1. Halloween Chemistry
Presented by Kavita Gupta, Instructor AP Chemistry, Science DC
Monta Vista High School, Cupertino, CA

2. MV Chemistry Website url http://web.fuhsd.org/kavita_gupta
This session’s power point is available on the above website.
Presenter’s

3. Monta Vista High School 21840, McClellan Road, Cupertino, CA www
Monta Vista High School 21840, McClellan Road, Cupertino, CA

5. Halloween Chemistry: Rationale
Halloween Chemistry combines learning of Chemistry with fun and helps students gain better understanding of Chemistry while arising their curiosity.

6. Halloween Chemistry at AP Chemistry Level
There are three components of Halloween Chemistry Presentation at AP Level:
Halloween Demos by the teacher (15 mins)
Halloween Costume Presentations by the students (35 mins)

7. Halloween Chemistry
Part I: Teacher Demos

8. Halloween Demos by the teacher
Flaming Pumpkin with Colored Fires
Desks on Fire
Fire-Breathing

9. Flaming Pumpkin with Colored Fire

10. Materials: Large Pumpkin, Calcium Acetate Trihydrate (~20g), Ethanol (enough to make a slurry)
Nitrates of Calcium, Strontium, Barium and Copper (II)
Methodology: Make a slurry of Calcium Acetate Trihydrate by mixing enough alcohol in it. Put this slurry in a carved and cleaned pumpkin. Light the pumpkin on fire using a lighter. You may do this demo outside of the fume hood.
Now add one spatula full of each of the salts one by one to see that flame test colors.
Student Assessment/Review: Students will identify the cation in the salt based on the flame test color.

11. Chemistry behind this demo:
Flame Test Colors: Ca2+ Red, Ba Ion Pale Green, Cupric Ion Blue-green, Strontium Ion Brick Red
Review of Bohr’s Model and release of energy with electron transition
Disposal: Pumpkin + left overs can be put in regular trash after completing combustion.
Safety Precautions: Please wear goggles while performing this demo and put the container of alcohol away from the open flame.

12. Strontium Ion’s Flame Color
Cupric Ion Flame Test Color in its Full Glory
Strontium Ion’s Flame Color

13. Desk on Fire Demo

14. Materials: Calcium Acetate Trihydrate (~20g), Ethanol (enough to make a slurry), match
Methodology:
Mix the ethanol in Calcium Acetate Trihydrate to make a slurry.
Using a glass rod or a spatula, write whatever you desire on the desk.
Make sure that the letters are touching each other for a continuous fire.
Now light the fire at any letter. The whole lettering will light up.

16. Chemistry Behind the Reaction
Combustion of Hydrocarbons:
CxHyOz + O2 CO2 + H2O + Heat
C2H5OH + O2CO2 + H2O + Heat
Disposal:
After combustion of alcohol, ashes can be disposed off in regular trash.
Safety Precautions:
Please wear goggles and keep container of alcohol away from demo area.

17. Fire-Breathing

18. Materials: Burner, Corn Starch, lighter
Methodology: You might need to practice it before doing this demo in front of the class!
Set a burner on a table and light it.
Take two spoonfuls (or as much as your mouth can hold) of corn starch in your mouth. Blow out this
corn starch in burner flame with force. It is pretty spectacular!

19. Disposal: Wipe table with a wet paper towel.
Rinse your mouth to get rid of excess corn starch.
Chemistry Behind the Reaction: Reaction Rates and Surface Area
Safety Precautions:
1. Do NOT inhale corn starch. Take a deep breath and while you have the corn
Starch in your mouth, try not to inhale it.
2. Try this demo couple of times before performing in front of students.

20. PART II: Students’ Halloween Costumes
Some Costume Topics/Descriptions

21. Topic Description Shielding
Students dressed as knights with shields protecting a princess (electron) from a witch.
Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle
Students were in a car but couldn’t get arrested because you can’t determine the speed and location of an electron at the same time.
Relative bond strength
Students dressed as Supergirl “S” and Catwoman “Ca” bond to form CaS and fought against Invisible Woman “I2”. CaS wins because the ionic bond is stronger than the covalent bond

22. Rutherford’s Gold Foil experiment
Students dressed up as a gold particle, alpha particle emitter, and detecting screens.
Electron energy levels and emissions
Students dressed up as nucleus, electron, and energy, and demonstrated how energy added causes an electron to jump to excited state, and then how the electron releases the energy in the form of electromagnetic radiation

23. Electron Affinity
Students dressed up as Fluorine and Neon atoms and an electron- the two atoms, living on Period 2 block, see the lone electron, and Fluorine takes it in because it has higher electron affinity (represented by more space in its house)
Hund’s Rule
Students dressed up as the “Neon family” of electrons, and sat down at their dinner table- each in a different seat, because two electrons about a single atom cannot share the same set of quantum numbers

24. Some Videos on Halloween Chemistry
MVHS AP Chemistry Students

25. Ionic Bonding

26. The Gold diggers

27. Helium Atom

28. TNT

29. Like a Chemist

30. Arrghon (Argon)

31. AgCl Precipitation

32. Halloween Chemistry at 10th Grade Level
Chemistry and Chemistry Honors

33. Halloween Demos by Teacher
Oozing pumpkin
Genie coming out of the bottle

34. Oozing Pumpkin Materials Carve out a pumpkin.
Baking Soda, Vinegar, Red Food Coloring, Dish Soap
Procedure
Carve out a pumpkin.
Add vinegar (enough to fill it just below first carving), food coloring (few drops) and soap (2 tea spoons).
At the time of demo, add baking soda and red froth is going to come out of pumpkin
Put a big dish under the pumpkin to catch the spill.
Pumpkin can be used through different classes, by refilling the material.
Dispose in trash at the end of demo.

35. Genie in The Bottle (From Flinn)
Materials: H202 (30%), Mn02 (catalyst), 2 L soda bottle, thread
Procedure
Make a pouch of about 1 spatula full of Mn02 in a tissue paper and tie it with a thread.
Fill an empty 2L soda bottle with H202 and hang in the MnO2 pouch in there, making sure that thread is caught in the bottle cap so pouch does not fall into the bottle unless cap is unscrewed
At the time of demo, unscrew the cap. The pouch will fall inside H202 starting a spectacular reaction
Disposal:
In trash, after all H202 has been decomposed.

37. PART II: Students’ Halloween Costumes
Some Costume Topics/Descriptions

38. Student Costumes
The costumes ranged from Mentadent Toothpaste costume (for Fluoride), Cow ( for Ca), Salt shaker ( for Sodium), Glow in the dark costume ( for phosphorus), Battery ( for Nickel), Statue of Liberty ( for copper by), Skeleton (for Ca), Glow-in-the-dark clothing (Phosphorus), double replacement reactions (NaOH + HCl) and Heisenberg.

40. Phosphorus (Glow in the Dark), Graphite (Pencils- Allotrope of Carbon) and Calcium (skeleton)

41. Double Replacement Reaction: Metathesis

42. Beryllium Fluoride and Magnesium

43. Double Replacement

44. Heisenberg

45. Thank you for your time!