Biology  by Bradford
support
Free · AP Chemistry · Unit 1

Atomic Structure and Properties escape room

The Isotope Lab Lockdown

A power surge has tripped the security system at a mass spectrometry lab, and your team is sealed inside with the vacuum pumps still humming. The lab's computer will release the doors only to people who can prove they understand atoms: what they weigh, how their electrons are arranged, and why they behave the way they do. Five locks stand between you and the loading dock. Each lock poses four questions, and your answers decode into its combination. Crack all five before the backup battery runs flat and the whole building goes dark for the night.

Play it onlineTeacher pack (PDF)
  • 5 locksfour multiple-choice questions at each, 20 in all
  • About 45 minutesfor a team of three or four
  • Online or on papera link to play, or the pack to print
  • ForAP Chemistry classes, every value a question needs given (calculations on the AP equation sheet and periodic table)
  • Play linkbiologybybradford.com/escape/apc1

The five locks

Each lock’s four answers are decoded with its puzzle into a four-digit combination, so one wrong answer keeps it shut. The questions climb from recall to evaluating evidence.
  1. Lock 1 · Recall

    Weighing Room Door

    Overlay Easy

    Imagine panel 1 laid on top of panel 2. Every lit segment counts. Read the number they make.

  2. Lock 2 · Understand

    Ion Source Hatch

    Pathway Easy

    Start at your letter and go straight down. Every time you meet a rung, cross it. Your digit is where you finish.

  3. Lock 3 · Apply

    Sample Prep Cabinet

    Dice Medium

    Add all three dice beside your letter. A blank face counts as 0.

  4. Lock 4 · Analyse data

    Detector Control Panel

    Magic square Medium

    Every row, column and diagonal adds up to the total shown. One square is blank as well as the lettered ones: work through it.

  5. Lock 5 · Evaluate

    Loading Dock Shutter

    Bar chart Hard

    Each letter has a pink bar and a green bar. Your digit is pink minus green.

Lock 1, as a team sees it

The first four questions and their decoder. The answers, and the reason for each, are in the teacher pack.

  1. What is the molar mass of magnesium hydroxide, Mg(OH)₂?

    1. A 58.32 g/mol
    2. B 41.31 g/mol
    3. C 42.32 g/mol
    4. D 82.62 g/mol

  2. Which is the ground-state electron configuration of a neutral sulfur atom?

    1. A 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p⁶
    2. B 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3d⁴
    3. C 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p⁴
    4. D 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p² 4s²

  3. How many valence electrons does a ground-state phosphorus atom have?

    1. A 3
    2. B 5
    3. C 15
    4. D 2

  4. Atoms of two different isotopes of the same element: what must they have in common, and how do they differ?

    1. A Same number of neutrons, different numbers of protons
    2. B Same mass number, different numbers of protons
    3. C Same number of protons, different numbers of electrons
    4. D Same number of protons, different numbers of neutrons

Overlay

Easy

Imagine panel 1 laid on top of panel 2. Every lit segment counts. Read the number they make.

A
1
2
B
1
2
C
1
2
D
1
2

Running it

  1. Online: send teams the play link. They answer a lock’s four questions, decode the letters and enter the combination; after lock 5 they get a completion code to show you. Nobody needs an account.
  2. On paper: sign in (free) and print the teacher pack: question cards, the five decoders, a guide and the answer key with a reason for every answer.
  3. Your version: Edit a copy from the library to change any question, then play and print it by its own code, or build a room from the topics your class has covered.

More AP Chemistry escape rooms