Biology by Bradford
Thermochemistry escape room
The Geothermal Plant Lockdown
An earthquake has tripped the safety system at a geothermal power plant high on a volcanic ridge, and your team is sealed inside the control building. Steam from deep underground still roars through the pipes, and the pressure gauges are creeping into the red. The plant's computer will only release the doors to someone who understands how heat moves and how energy changes in reactions. Five locks stand between you and the helicopter pad. Each lock poses four questions, and your answers decode into its combination. Crack all five before the relief valves give way and the turbine hall fills with scalding steam.
- 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/apc6
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.- Lock 1 · Recall
Control Room Door
Symbol grid Easy
Find the row for the question and the column for your answer. Swap the symbol for its number using the key.
- Lock 2 · Understand
Turbine Hall Gate
Symbol sums Easy
One symbol's value is given. Use it to unlock the others, then swap your letters for symbols.
- Lock 3 · Apply
Condenser Hatch
Bar chart Medium
Each letter is a bar. Only 0 and 5 are numbered, so count the lines.
- Lock 4 · Analyse data
Steam Valve Vault
Pathway Medium
Start at your letter and go straight down. Cross every rung you meet. Your digit is where you finish.
- Lock 5 · Evaluate
Wellhead Exit
Magic square Hard
Every row, column and diagonal adds up to the same total, but you have to work out what it is first. One square is blank.
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.Which of these processes is endothermic?
- A Water vapor condensing on a cold window
- B Ice melting in a glass at room temperature
- C Methane gas burning in a kitchen stove
- D Liquid candle wax solidifying in a mold
On the energy diagram for an exothermic reaction, where do the products sit relative to the reactants, and what is the sign of ΔH?
- A Products lower than reactants; ΔH is negative
- B Products higher than reactants; ΔH is negative
- C Products higher than reactants; ΔH is positive
- D Products lower than reactants; ΔH is positive
A hot copper block is dropped into cool water in an insulated cup. When does net heat transfer between the block and the water stop?
- A When the block has lost all of its thermal energy
- B When the block and the water hold equal thermal energy
- C When the block and the water reach the same temperature
- D When the water reaches the block's starting temperature
Which equation has a ΔH° equal to the standard enthalpy of formation of NH₃(g)?
- A N₂(g) + 3H₂(g) → 2NH₃(g)
- B N(g) + 3H(g) → NH₃(g)
- C NH₃(g) → ½N₂(g) + ³⁄₂H₂(g)
- D ½N₂(g) + ³⁄₂H₂(g) → NH₃(g)
Symbol grid
EasyFind the row for the question and the column for your answer. Swap the symbol for its number using the key.
| A | B | C | D | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 | ||||
| Q2 | ||||
| Q3 | ||||
| Q4 |
Running it
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.