Biology by Bradford
Applications of Thermodynamics escape room
The Aluminum Smelter Lockdown
A power surge has tripped the safety system at a riverside aluminum smelter, and your team is sealed inside the control wing. Molten electrolyte still glows in the potlines, and without current the pots will freeze solid before dawn. The plant's computer will release the doors only to a crew that understands the thermodynamics behind every reaction here, from entropy and free energy to the cells that turn electrons into metal. 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 electrolyte sets and the smelter is lost.
- 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/apc9
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
Potroom Entrance
Symbol sums Easy
One symbol's value is given. Use it to unlock the others, then swap your letters for symbols.
- Lock 2 · Understand
Furnace Gallery
Bar chart Easy
Each letter is a bar. Read its height off the scale.
- Lock 3 · Apply
Potline Hatch
Lock dials Medium
The dials have no numbers. 0 is the pink notch at the top; count ticks clockwise to the needle.
- Lock 4 · Analyse data
Rectifier Vault
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.
- Lock 5 · Evaluate
Ingot Yard Gate
Symbol grid Hard
Find the question's row, then read the cell one column to the RIGHT of your answer (D wraps round to A). Work out the symbol from the key.
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 process has a positive entropy change (ΔS° > 0) for the system?
- A 2NO₂(g) → N₂O₄(g)
- B H₂O(g) → H₂O(l)
- C CaCO₃(s) → CaO(s) + CO₂(g)
- D Ag⁺(aq) + Cl⁻(aq) → AgCl(s)
In a galvanic cell, at which electrode does oxidation occur, and which way do electrons flow through the external wire?
- A At the anode; electrons flow from the anode to the cathode
- B At the cathode; electrons flow from the cathode to the anode
- C At the anode; electrons flow from the cathode to the anode
- D At the cathode; electrons flow from the anode to the cathode
A process is thermodynamically favorable at ALL temperatures when its ΔH° and ΔS° have which signs?
- A ΔH° > 0 and ΔS° < 0
- B ΔH° < 0 and ΔS° > 0
- C ΔH° < 0 and ΔS° < 0
- D ΔH° > 0 and ΔS° > 0
Which statement describes an electrolytic cell?
- A A redox reaction with ΔG° < 0 releases its energy as an electric current
- B Oxidation takes place at the cathode, which is the positive electrode
- C Reduction takes place at the anode, where the source removes electrons
- D An external power source drives a redox reaction for which ΔG° > 0
Symbol sums
EasyOne symbol's value is given. Use it to unlock the others, then swap your letters for symbols.
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.