Mr. Cram’s Firework Emporium Spectacular Bonanza

July 4th isn’t here yet, but Mr. Cram‘s Chemistry students are thinking about FIREWORKS! Mr. Cram is a chemistry teacher at Lake View High School on Chicago’s north side. His students recently participated in a fun project where they had to create a sales pitch for a prospective fireworks show-just in time for the summer rush! Students worked with a partner to design their best firework display containing at least three colors.

Mathematics were incorporated as they also had to determine the cost of 1 ton of the required metal salts to produce the chosen display colors. Then along came the technology twist! Students created infographics using Piktochart to display their sales pitch to Mr. Cram. The students had to collect information about all metal salts and document their sources along the way! Chemists were encouraged to study other infographics and choose at least two different ways to share their information. For example, the student could use a bar graph, pie chart, line graph, etc. The final project included at least three correct Bohr models for metal atoms, calculations for the energy of produced light, long and short hand configurations for various metal atoms, and a final estimated cost for the project. Students created their displays in the hopes of being featured at Mr. Cram’s Firework Emporium Spectacular Bonanza!

Click on the image below to view the complete Piktochart. Find more from Mr. Cram’s Chemists on Twitter #LVChem