CLARK — Eighth graders in Ms. Veiksans and Miss Bartolomeo’s science classes at Carl H. Kumpf Middle School in Clark are learning about chemical reactions. Once the students had a deep understanding of the how rates of chemical reactions can be affected by different factors, they participated in a lab where they were able to classify the type of reaction that took place. The types of chemical reactions they classified were endothermic and exothermic reactions.
In the lab, they found the differences between the starting temperature of the chemicals, and the ending temperatures after they reacted with each other. The students found that in an endothermic reaction, the temperature of the mixture decreased, and in an exothermic reaction, the temperature increased.
In the photo above, Ed Lasinski found that a mixture of baking soda and calcium chloride caused an exothermic reaction. (Photo courtesy of Clark Public Schools)
