predicting products; balancing equations (basic introduction — no testing required)

Students leave able to answer: I saw a small puff of smoke when I mixed drain cleaner and water — is that normal or dangerous?

Hands-on demo

Baking soda + vinegar in a sealed ziploc bag (do outside or with adult) — observe gas production

Session length

50 minutes

🎬 Present in browser 📥 Slides (.pptx, with animations) 📄 Lecture notes (PDF)

Life applicability

  • Why recipes work (doubling a cake recipe vs. doubling a chemical reaction)
  • how to measure medicine doses (mg vs mL)
  • why car fuel efficiency matters (miles per gallon = chemical energy math)

Safety knowledge

  • Why "just a little more" of a pool chemical can be dangerous (over-chlorination, toxic gases)
  • why following mixing ratios for cleaning products prevents poison gas

Foundation for further study

Basic ratio thinking for college chemistry; understanding that chemical equations are like recipes

Students leave able to answer: The instructions say one capful of bleach per gallon of water. I used three capfuls — is my cleaning solution safer or not? (No — more dangerous)

Hands-on demo

Lemonade or juice mixing — measure 1 scoop powder to 1 cup water, then 2 scoops to 1 cup water — taste difference

Session length

40 minutes (shorter — this is the math-heaviest topic)

🎬 Present in browser 📥 Slides (.pptx, with animations) 📄 Lecture notes (PDF)

Life applicability

  • Why sugar dissolves in tea but sand doesn't
  • how to remove stains (understanding solubility)
  • why water treatment works (dissolved contaminants vs. solids)

Safety knowledge

  • Why "like dissolves like" means oil-based poisons need oil-based cleaners (water won't remove them from skin)
  • why some medications are fat-soluble (store in fat cells longer — risk of overdose)

Foundation for further study

Concentration thinking; preparing solutions in lab

Students leave able to answer: I got engine grease on my hands. Why doesn't soap and water work right away?

Hands-on demo

Dissolve salt in water vs. oil in water — observe which mixes

Session length

45 minutes

🎬 Present in browser 📥 Slides (.pptx, with animations) 📄 Lecture notes (PDF)

Life applicability

  • Why lemon juice (acid) and baking soda (base) clean differently
  • why antacids work (neutralize stomach acid)
  • why soda damages teeth (acid erosion)

Safety knowledge

  • Never mix bleach (base) with vinegar (acid) — creates chlorine gas (deadly)
  • how to treat acid spills (baking soda) vs. base spills (vinegar) at home
  • battery acid dangers

Foundation for further study

pH scale; neutralization reactions; buffer systems in biology (blood pH)

Students leave able to answer: I have a clogged drain. Can I pour bleach and vinegar down together to make it stronger? (Never — deadly gas)

Hands-on demo

Red cabbage pH indicator — boil red cabbage, test lemon juice (acid turns pink) and baking soda solution (base turns blue/green)

Session length

50 minutes

🎬 Present in browser 📥 Slides (.pptx, with animations) 📄 Lecture notes (PDF)

Life applicability

  • Why hot packs and cold packs work (exothermic/endothermic reactions)
  • why food warms in a microwave (not same as chemical heat)
  • why engines get hot

Safety knowledge

  • Why some chemical reactions can cause burns even without flames (exothermic reactions)
  • why "ice packs that need to be cracked" are safe (endothermic — absorb heat from injury)

Foundation for further study

Energy changes in reactions; bond energy basics

Students leave able to answer: The first aid kit has a cold pack that I have to crack. Is it safe to use on a sprained ankle? (Yes — it gets cold, not hot)

Hands-on demo

Epsom salt + water in a bag (feel temperature drop — endothermic) vs. calcium chloride (road salt) + water (feel temperature rise — exothermic)

Session length

45 minutes

🎬 Present in browser 📥 Slides (.pptx, with animations) 📄 Lecture notes (PDF)

Life applicability

  • Why food spoils faster in heat (reaction rates)
  • why crushing medicine makes it work faster (surface area)
  • why blood can carry just enough oxygen (equilibrium in lungs)

Safety knowledge

  • Why refrigerating leftovers slows bacterial growth (slows chemical reactions)
  • why pressure cookers cook faster (higher pressure speeds reactions) — also why exploding pressure cookers are dangerous

Foundation for further study

Reaction rates; Le Chatelier's principle; dynamic equilibrium

Students leave able to answer: I left cooked rice on the counter overnight. Is it safe if I reheat it well? (No — bacteria multiplied faster at warm temperature — heat kills bacteria but not all toxins)

