Pre-U Chemists Put Thermochemistry to the Test with Hand Warmers

Pre-U Chemistry students kicked off the winter semester by exploring the thermochemistry behind a familiar cold-weather essential — hand warmers. Comparing store-bought versions with homemade designs, they discovered how these heat packs use an iron oxidation reaction, sped up by a catalyst, to release energy as heat through an exothermic process. - Ms. Dalton, Senior School Science teacher