HodgesSchool Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 Any suggestions about a good Chemistry lab guide/kit? I've thought about Labpaq, about Robert Bruce Thompson's kit, and about a Thames and Kosmos set. Do any of you have experience with these kits? Are there other options I should think about? (Should I put something together myself instead?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 We are using labpaq, a set with 22 (I think) experiments, and are very pleased. It is easy to use, with clear instructions, all supplies come in labeled bags for each experiment. I would not recommend putting together a chemistry lab on your own unless you have access to chemicals and equipment. I do not find "kitchen chemistry" to teach enough chem lab in preparation for university or, for that matter, for the subject SAT which has questions about common lab procedures and experiments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In The Great White North Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 I would not recommend putting together a chemistry lab on your own unless you have access to chemicals and equipment. Thanks to the Internet, everyone has access to chemicals and equipment: http://www.hometrainingtools.com/ http://www.carolina.com/category/equipment+and+supplies.do You just have to decide how much you want to pay for it and whether or not you want to do "micro chem." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie of KY Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 I teach out of the Illustrated Guide to Home Chemistry Experiments. Not cheap and takes a lot of time, but it is a great book. Ask if you have specific questions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheHomeScientist Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 I teach out of the Illustrated Guide to Home Chemistry Experiments. Not cheap and takes a lot of time, but it is a great book.Ask if you have specific questions. Thanks for the kind words. I wrote Illustrated Guide to Home Chemistry Experiments for hobbyists and for homeschoolers who want to do a full two-year high school chemistry lab course, including AP-level stuff, and want to do it with full-scale equipment like that used in public high school and college labs. The advantage to doing it that way is that it's possible to be a lot more quantitative and more rigorous and that students are using real equipment--balances, burets, volumetric flasks, and so on. The disadvantage, as you say, is that it's not cheap to do things this way. I've heard from many homeschoolers who've used that book, and most report spending anything from $500 or $600 to $1,000 or more for the chemicals and equipment to do all of the lab sessions. We actually designed the kits referred to in the OP in response to many, many requests from homeschoolers who didn't want to spend that much money but still wanted a rigorous first-year chem lab course. By necessity, the kit is microchemistry based and less rigorous/quantitative than the book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HodgesSchool Posted March 13, 2012 Author Share Posted March 13, 2012 Thanks, folks. Outfitting a lab which could be used for AP Chem would be our preference. I think I'll take a closer look at the Illustrated Guide and see what is possible for us. Perhaps we can get a friend or two to work with us... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ohdanigirl Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 Sorry to hijack, but what does the cost run for the labpaqs? 9th grade is coming up in another year, and I am slowly trying to get materials together. I wish I had a master list to go buy. Something like 50 things every home school science student must have. Then I can add in things specific to whichever curriculum we use. :001_smile: Danielle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HodgesSchool Posted March 13, 2012 Author Share Posted March 13, 2012 Sorry to hijack, but what does the cost run for the labpaqs? 9th grade is coming up in another year, and I am slowly trying to get materials together. I wish I had a master list to go buy. Something like 50 things every home school science student must have. Then I can add in things specific to whichever curriculum we use.:001_smile: Danielle There are several labpaq options: http://lab.labpaq.com/product-overview/chemistry-overview-page Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkateLeft Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 Sorry to hijack, but what does the cost run for the labpaqs? 9th grade is coming up in another year, and I am slowly trying to get materials together. Wow, the new Labpaq website is obnoxious. All the product information is gone, and my account information doesn't allow me to log in anymore. I spent about $200 on the Biology BK-1 labpaq last time I ordered from them. Hopefully, that gives you a ballpark until their website actually becomes useful again! At this point, I'd probably order from someone else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HodgesSchool Posted March 13, 2012 Author Share Posted March 13, 2012 This might be a more useful page: http://www.labpaq.com/docs/eLP_Chemistry_ProductSheet.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom22ns Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 I am planning to use the Illustrated Guide to Home Chemistry Experiments next year. I recently purchased it and have already been through to figure out which labs we will do and the cost. I have a good basis of lab supplies, glassware, burners and so on so my experience may not be typical. I've priced out the supplies I will need to buy for a very full year of labs (not AP) and came out to about $100. If you don't have any hardware already, it would probably be double that. The book looks amazing and I like controlling which labs we will and won't do. I also don't mind having left overs for dd. There are a few things that don't stay shelf stable that long, but most left overs will be used in 2 years making that year of Chem lab all but free. That isn't really the case with LabPaq as I understand it because they ship you just the needed amount of everything. That might be preferable if you will never do it again, but may not work out to the best long term investment if you will. