The Reason for Balance

The Stop Faking It Series are excellent books that approach topics conceptually. In a true learning cycle style, the reader is asked to perform several simple activities before the science ... See More

The Stop Faking It Series are excellent books that approach topics conceptually. In a true learning cycle style, the reader is asked to perform several simple activities before the science is explained. The book chapters always include the contents of the entire book as well as the index and glossary which is helpful in giving a holistic view of the book. The book chapters always include the contents of the entire book as well as the index and glossary which are helpful in giving a holistic view of the book. This chapter develops the rationale and technique for balancing equations and offers an explanation of why we use balanced equations. This chapter would be an excellent resource for a middle school teacher or a teacher teaching out of content. It’s also interesting reading for one who has a chemistry education background.

Balancing Act SFI

This chapter, in fact the entire book, is an excellent resource for new teachers, teachers teaching out of field, and teachers who haven't had to teach chemistry concepts in a long time. Th... See More

This chapter, in fact the entire book, is an excellent resource for new teachers, teachers teaching out of field, and teachers who haven't had to teach chemistry concepts in a long time. The chapters are structured as inquiry for teachers. They begin with "stuff to do" followed by a discussion of the results which is finally followed by "the science stuff" - an elaboration of the concepts. One wonderful aspect of the way that NSTA has offered this resource is that rather than simply offering the chapter out of context, the preface and glossary for the entire book are provided to make the chapter even more useful and contextual. Specifically, this chapter should not be used without having completed the "Structure of Matter" chapter at a minimum. Once the reader has the background and pattern of activity involved in engaging in the book, this chapter focuses on chemical reactions and how they are influenced by the structure of the atoms involved in them.