Hands-on demo

Two glasses of water — one hot, one cold — drop a tea bag in each and observe which diffuses color faster

Session length

45 minutes

🎬 Present in browser 📥 Slides (.pptx, with animations) 📄 Lecture notes (PDF)

Life applicability

  • Why tires bulge in summer heat (gas expands)
  • why a sealed chip bag puffs up on an airplane (lower pressure outside)
  • why you burp after soda (pressure release)

Safety knowledge

  • Never heat sealed aerosol cans (explosion risk)
  • why scuba divers must ascend slowly (bends — nitrogen bubbles in blood)
  • why propane tanks expand in heat

Foundation for further study

Boyle's, Charles's, and Ideal Gas Laws (basic introduction without calculations)

Students leave able to answer: I left a full unopened soda can in my hot car. Will it explode? (Possible — gas expands, pressure builds)

Hands-on demo

Balloon over a soda bottle — warm the bottle in hot water and watch balloon inflate (Charles's Law)

Session length

45 minutes

🎬 Present in browser 📥 Slides (.pptx, with animations) 📄 Lecture notes (PDF)

Life applicability

  • How smoke detectors work (americium-241 — safe levels)
  • why CT scans and X-rays use radiation
  • where radon gas comes from (soil — leading cause of lung cancer in non-smokers)

Safety knowledge

  • What to do if you see a trefoil radiation symbol (stay away)
  • why you should test your home for radon (test kits are cheap)
  • why old "radium glow" watches from antique stores may still be slightly radioactive

Foundation for further study

Half-life; types of radiation (alpha, beta, gamma); nuclear vs. chemical reactions

Students leave able to answer: I found an old luminous watch at a garage sale. Is it safe to wear? (Possibly — if pre-1970s radium paint, limit exposure; modern watches are safe glow-in-the-dark phosphors)

Hands-on demo

Video of a Geiger counter detecting natural background radiation (bananas contain potassium-40)

Session length

50 minutes

🎬 Present in browser 📥 Slides (.pptx, with animations) 📄 Lecture notes (PDF)

Level 2 — Advanced Chemistry

Thirteen lectures going deeper, with basic calculations. Builds on Level 1 with electron configurations, Lewis structures, equilibrium expressions, and an introduction to organic chemistry — the chemistry students will see if they take a college course. Total: about 17 hours.

Lecture title

Isotopes, Atomic Mass, and Why Bananas Are Slightly Radioactive

Learning objectives

  • Explain what an isotope is using household examples
  • Calculate the average atomic mass of an element (like chlorine in table salt)
  • Understand why some isotopes are radioactive and some are stable

Household items used in the lecture

  • Table salt (NaCl)
  • Bananas (potassium-40)
  • Smoke detector (americium-241)
  • Old radium watch
  • Granite countertop
  • Cat litter (clay-based)

Duration

60 minutes

🎬 Present in browser 📥 Slides (.pptx, with animations) 📄 Lecture notes (PDF)

Lecture title

Periodic Trends: Why Potassium Pills Are Safe but Pure Potassium Explodes

Learning objectives

  • Explain why reactivity trends exist (using atomic structure)
  • Predict whether an element will be more or less reactive than its neighbors
  • Understand why some elements are safe in compounds but dangerous alone

Household items used in the lecture

  • Table salt (NaCl)
  • Bananas (potassium)
  • Non-stick pans (fluorine in Teflon)
  • Bleach (chlorine)
  • Aluminum foil
  • Copper wire or pennies
  • Helium balloons
  • Neon signs

Duration

60 minutes

🎬 Present in browser 📥 Slides (.pptx, with animations) 📄 Lecture notes (PDF)

Lecture title

Drawing Molecules at Home: Why Snowflakes Have Six Sides and Why Dry Ice Sinks

Learning objectives

  • Draw a simple Lewis dot structure for household chemicals (water, vinegar, baking soda)
  • Predict whether a molecule is polar or non-polar — and whether it will mix with water
  • Explain why snowflakes have six sides and why dry ice sinks

Household items used in the lecture

  • Water (tap water, ice cubes, snowflakes)
  • Dry ice (Halloween fog)
  • Vinegar (acetic acid)
  • Olive oil or vegetable oil
  • Rubbing alcohol
  • Baking soda
  • Table salt

Duration

75 minutes

🎬 Present in browser 📥 Slides (.pptx, with animations) 📄 Lecture notes (PDF)

Lecture title

Balancing the Volcano: Why Baking Soda + Vinegar Fizzes — and How to Predict Any Reaction

