Common Examples of Chemical Changes in Everyday Life

Chemical changes happen all around us, even if we don’t notice them. It can be tricky for 7th graders to see and understand these changes. Here are some familiar examples of chemical changes, why they can be confusing, and how to better understand them.

1. Rust Formation

• What Happens: When iron meets oxygen and water, it creates rust, also known as iron oxide.
• Why It’s Confusing: It can be hard to realize rust is a chemical change because the iron is still there, just changed.
• How to Learn: To see rust in action, students can conduct simple experiments. For example, they can leave iron nails in different places—some dry and some wet—to watch how rust forms.

2. Cooking Food

• Examples: Baking bread, frying an egg, or making caramel from sugar.
• Why It’s Confusing: The cooking process happens quickly, and the final food looks so different from the raw ingredients that it can be hard to see the chemical changes.
• How to Learn: Teachers can suggest students keep a cooking journal. They can write down what they see happening when they cook and talk about it in class.

3. Burning Fuels

• What Happens: When wood or fuels burn, they turn into ash, gases, and heat.
• Why It’s Confusing: Students sometimes mix up burning, which is a chemical change, with physical changes like melting since they see flames and feel heat but may not notice the material change.
• How to Learn: Teachers can show safe demonstrations of burning different things while explaining what happens during the process.

4. Decomposition

• Example: The breakdown of food scraps or how organic materials spoil.
• Why It’s Confusing: It’s hard to see that decay is a chemical change, especially since tiny organisms are involved.
• How to Learn: Introducing the idea of microorganisms and their role in breaking down materials can help students understand this important process.

5. Photosynthesis

• What Happens: Plants change carbon dioxide and water into glucose (a type of sugar) and oxygen using sunlight.
• Why It’s Confusing: This process seems complicated because it involves different parts and steps.
• How to Learn: Using pictures, diagrams, or videos can help students visualize what happens during photosynthesis, making the chemical changes easier to grasp.

Conclusion

Chemical changes are important in our daily lives, but they can be challenging for students to see and understand. When teachers provide hands-on activities and real-life examples, students can better learn about these changes and start to appreciate the chemistry that surrounds them.