Students may begin comparing the properties of the two solutions until they form hypotheses on why one solution conducts a current while the other does not. The students' observational skills are being tested just as if they were actively involved in a laboratory experiment. They use scientific thought and problem solving skills to develop conclusions. Demonstrations provide teachers with a way to motivate students to learn and retain knowledge of chemistry. A chemical demonstration can focus a student's attention and arouse student interest and curiosity in the lesson being taught.
Demonstrations can reflect the teacher's enthusiasm for the subject matter as well.
Students are more likely to respond to chemistry when their teachers are excited about and focused upon the subject matter and in student learning. Many professionals ranging from middle school teachers to college professors have devoted their studies to publishing sourcebooks on chemical demonstrations and articles supporting their inclusion into the chemistry classroom. As students of chemistry and experts on teaching chemistry, these educators have observed the effectiveness of demonstrations on student comprehension of chemical concepts and scientific thought. Bassam Z. Shakhshiri is the author of four chemical demonstration handbooks for chemistry teachers and a proponent of chemical demonstrations in the classroom. He reiterates the ability of demonstrations to teach scientific concepts and descriptive properties of chemical systems, motivate students to conduct further experimentation, and to lead them to comprehend the interplay between theory and experiment.