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Grades 9–12. Students reflect on oxidation reduction reactions while creating their own mirrored silver glass vials. In this classroom kit, dextrose reduces silver ions to metallic silver, which deposits on the glass vial's inside surface. Your students will explain at a particulate level how redox chemistry results in silver production and gain practice in balancing redox reactions. Materials are sufficient for 30 students working individually.

• Create beautiful silver vials
• Illustrate or explain the redox reaction at a particulate level
• Balance redox reactions

Grades 9–12.

Find a Silver Lining
Students silver the inside of a glass vial using a procedure similar to the Tollens' test, with dextrose as the reducing sugar that reduces silver ions to metallic silver. Kit includes enough vials and chemicals for 30 students to make their own silver vials.

Reinforce and Balance Redox Reactions
After rotating through the 6 stations and creating their silver vials, students write and balance equations for the reduction of silver oxide to metallic silver by dextrose. They also write and balance an equation for the formation of a precipitate intermediary. Students consider the role of stoichiometry in commercial applications and then model or explain the chemistry of this activity on an atomic level.

FREE 1-year access to digital resources that support NGSS instruction included.

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