Required practical: Electrolysis
What the simulation does
The simulation
It is a 3D electrolysis practical built in the ClassAdapt house style. Pupils pour an electrolyte from a conical flask into a beaker, tap each electrode in turn to connect it to the d.c. supply, switch on, and watch electrolysis happen in real time. They can choose the electrolyte (copper sulfate or sodium chloride) and the electrode type (inert graphite or copper), and each combination behaves correctly. Depending on the setup they see copper plating onto the cathode as a thickening pink brown coat with a live mass readout, gas bubbling off the electrodes in visible columns, the copper anode dissolving, or the blue colour fading. When they choose to finish, a results screen names the product at each electrode, gives the half equations and gas tests, and works through the Faraday calculation for the mass of copper deposited. The full Adapt accessibility suite is included, and the whole thing is responsive across phone, tablet, and desktop.
A class activity
Ask pupils to predict the product at each electrode for all four setups before touching the simulation, writing their reasoning using the reactivity and halide rules. They then run each setup, record what they actually observe at the cathode and anode, and compare it with their predictions. As a plenary, they use the mass readout and the run conditions to check the Faraday calculation themselves, then explain why copper electrodes keep the solution blue while inert electrodes let it fade.