05/29/2026
On Wednesday, May 13, Professor Jeff Statler enjoyed delivering a 45-minute demonstration show for students from the American Heritage School—a private school visiting from American Fork. In attendance were 22 Advanced Placement Chemistry students, their teacher, and 4 chaperoning parents.
The students were very interactive and excited by all of the demonstrations. With their knowledge of chemistry, the demos were engaging and very educational. During the demonstration, students were able to explore explosive decomposition of nitrogen triiodide, paramagnetism of Liquid Oxygen generated through condensation from air, Liquid Nitrogen reactions, catalytic decompositions of hydrogen peroxide, explosion of hydrogen gas—including the use of a palladium catalyst, oscillating clock reactions, reaction of potassium chlorate and powdered sugar, and a thermite reaction.
Students lingered for quite some time after the show, asking brilliant questions and enjoying some Department of Chemistry memorabilia. Surely Professor Statler will enjoy a few of these students again in his General Chemistry sequence!
