Predict Products of Everyday Chemical Reactions

Strengthen chemical prediction skills by applying reaction rules to common household substances.

Teaching Context:
Ideal for Year 9 to Year 11 Chemistry when teaching reaction prediction and balancing equations.

Basic AI Prompt:
What happens when vinegar reacts with baking soda?

Enhanced AI Prompt:
You are learning how to predict the products of chemical reactions. Ask AI to describe what happens when five common household substances react (e.g. vinegar + baking soda, bleach + ammonia—include a safety warning here, citric acid + bicarbonate, iron + water, sugar + heat). For each reaction, ask AI to write the word equation, predict the products, and explain why the reaction occurs based on reactant properties. Finally, ask AI to list safety precautions for handling these reactions in a home or school setting.

Spice it Up (Optional Extension):
Ask AI to write a safety poster for a home science experiment.

Lesson Implementation:
Start with demonstrations or videos of safe chemical reactions. Discuss how we predict outcomes based on chemical types. Students use AI to generate examples and fill out a scaffolded table: Reactants | Word Equation | Predicted Products | Safety Notes.

Students then research one reaction in depth, presenting the chemical process and its practical uses or risks. Finish with a hands-on demo (where safe) or a video analysis of reaction types. This lesson reinforces predictive thinking and chemical literacy.

Got ideas on different ways to use this prompt? Share them with the class in the comments below!

Also, if you liked this, you'll love the thousands of subject-specific AI prompts in our books section!