Distillation discoveries

Natural gas and oil don't come out of the ground ready to use. The refinery separates these organic concentrates and nothing is wasted. The OOGEEP STEM lessons on refining and processing include an activity to show how the process of distillation compares to a real refinery.

Tami Golliday teaches AP Chemistry at Bexley High School. She attended a STEM teacher workshop last summer and experienced these labs, then took them to her classroom.

"We did a fractional distillation simulation and then we did the OOGEEP lessons 6.1 - Standard Distillation and 6.3 - ink Chromatography. Students found it useful to connect density to intermolecular forces of attraction using distillation and chromatography. In particular, they found it difficult to predict properties of hydrocarbon chains. They really enjoyed doing the distillation. It is the only time they have done one in high school and many may never do another.

"Learning how to distill mouthwash using hotplates and ice packs was the highlight for me! I would like to see a condenser tube made from household substances to make this lesson more accessible," Golliday said.