Biology  by Bradford
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Free · AP Chemistry · Unit 4

Chemical Reactions escape room

The Flooded Silver Mine

A burst underground spring has flooded the lower shafts of an old silver mine, and the emergency system has sealed your team inside the assay office, where the miners once tested their ore. The mine computer will open each door only for people who understand chemical reactions: what changes, what balances, and what runs out first. Five locks stand between you and the lift to the surface. Each lock asks four questions, and your answers decode into its combination. Move quickly: the pumps are falling behind, the water is rising up the tunnel, and the lift loses power at midnight.

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/apc4

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

    Lamp Room Door

    Lock dials Easy

    Each letter has a dial. Read the number the needle points to.

  2. Lock 2 · Understand

    Ore Testing Bench

    Symbol sums Easy

    One symbol's value is given. Use it to unlock the others, then swap your letters for symbols.

  3. Lock 3 · Apply

    Ore Cart Tunnel

    Symbol grid Medium

    Find the cell for your question and answer. Each symbol is worth a sum; work it out from the key.

  4. Lock 4 · Analyse data

    Survey Lab

    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

    Mine Lift Gate

    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. Which of the following is a chemical change?

    1. A Melting paraffin wax on a hot plate
    2. B Dissolving sucrose crystals in warm water
    3. C An iron nail rusting in damp air
    4. D Steam condensing on a cold window

  2. According to the Brønsted-Lowry definition, an acid is a species that does what?

    1. A Donates a proton (H⁺)
    2. B Accepts a proton (H⁺)
    3. C Accepts an electron pair
    4. D Releases OH⁻ ions in water

  3. Which type of reaction is HNO₃(aq) + KOH(aq) → KNO₃(aq) + H₂O(l)?

    1. A Precipitation
    2. B Oxidation-reduction
    3. C Combustion
    4. D Acid-base

  4. What is the oxidation number of chromium in the dichromate ion, Cr₂O₇²⁻?

    1. A +7
    2. B +6
    3. C +12
    4. D +3

Lock dials

Easy

Each letter has a dial. Read the number the needle points to.

0123456789A
0123456789B
0123456789C
0123456789D

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.

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