Portable syringe kit demonstration of gas generating reactions for upper secondary school chemistry

Abstract

The main purpose of this study is to develop a portable syringe experiment kit for easy demonstration of the chemical kinetics of H2, C2H2, and CO2 gas-generating reactions for upper secondary school chemistry classrooms. The main apparatus comprises two large (A and C) and one small (B) Luer-lock-tip syringes connected with a 3-way stopcock. Ignition is applied to test H2 and C2H2 gases. In contrast, the turbidity of lime water is used to test CO2 gas. The effects of reactant species and concentrations on the reaction rates were demonstrated. The syringe kit was implemented through the 5E inquiry learning process for a group of 33 grade 11 students, leading to an improvement in their conceptual test scores on chemical reaction rates from 33.94 % to 78.03 %, with a normalized gain in the medium range (<g = 0.67>). This suggests that using the syringe kit within the 5E inquiry learning framework effectively supported students in developing a more accurate conceptual understanding of reaction rates.