Learning objectives

  • Identify the five main types of chemical reactions
  • Balance chemical equations step by step
  • Predict the products of common household reactions
  • Write net ionic equations to see what's really happening

Household items used in the lecture

  • Baking soda (sodium bicarbonate)
  • Vinegar (acetic acid)
  • Candle wax (combustion)
  • Bleach (sodium hypochlorite)
  • Ammonia cleaner
  • Rusty nail (oxidation)
  • Battery (redox reaction)

Duration

75 minutes

🎬 Present in browser 📥 Slides (.pptx, with animations) 📄 Lecture notes (PDF)

Lecture title

The Mole in Your Kitchen: Why Pool Chlorine Must Be Measured Exactly

Learning objectives

  • Explain what a mole is using household analogies
  • Calculate molar mass from the periodic table
  • Convert between grams, moles, and number of particles
  • Identify the limiting reactant in a recipe or chemical reaction
  • Calculate percent yield (how much product you actually get)

Household items used in the lecture

  • Pool chlorine (calcium hypochlorite)
  • Baking soda (sodium bicarbonate)
  • Vinegar (acetic acid)
  • Table salt (sodium chloride)
  • Sugar (sucrose)
  • Medicine dosing cup
  • Recipe ingredients (flour, eggs, sugar)

Duration

75 minutes

🎬 Present in browser 📥 Slides (.pptx, with animations) 📄 Lecture notes (PDF)

Lecture title

Molarity in Your Mop Bucket: Why Bleach Dilution Saves Lives

Learning objectives

  • Calculate the molarity of a solution (like bleach)
  • Perform dilution calculations (M₁V₁ = M₂V₂)
  • Predict whether a precipitate (solid) will form when mixing two solutions
  • Understand solubility rules using household examples

Household items used in the lecture

  • Bleach (sodium hypochlorite solution)
  • Lemonade powder (solute)
  • Water (solvent)
  • Pool chlorine
  • Medicine (liquid ibuprofen)
  • Salt (NaCl)
  • Sugar (sucrose)
  • Rubbing alcohol

Duration

75 minutes

🎬 Present in browser 📥 Slides (.pptx, with animations) 📄 Lecture notes (PDF)

Lecture title

The pH of Lemon Juice: How to Calculate Acidity and Why Your Blood Stays at pH 7.4

Learning objectives

  • Calculate pH from hydrogen ion concentration [H⁺]
  • Calculate [H⁺] from pH
  • Perform titration calculations (M₁V₁ = M₂V₂ for acids and bases)
  • Explain how buffers keep pH stable (like your blood)

Household items used in the lecture

  • Lemon juice (pH ~2)
  • Vinegar (pH ~2.5)
  • Bleach (pH ~12)
  • Baking soda (pH ~8.5 in water)
  • Antacids (Tums, Rolaids)
  • Stomach acid (HCl, pH ~1.5-3.5)
  • Blood (pH ~7.4)
  • Soap (pH ~9-10)

Duration

75 minutes

🎬 Present in browser 📥 Slides (.pptx, with animations) 📄 Lecture notes (PDF)

Lecture title

How Much Heat? Calculating Calories, Hand Warmers, and Why Water Takes Forever to Boil

Learning objectives

  • Calculate heat (q) using q = mcΔT
  • Distinguish between exothermic (ΔH negative) and endothermic (ΔH positive)
  • Calculate calories in food using a calorimeter
  • Use Hess's Law to add reaction heats together
  • Understand why water has a high specific heat (why it's used in car radiators)

Household items used in the lecture

  • Water (in a pot on the stove)
  • Hand warmer (iron oxidation — exothermic)
  • Cold pack (ammonium nitrate — endothermic)
  • Microwave (heating food)
  • Car engine (coolant system)
  • Food calories (nutrition labels)
  • Hot coffee (cooling down)

Duration

75 minutes

🎬 Present in browser 📥 Slides (.pptx, with animations) 📄 Lecture notes (PDF)

Lecture title

How Fast? Why Food Spoils Faster in Summer and How to Calculate Half-Life

Learning objectives

  • Explain the four factors that affect reaction rate
  • Calculate half-life for radioactive decay and first-order reactions
  • Use the equilibrium constant (K) to predict which way a reaction favors
  • Apply Le Chatelier's principle to predict how changes affect equilibrium

Household items used in the lecture

  • Refrigerator (slows reaction rates)
  • Alka-Seltzer tablet (whole vs. crushed)
  • Leftovers (2-hour rule)
  • Pressure cooker (higher pressure = faster cooking)
  • Catalytic converter in car
  • Lactose intolerance (enzyme lactase)
  • Deep-sea diving (the bends)

