Unexpected Discovery: A Guided-Inquiry Experiment on the Reaction Kinetics of Zinc with Sulfuric Acid

Martin Rusek, Pavel Beneš, John Carroll

Index: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.7b00110

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Abstract

The role of practical work in the training of student teachers is central to the development of their future pedagogy and practice. However, not all laboratory based activities give sufficient challenge in the development of both cognitive and practical skills. The activity proposed in this paper helps reinforce an understanding of reaction kinetics through a study of the reaction of zinc with sulfuric acid. In this study, the observed reaction kinetics conflicted with the typical expectation, which offered a problem to motivate an inquiry-based activity.