DESCRIPTION
ONLINE INSTRUCTIONS: Find your kit instructions on Science Buddies.
Real forensic chemistry: test, analyze, and identify the unknown.
Discover what it is like to be a forensic chemist with this hands-on kit.
Following the scenario set out in the Crime Scene Chemistry project, students perform a series of tests to determine which, if any, of three unknown kitchen samples, labeled sugar, salt, and cornstarch, is secretly aspiring, an over-the-counter pain medication that can be toxic at high doses. The scenario is an elderly woman is rushed to the hospital with symptoms of aspirin poisoning after a day of baking. It's up to the student detective to figure out whether one of her kitchen staples is the real culprit.
The experimental tests included in the kit are easy to perform, safe, reliable, and clearly demonstrate how different chemical properties like color, solubility, and reactiveness are useful during chemical analysis of an unknown substance. This kit is a fun introduction to real-world chemistry!
Key Questions Students Explore:
- Which of the three unknown kitchen samples, if any, is secretly aspirin?
- How do color-changing chemical tests with iron nitrate and Lugol's iodine reveal a hidden substance's identity?
- What does a real forensic chemist do, and what symptoms can aspirin poisoning cause?
A few household items are needed, like toothpicks and a lab notebook, so check the linked instructions for the complete list. For an extra challenge, compare the kit's unknown samples against real sugar, salt, and cornstarch from home.
MORE INFORMATION BOX
CONTENTS TAB
Each Crime Scene Chemistry kit contains:
- Disposable gloves
- Distilled water
- Ferric nitrate
- Lugol's iodine
- Powdered aspirin
- Sodium hydroxide
- Unknown, presumed to be cornstarch
- Unknown, presumed to be salt
- Unknown, presumed to be sugar
- Wax pencil
SPECIFICATIONS TAB
Warning