Thermometry as a teaching tool for graphing: A first-day introductory chemistry laboratory experiment

Preparing a meaningful laboratory exercise for introductory or general chemistry students to perform, especially on the first day of class, is challenging. Introductory or general chemistry students range from being skilled in laboratory techniques and equipment usage to never having been in a laboratory setting. Subject content can be taught in the laboratory in advance of an associated lecture, but this too is not always popular or practicable. A laboratory exercise is presented that can be taught at the very beginning of the semester. The primary focus is on graphing to investigate the thermal expansion of a liquid, but students can be instructed on recording data precisely from a measuring device, be introduced to the basic physical properties of liquids, practice using a spreadsheet software program for data analysis, and learn good laboratory note-taking. The experiment is appropriate for a first-semester general chemistry course, physical science, or high-school chemistry.