Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) Resources

This resource provides an overview of ways to discuss ocean acidification with high school students (14-16 years), including connecting increasing levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere with absorption by the oceans and the resulting increase in ocean pH. Topics include understanding pH as a logarithmic scale, the nature of acids (strong vs. weak), and connecting these topics to the U.N ...

This page through the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) website provides a collection of curriculum resources for high school-level students focused on the sustainable management of water. It includes a downloadable practical and simple microbiology experiment looking at the antimicrobial properties of halogens, as well as additional reading and information for putting water scarcity and management ...

This two-part microbiology practical investigation introduces students to the antibacterial properties of halogen solutions and their use for water treatment from contaminated sources.

Chemists design, create and modify molecules to produce new and useful materials such as pharmaceuticals. Research and development of new medicines and vaccines against communicable and non-communicable diseases is vital in helping to achieve the UN’s sustainable development Goal 3: ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.

The experiment "Dissolved Substances in Tap Water and Seawater" involves students evaporating tap water, distilled water, and seawater to observe solid residues. They also witness an instructor-led demonstration where gases are released from boiling these waters, collected, and tested. This practical activity helps illustrate the different dissolved substances in various water types, showcasing ...

This resource includes teacher notes and a student worksheet about E10 petrol, which became the standard 95-octane fuel in Great Britain in 2021 and Northern Ireland in 2022. Students read an extract from a news article and answer related questions. Sue Ali, from the Royal Society of Chemistry, is the author of this resource.

This resource is part of the Royal Society for Chemistry's sustainability in chemistry series. It is for high school teachers to help them link their lessons about energy sources, water resources, nanochemistry, health, and climate change to the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals of inclusive education and equality.

Use this activity to connect students’ learning about energy and the carbon cycle to the UN’s Sustainable development goals and help them understand chemistry’s role in solving global issues.

This article is to help teachers incorporate the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 8 in teaching green chemistry. Students will apply concepts from the biofuel industry to understand developments in the production of biofuels and how they are linked to Goal 8. Students will discuss environmental and ethical issues and manufacturing processes. The fermentation experiment is used to help students ...

Tips and activties to help readers from all backgrounds learn about and address UN SDG #11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

A two-part high school-aged resource to accompany a practical synthesis of aspirin. The first part includes an individual writing reflection on drugs and the pharmaceutical industry, and a group work activity to watch a video and discuss and share ideas from the writing reflection. Students will also discuss epistemic harm and the origins of medicinal chemistry knowledge. The second part includes ...

This resource discusses using potatoes to make plastics and investigates the use of plasticizers.

This resource provided through the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) website provides a collection of resources and data for students to see how to access and evaluate real-time data around air pollutants in local regions. In particular, the resource looks at current and historical levels of nitrogen dioxide in various regions throughout the United Kingdom.

This resource is intended for early high ...

This resource highlights how organic chemistry contributes to agriculture.

This feature article, available through the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), gives an overview of indoor air pollutants and how chemists and scientists monitor and track them. The article highlights a massive study in June of 2018 that took place in the United States and provides a series of different activities for high school-level students to understand mass spectrometry. It also includes ...

The article discusses steps in recycling plastic bottles, focusing on polyethylene terephthalate (PET). The steps required to separate the PET bottles from other types of plastics such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC) using optical methods and density are described. The article further describes the chemical methods used to remove other contaminants including food residues and depolymerize the ...

The experiment "Separating Salts from Seawater" demonstrates the process of separating various salts from seawater. Students heat seawater to evaporate the water and precipitate solids. The procedure involves boiling seawater, allowing solids to settle, and using filtration and further evaporation to isolate different salts, primarily calcium carbonate, calcium sulfate, and sodium chloride. This ...

This resource provides ideas and tips for teaching students about sustainable energy sources which connects to the UN Sustainable Development Goal 7. The activities presented in this resource also connect the ideas of scientific discovery using energy production as a context to promote students' interests in sustainable energy.

This article summarizes ideas of activities to help you energize your students to tackle poverty using their chemistry learning.

The significant role that chemistry plays in the battle to end global poverty is related to the potential to mediate the harmful effects of poverty. This resource highlights three key reasons we need to get comfortable talking about poverty in chemistry classrooms:

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This article explores the significant environmental impact of microplastics, tiny plastic particles less than 5mm in size. These particles originate from larger plastic debris breaking down and microbeads from cosmetic products. Microplastics are pervasive in marine environments, posing threats to wildlife through ingestion and chemical contamination. The article highlights the urgent need for ...

This resource delves into the concept of pH changes using ocean acidification as a context. It presents questions that help students establish the connection between pH changes and their impact on marine organisms in the context of ocean acidification.

The experiment uses exhaled breath to explore the reaction between carbon dioxide and water. Students blow into a flask containing water and an indicator, causing a color change as carbon dioxide dissolves and forms carbonic acid, a weak acid. The experiment illustrates concepts of gas-liquid reactions, pH indicators, and the impact of carbon dioxide on water chemistry.

This resource provides activities and suggestions for incorporating UN Sustainable Development Goal 9 into the teaching of reaction kinetics, equilibrium, and catalysts.

This resource connects human activities to the impact they have on the environment. This activity focuses on the topic of climate change by exploring the chemistry behind climate change and its impact on the environment using a flow diagram.

This resource offers activities and directions that emphasize the role of women in chemistry in alignment with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) focused on attaining gender equality and empowering women and girls.