Five years ago, chemistry teacher Lisa Tozzi was on a mission. She needed to find precision balances for her chemistry classrooms, and not just any balance would do. Tozzi serves as chemistry department chair at Westwood High School in Mesa, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix.
She wanted an affordable balance that came with a warranty and was easy to use. Most importantly, she needed a balance that was durable enough to withstand demanding student use. After careful research, she decided on Adam Equipment’s Highland portable precision balances.
Five years ago, chemistry teacher Lisa Tozzi was on a mission. She needed to find precision balances for her chemistry classrooms, and not just any balance would do. Tozzi serves as chemistry department chair at Westwood High School in Mesa, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix.
Finding a Solution
She wanted an affordable balance that came with a warranty and was easy to use. Most importantly, she needed a balance that was durable enough to withstand demanding student use. After careful research, she decided on Adam Equipment’s Highland portable precision balances.
Tozzi mentioned that their school bought a few Highlands initially to see if they’d work out for their school experiments. After that, the school went ahead and purchased additional balances, bringing their total up to 18.
Sparking Their Interest
Students start using the Highland balances on the very first day in Tozzi’s class, which consists primarily of juniors. Activities include examining the law of conservation of mass; density assessments; isotope lab experiments; stoichiometry; investigating molarity; and determining empirical formulas.
Schools often have limited storage space, and the design of the Highland allows the balances to be stacked conveniently and safely in storage. This was an important consideration for Tozzi, who had to think about where she was going to put 18 balances.
“[The Highland] was just what we needed. They’re easy to store, they’re readily accessible, and they take up far less space than other balances.”
– Lisa Tozzi, chemistry department chair at Westwood High School in Mesa, Arizona
The Highland offers plenty of user-friendly features that make it an excellent choice for classrooms. Simple for students to operate, the Highland contains color-coded keys that allow fast, easy identification of the most frequently used buttons.
Highland Makes the Grade
“I like how clearly marked [Highland] balances are. I can easily tell students how to tare the balance just by referring to the yellow button. Once they learn how to operate the Highland, students can quickly begin to perform the assigned experiments”
– Lisa Tozzi, chemistry department chair at Westwood High School in Mesa, Arizona
For many of the students, this is their first experience with an electronic balance, since science and biology classes generally use triple-beam balances in their lessons. Students enjoy working with the Highlands, Tozzi said. On occasion, they’ve been known to expand their research a bit beyond the assigned tasks, she added.
Tozzi said she is very pleased with her Highland balances, and has recommended them to other department chairs in the district.
To learn more about the Highland please visit https://www.adamequipment.com/highland-portable-precision-balances.