It was goggles-on for Jeff Nichols’s chemistry class Nov. 11. Students burned samples of different elements to test what color they would appear in the flame.

     Nichols turned out the lights in the classroom so students could better see the color each flame turned.

     “We’re testing different elements and how they react to heat with electron and photon emissions,” Nikki Flocco ‘23 said.

     Students tested elements under the fume hood, as well. This lab was part of the in-class demonstrations of a unit covering the electromagnetic spectrum and electron emissions spectrums.

     “Two days ago, we did [a lab] concerning the electromagnetic spectrum where we had a prism glass, and it was cool,” Abram West ‘22 said.

     In this lab, students were in charge of their own Bunsen burners and were required to wear safety goggles. Some students had to change.

     “Mr. Nichols gave me a tye-dye t-shirt to change into so that my sherpa wouldn’t catch on fire,” Alison Merritt ‘22 said.

     This is a lab the chemistry department uses each year so that students can see how little differences in the microworld, such as a slight difference in the number of electrons in an atom, can largely affect the macroworld, such as the color of a flame.