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheHomeScientist Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 Thanks, folks. Outfitting a lab which could be used for AP Chem would be our preference. I think I'll take a closer look at the Illustrated Guide and see what is possible for us. Perhaps we can get a friend or two to work with us... In that case, you might want to check Elemental Scientific (http://www.elementalscientific.net), which offers equipment and chemical kits that are customized to Illustrated Guide to Home Chemistry Experiments. The upside is that Elemental is a lot cheaper than Home Science Tools and most other vendors, and from what readers have told me the materials in the kit are of good quality. The downside is that Elemental is a small business and may take quite a while to ship. I've ordered from them often. Sometimes, what I ordered arrives in a week or 10 days. Other times, it's been six weeks or more. I'd feel comfortable ordering from them (as I said, I actually do order from them), but I'd order well in advance of when I needed the stuff. Incidentally, I have no connection with Elemental other than that I've ordered many times from them over the years, starting back in the mid- to late 1960's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheHomeScientist Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 I am planning to use the Illustrated Guide to Home Chemistry Experiments next year. I recently purchased it and have already been through to figure out which labs we will do and the cost. I have a good basis of lab supplies, glassware, burners and so on so my experience may not be typical. I've priced out the supplies I will need to buy for a very full year of labs (not AP) and came out to about $100. If you don't have any hardware already, it would probably be double that. The book looks amazing and I like controlling which labs we will and won't do. I also don't mind having left overs for dd. There are a few things that don't stay shelf stable that long, but most left overs will be used in 2 years making that year of Chem lab all but free. That isn't really the case with LabPaq as I understand it because they ship you just the needed amount of everything. That might be preferable if you will never do it again, but may not work out to the best long term investment if you will. Yes, that's the disadvantage to some kits. There aren't enough materials to reuse the kits for younger children a year or two down the road. Some kits don't even include sufficient materials to allow for mistakes and missteps. Fortunately, most kits--including ours and those from QSL, HST, and others--include sufficient materials for several repetitions. The flip side of that is that chemicals and other consumables do age. We did testing on the consumables in our chemistry and biology kits and found that except as noted their shelf life is sufficient to use the same kit over two or three years and possibly four, and I suspect most other vendors' kits are similar. The exceptions are usually live items (such as the yeast and rhizobia culture in our biology kits) and some very reactive chemicals. Ordinarily, it's not a problem to replace just those items if you want to re-use a kit for a younger child. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HodgesSchool Posted March 13, 2012 Author Share Posted March 13, 2012 Thank you so much! In that case, you might want to check Elemental Scientific (www.elementalscientific.net), which offers equipment and chemical kits that are customized to Illustrated Guide to Home Chemistry Experiments. The upside is that Elemental is a lot cheaper than Home Science Tools and most other vendors, and from what readers have told me the materials in the kit are of good quality. The downside is that Elemental is a small business and may take quite a while to ship. I've ordered from them often. Sometimes, what I ordered arrives in a week or 10 days. Other times, it's been six weeks or more. I'd feel comfortable ordering from them (as I said, I actually do order from them), but I'd order well in advance of when I needed the stuff. Incidentally, I have no connection with Elemental other than that I've ordered many times from them over the years, starting back in the mid- to late 1960's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewelma Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 Has anyone used Spectrum Chemistry? How does it compare to these other options. My ds will be studying for the IGCSE chemistry exam next year, so I will need to coordinate some of the labs with their text. Ruth in NZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom22ns Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 Spectrum has been discussed many times. Here are a few past threads: http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=352051&highlight=spectrum http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=344859&highlight=spectrum http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=290192&highlight=spectrum A search for the word spectrum turns up many more, but these had more responses than most. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheHomeScientist Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 Does Spectrum ship to New Zealand? (I'm assuming that NZ means New Zealand.) Shipping internationally is a huge problem for kits that contain anything hazardous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewelma Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Does Spectrum ship to New Zealand? (I'm assuming that NZ means New Zealand.) Shipping internationally is a huge problem for kits that contain anything hazardous. I have called the NZ customs office, and they have no problem receiving a student's chemistry kit into the country (they only cared about the tax:tongue_smilie:), and did not want a list of chemicals.:001_huh: So it is really a matter of getting it out of the USA. There are not a lot of organized kits here, so I would have to buy piecemeal which is more expensive and a pain in the neck. I have read threads about Spectrum, but no one seems to compare it to Labpaq or the Illustrated Guide to Home Chemistry. From what I have read, it sounds like Spectrum takes the least time. But I would also be interested in the comparison of math required (I would like more math), and the breadth of the different topics covered. Ruth in NZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom22ns Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Spectrum is a complete Chemistry course, while LabPaq and IGtHCE just cover labs. You can pair them with any Chemistry from a very rigorous one, to a very easy one - that is why the lack of comparisons. Spectrum's strength is its labs, but I haven't used it, so I won't comment any more on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheHomeScientist Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 I have called the NZ customs office, and they have no problem receiving a student's chemistry kit into the country (they only cared about the tax:tongue_smilie:), and did not want a list of chemicals.:001_huh: So it is really a matter of getting it out of the USA. There are not a lot of organized kits here, so I would have to buy piecemeal which is more expensive and a pain in the neck. I have read threads about Spectrum, but no one seems to compare it to Labpaq or the Illustrated Guide to Home Chemistry. From what I have read, it sounds like Spectrum takes the least time. But I would also be interested in the comparison of math required (I would like more math), and the breadth of the different topics covered. Ruth in NZ The issue isn't what New Zealand authorities are willing to allow into the country. The issue is what UPS, FedEx, and other shippers are willing to ship, and what hoops one has to go through to get those materials shipped. We ship our chemistry and biology kits only to to the 50 US states, because we can do that under the Section 173.4 Small Quantity Exemption or ORM-D for shipping small amounts of hazardous materials without any special paperwork or paying hazardous materials shipping surcharges. Those exceptions aren't available for international shipments, so I'd be surprised if either Spectrum or LabPaq was willing to ship to NZ. I may be wrong, so it'd be worth checking with them, but I suspect they won't do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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