Duration

75 minutes

🎬 Present in browser 📥 Slides (.pptx, with animations) 📄 Lecture notes (PDF)

Lecture title

PV = nRT: Why Your Tires Bulge in Summer and How to Calculate It

Learning objectives

  • Use the Ideal Gas Law (PV = nRT) to find pressure, volume, moles, or temperature
  • Apply Combined Gas Law (P₁V₁/T₁ = P₂V₂/T₂) for changes in conditions
  • Use Dalton's Law of Partial Pressures for gas mixtures
  • Calculate gas density and molar mass from the Ideal Gas Law

Household items used in the lecture

  • Car tires (pressure changes with temperature)
  • Balloon (inflating, shrinking in cold)
  • Soda bottle (fizzing when opened)
  • Aerosol can (warning: do not incinerate)
  • Scuba diving (the bends)
  • Weather balloon (expands at high altitude)

Duration

75 minutes

🎬 Present in browser 📥 Slides (.pptx, with animations) 📄 Lecture notes (PDF)

Lecture title

Half-Life and Binding Energy: Why Bananas Are Radioactive and How Smoke Detectors Work

Learning objectives

  • Calculate half-life and remaining radioactive material
  • Understand the difference between alpha, beta, and gamma radiation quantitatively
  • Use the decay constant (λ) and decay equation (N = N₀e⁻ᵗᵗ)
  • Calculate binding energy and understand why some atoms are radioactive
  • Distinguish between fission and fusion (nuclear power vs. the sun)

Household items used in the lecture

  • Smoke detector (americium-241)
  • Banana (potassium-40)
  • Old radium watch (radium-226)
  • Granite countertop (uranium, radon)
  • Cat litter (clay-based — uranium, thorium)
  • Brazil nuts (radium)
  • Medical X-ray/CT scan

Duration

75 minutes

🎬 Present in browser 📥 Slides (.pptx, with animations) 📄 Lecture notes (PDF)

Lecture title

The Rainbow That Identifies Molecules: How a Breathalyzer Knows You've Been Drinking and How an MRI Sees Inside You

Learning objectives

  • Explain how a spectrophotometer works (light source → sample → detector)
  • Use the Beer-Lambert Law (A = εbc) to calculate concentration
  • Explain how UV light damages skin and how sunscreen blocks it
  • Understand how a breathalyzer detects alcohol using IR spectroscopy
  • Explain how glow sticks use fluorescence

Household items used in the lecture

  • Sunscreen (UV protection)
  • Breathalyzer (alcohol detection using IR)
  • Pregnancy test (color change — UV-Vis)
  • Glow stick (fluorescence)
  • MRI (medical imaging — NMR)
  • Drug testing in sports (mass spectrometry)
  • Forensic lab (identifying unknown powders)
  • Smartphone spectrometer attachments

Duration

90 minutes

🎬 Present in browser 📥 Slides (.pptx, with animations) 📄 Lecture notes (PDF)

Lecture title

The Carbon That Built You: Why There Are Millions of Organic Molecules

Learning objectives

  • Explain why carbon can form millions of different molecules
  • Draw and name simple alkanes (methane, ethane, propane, butane)
  • Identify common functional groups (alcohols, carboxylic acids, esters)
  • Recognize organic molecules in household products by name

Household items used in the lecture

  • Vinegar (acetic acid)
  • Rubbing alcohol (isopropanol)
  • Olive oil (fatty acids, triglycerides)
  • Plastic water bottle (polyethylene terephthalate — PET)
  • Milk jug (high-density polyethylene — HDPE)
  • Nail polish remover (acetone)
  • Fruit (contains fructose, glucose)
  • Vanilla extract (vanillin)

Duration

75 minutes

🎬 Present in browser 📥 Slides (.pptx, with animations) 📄 Lecture notes (PDF)

Safety focus

Every lecture emphasizes life-saving knowledge: bleach safety, radon testing, tire pressure, the 2-hour food safety rule, mixing-ratio dangers, and more. Students leave with chemistry they can use the same day.

For students

Real-world examples (smoke detectors, hot packs, soda bottles) make abstract concepts memorable. No grades means no fear of failure.

For volunteers

Every lecture comes with a script, slides, household-item demos, and safety guidelines. You can teach exactly to the script or adapt as you prefer.

For schools

Students who complete a level receive a certificate of attendance. Many advance to college chemistry — the curriculum is designed as a bridge.

Bring this curriculum to your school Volunteer to teach it