Chemistry · Lesson Worlds
Catalysis: interactive science lab
Add catalyst or warm the flask and prove that a helper can hurry a reaction without being the reactant.
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What will you learn?
A catalyst speeds a reaction by helping meetings happen. It is not used up as product. Heat also hurries meetings.
How does the lab work?
Observe the simulation, make a prediction, change a variable, run the experiment, and explain the result. Finish with a challenge that tests your understanding.
You can change: Temperature, Catalyst. Compare what happens and connect the result to the scientific explanation.
Try a comparison in Catalysis
Start with the lab’s initial settings. Choose one control below, predict the result, and change that control while keeping the others fixed. Record the setting and what you observe before making a second change.
- Temperature: the lab starts at 20 °C; its available range is 5–80 °C.
- Catalyst: the lab starts at 1; its available range is 0.2–2.
For a named starting condition, try Little helper, Room, Rich helper. A preset can change several settings: check the controls before treating two presets as a one-variable comparison.
Questions to discuss during the activity
- Watch what happens. The wait is the rate. Watch product fill with a normal helper.
- Name the cause. Particles still have to meet. A catalyst gives them an easier path, so meetings count more often. The helper is still there at the end. A catalyst lowers the hurdle.
- Change something. Raise the helper and the flask should finish sooner. Change catalyst, then mix.
- Guess before you run. If we raise the catalyst, the reaction will… Guess what will happen, then run to check.
After your comparison, explain how the observations connect to this idea: A catalyst speeds a reaction by helping meetings happen. It is not used up as product. Heat also hurries meetings. Name one condition you held fixed and one feature of the real world this model simplifies. A completed run is a starting point for discussion, rather than proof of mastery.
Who is it for?
Curious learners exploring chemistry. A parent or teacher can help younger learners read the instructions and discuss the results. Choose by topic and prior knowledge rather than a fixed grade level.
Is this lab free?
Yes. This interactive lab is free without signing in or a paid membership.
No app download is needed; interactive play requires JavaScript and a modern browser.
Use this activity with a learner
Families and educators · choose by prior knowledge
Learning goal: A catalyst speeds a reaction by helping meetings happen. It is not used up as product. Heat also hurries meetings.
Before you begin: Read the controls for Temperature, Catalyst. Make one prediction before changing a setting.
Check understanding: Ask for one observation, the evidence that supports it, and a question to investigate next.
A simulation simplifies the real world. Explain which conditions stayed fixed; a successful run alone does not demonstrate mastery.
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