It is that time of the year; time for chemists (and their students) to gather around their chemis-trees and sing chemis-tree carols.

Here’s one I wrote for the occasion:

THE CHEMIS-TREE SONG
(Tune: The Christmas Song)

Chestnuts roasting with an open fire
With a calorimeter
Chemis-tree carols being sung by a choir
And students dressed up with safety goggles

Everybody knows the specific heat of H₂O
Is one calorie per gram degree Celsius
And though it’s been said, many times, many ways
Q=mC delta T

There are many more chemis-tree carols, of course, which can be found on the internet by searching for “chemis-tree carols.” After singing a number of chemis-tree carols, I ask my students to give their thoughts on “the true meaning of chemistry.”

To see the songs we sang in high school chemistry this year, keep on reading…

Grace and Peace

CHEMISTRY WONDERLAND
(Tune: Winter Wonderland)

Gases explode. Are you listenin’?
In your test tube silver glistens.
A beautiful sight, we’re happy tonight
Walking in a chemistry wonderland.

Gone away is the buoyancy.
Here to stay is the density.
A beautiful sight, we’re happy tonight
Walking in a chemistry wonderland.

In the beaker we will make lead carbonate
and decide if what’s left is nitrate
My partner asks, “Do we measure it in moles or grams?”
and I’ll say, “Does it matter in the end?”

Later on as we calculate
the amount of our nitrate
We’ll face unafraid
the precipitates that we made
Walking in a chemistry wonderland.

O CHEMIS-TREE
(Tune: O Christmas Tree)

O Chemis-tree, O Chemis-tree
How brightly burns your Bunsen burner
O Chemis-tree, O Chemis-tree
How brightly burns your Bunsen burner

The sight of thee at Chemis-tree tide
Spreads fear of all mad scientists far and wide
O Chemis-tree, O Chemis-tree
How brightly glows your Bunsen burner

O Chemis-tree, O Chemis-tree
Thou hast a wondrous message
O Chemis-tree, O Chemis-tree
Thou hast a wondrous message

Beware of all crazy potions
and Mr. Nelstead’s grand explosions!!
O Chemis-tree, O Chemis-tree
Thou hast a wondrous message.

LAB REPORTS
(Tune: Jingle Bells)

Dashing through the lab
with a ten-page lab report
Taking all those tests
and laughing at them all
Bells for fire drills ring
making spirits bright
What fun it is to laugh and sing
a chemistry song tonight.

O lab reports, lab reports,
reacting all the way
Oh what fun it is to study
for a chemistry test today – HEY!
Chemistry test – thinking test
isn’t it a blast
Oh what fun it is to take
a chemistry test and pass.

IRON THE RED ATOM MOLECULE
(Tune: Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer)

There was Cobalt and Argon and Carbon and Fluorine,
Silver and Boron and Neon and Bromine
But do you recall the most famous element of all?

Iron the red atom molecule
had a very shiny orbital
And if you ever saw him
you’d enjoy his magnetic glow.
All of the other molecules
used to laugh and call him Ferrum.
They never let poor Iron
join in any reaction games.

Then one inert Chemistry eve
Santa came to say
“Iron, with your orbital so bright
won’t you catalyze the reaction tonight?”

Then how the atoms reacted
and combined in twos and threes.
Iron the red atom molecule
you’ll go down in CHEMISTRY!

SILVER NITRATE
(Tune: Silver Bells)

Silver nitrate, silver nitrate
It’s chemistry time in the lab.
Ding-a-ling, with a copper ring,
Soon it will be Chemistry Day.

Take your nitrate, in solution;
add your copper in style.
In the beaker there’s a feeling of reactions,
Silver forming, and blue solution
Bringing oohs, ahs and wows
Now the data processing begins.

Get the mass; change to moles.
What’s the ratio with copper?
Write the equation; balance it.
We’re glad it’s Chemistry Day

(Only “The Chemis-tree Song” was written by me; the rest are off of the internet)