Teaching Chemical Equilibria: A Contextualized Scientific Method and Forensic Chemistry Class

This paper presents an experimental class involving forensic chemistry topics and principles of the scientific method in the investigation of a fictitious death case, where the students can understand the chemical reactions and respective equilibria involved in the case. Therefore, the aim of this experimental class is to provoke students to examine the interrelationships between the concepts of chemical equilibria, by observing the occurrence of reversible chemical reactions and the equilibria involved, in each experimental step. The practical activity was executed based on the discovery methodology. Experimental classes generally arouse the interest of undergraduates in chemistry, and this particular class increased the students' interest in forensic chemistry, and contextualized the chemical reactions and equilibria for crime-solving, which is a common theme in popular media such as books, films, and plays. From the reports of the students, it was affirmed that this experimental class, which was based on a rediscovery technique, promoted interest and learning of chemical equilibria to a satisfactory level.