O experimento “camaleão químico” para aprendizagem de reações redox: uma atividade experimental

Abstract

The teaching of chemistry at the basic education level faces challenges, especially due to students' difficulties in understanding abstract concepts, such as those found in electrochemistry. In this sense, it is necessary to seek and utilize alternative methodologies to increase student interest and thus achieve meaningful learning. This work presents the "chemical chameleon" experiment as a didactic tool to support the teaching of electrochemistry. This simple experiment consists of the reaction between potassium permanganate and glucose in a basic medium. Articles showing the application of this experiment in electrochemistry teaching were researched, and it was noted that it is possible to use the "chemical chameleon" experiment to support teaching about oxidation numbers, redox reactions, and kinetics. The reduction of manganese is observed through the color change of the solution, allowing students to see in practice the transformations carried out during a redox reaction. The researched articles demonstrate that the use of the "chemical chameleon" experiment as an active methodology generates greater student engagement, facilitates the understanding of electrochemistry content, and makes learning more meaningful and efficient. This is a low-cost and easy-to-perform experiment, allowing it to be applied in different educational contexts, such as schools without science labs.