Nuffield seminar: outdoor science
Chemistry Trails
Dr Peter Borrows
30th March 2010
The School of Education, Birmingham University
Concrete stalactites?
Making cement
3CaCO3(s) + Al4Si4O10(OH)8(s)
 Ca3SiO5(s) + Al4Si3O12(s) + 4H2O(g) + 3CO2(g)
CaCO3(s)  CaO(s) + CO2(g)
Cement setting
CaO(s) + CO2(g)  CaCO3(s)
Some CaO remains unreacted
Water leaches through the concrete
CaO(s) + H2O(l)  Ca(OH)2(s)
Ca(OH)2(s) + aq  Ca(OH)2(aq)
Yes, you get lime water
Some CaO remains unreacted
Water leaches through the concrete
CaO(s) + H2O(l)  Ca(OH)2(s)
Ca(OH)2(s) + aq  Ca(OH)2(aq)
Yes, you get lime water
Ca(OH)2(aq) + CO2(g)  CaCO3(s) + H2O(l)
• Visit your local
Laboratory for the
Investigation of Longterm Corrosion
Why bother with
chemistry trails /
outdoor chemistry?
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Chemistry doesn’t
just happen in test
tubes.
Why ITT?
Using chemistry trail
ideas with children
• Take the class on a local walk
• Set a homework for them to find 3 examples
of protecting iron from corrosion (& take a
picture with their mobile phone?)
• A project for the G&T to produce a trail
around the school
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Sources of ideas
Borrows, P., 1984, The Pimlico chemistry trail,
School Science Review, 66 (235), 221-233.
Borrows, P., 2006, Chemistry outdoors, School
Science Review, 87(320), 23-31.
Borrows, P (2004) Chemistry Trails. in Learning
Science Outside the Classroom, eds. Braund,
M. and Reiss, M. pp 151 – 168. London:
RoutledgeFalmer.
Borrows, P Education in Chemistry, ca. 500
words in 2-3 issues per year since 1994
peter@borrows.demon.co.uk