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How to speed up chemical reactions (and get a date) - Aaron Sams

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The complex systems of high school dating and chemical reactions may have more in common than you think. Explore five rules for speeding up chemical reactions in the lab that might just land you a date to a dance!


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Meet The Creators

  • Educator Aaron Sams, Mark Paricio
  • Animator Andrew Park
  • Narrator Aaron Sams
Additional Resources for you to Explore
Harriet’s analogy of getting a date for the dance is a common way to explain chemical reactions. Write your own analogy or story that explains the same concepts in your own creative way.
Analogies can only go so far in explaining actual scientific concepts. What are some of the ways this analogy “breaks down” and does not accurately represent the nature of chemical reactions?
PhET Interactive Simulations: Reactions & Rates http://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulation/reactions-and-rates
Purdue University Chemistry: Kinetics http://www.chem.purdue.edu/gchelp/howtosolveit/Kinetics/CalculatingRates.html#InitialRate
Annenberg Learner: Reactions in Chemistry http://www.learner.org/workshops/chemistry/

Customize this lesson

Create and share a new lesson based on this one.

About TED-Ed Animations

TED-Ed Animations feature the words and ideas of educators brought to life by professional animators. Are you an educator or animator interested in creating a TED-Ed Animation? Nominate yourself here »

Meet The Creators

  • Educator Aaron Sams, Mark Paricio
  • Animator Andrew Park
  • Narrator Aaron Sams

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