Endothermic vs. Exothermic Reactions Lab with Lesson Plan

This activity is a lab where students complete five stations. Each station is a chemical reaction and students collect data then using the data collected, determine if each reaction is an endothermic or exothermic reaction. The following chemical reactions the students complete are:

1. Lighting a match
2. Lighting magnesium metal on fire
3. Roasting a marshmallow
4. Combining ammonium nitrate and water
5. Combining water and an antacid tablet.

This lab is great for an introduction to endothermic and exothermic reactions. It is a great visual for students to actually pick up observations of endothermic and exothermic reactions versus just reading from a book.