Biology by Bradford
Acids, redox, mechanisms escape room
The Corroding Battery Works
Your team stayed late at an old battery works to log the last titrations of the day. Then an acid tank in the plating hall split, the alarms tripped, and the plant's safety system sealed every door behind you. Fumes are creeping along the corridor and the extractor fans will not restart until the building is cleared. Five locks stand between you and the loading yard, from the acid store to the control room vault. Each lock poses four questions on acids, redox and reaction mechanisms, and your answers decode into its combination. Crack all five before the air runs out.
- 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
- ForIB Chemistry SL and HL classes, every value a question needs given (calculations on data-booklet constants)
- Play linkbiologybybradford.com/escape/c-r3
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
Acid Store Door
Overlay Easy
Imagine panel 1 laid on top of panel 2. Every lit segment counts. Read the number they make.
- Lock 2 · Understand
Cell Assembly Line
Symbol sums Easy
One symbol's value is given. Use it to unlock the others, then swap your letters for symbols.
- Lock 3 · Apply
Plating Bath Hatch
Pathway Medium
Start at your letter and go straight down. Cross every rung you meet. Your digit is where you finish.
- Lock 4 · Analyse data
Titration Bench Safe
Number pyramid Medium
Each brick is the sum of the two bricks directly below it. Fewer bricks are filled in, so plan your route.
- Lock 5 · Evaluate
Control Room Vault
Light panel Hard
No numbers this time. The right-hand square is worth 1 and each square to its left is worth double. Add up the shaded ones.
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.In the Brønsted–Lowry theory, what is an acid?
- A A species that donates a proton (H⁺) to another species
- B A species that accepts a proton (H⁺) from another species
- C A species that accepts an electron pair to form a new bond
- D A substance that releases OH⁻ ions when it dissolves in water
What is the oxidation state of nitrogen in nitric acid, HNO₃?
- A +6
- B −5
- C +5
- D +3
A chlorine molecule absorbs UV light and splits into two chlorine radicals. What is this process called?
- A Heterolytic fission, as both bonding electrons go to one atom
- B Homolytic fission, as each atom keeps one bonding electron
- C Electrophilic addition, as the two atoms add to each other
- D Nucleophilic substitution, as one atom replaces the other
Bromoethane reacts with aqueous hydroxide ions to form ethanol and bromide ions. What role does the hydroxide ion play?
- A Electrophile: it accepts an electron pair from the carbon atom
- B Leaving group: it departs taking the bonding electron pair
- C Radical: it donates one unpaired electron to the carbon atom
- D Nucleophile: it donates an electron pair to the carbon atom
Overlay
EasyImagine panel 1 laid on top of panel 2. Every lit segment counts. Read the number they make.
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.