Students will collect data on an investigation where two or more substances are mixed together. Students will analyze the investigation to decide the type of change, chemical or physical, that occurred during the investigation. Students will use their observations from the investigation to create a short movie where they will describe the data they used to determine the type of change that occurred during their investigation. This lesson will work best for classrooms equipped with classroom tablets or schools that allow students to bring their own device.
This lesson results from a collaboration between the Alabama State Department of Education and ASTA.
In this lesson, students will be able to plan and carry out an investigation to compare the amount of gas produced in reactions between baking soda and baking powder when vinegar is added. Students will be able to explain that mixing substances can cause a chemical reaction, which results in the formation of a new substance. Students will also be able to explain that substances react in characteristic ways and that the way a substance reacts can be used to identify the substance.
In this lesson, students will be able to plan and carry out an investigation to identify which two of the three ingredients in baking powder react to produce a gas when water is added. Students will be able to explain that mixing substances can cause a chemical reaction that results in the formation of a new substance. Students will also be able to explain that substances react in characteristic ways and that the way a substance reacts can be used to identify the substance.
In this lesson, students will be able to explain that mixing substances can cause a chemical reaction that results in the formation of a new substance. Students will be able to plan and carry out an investigation to compare the amount of bubbles produced by a solid “soap scum” precipitate with the bubbles produced from soap. Students will also be able to explain that different substances react in a characteristic way that can be used to identify a substance.
In this lesson, students will be able to explain that if two substances cause to turn a pH indicator different colors, they must be different substances. Students will be able to explain that the color that a substance turns a pH indicator is a characteristic property of that substance. Students will also be able to explain that different substances react in characteristic ways that can be used to identify a substance.
In this lesson, students will be able to explain that if they mix baking soda with two different substances in separate containers and observe different signs of chemical reactions, it must be because the two substances are different. The substances must be made from different molecules, which react differently with baking soda. Students conduct a reaction with citric acid and baking soda in a universal indicator solution. The resulting chemical reaction produces a gas, causes a color change with an indicator, and results in a decrease in temperature. Students then carry out a second reaction with calcium chloride and baking soda in the universal indicator solution. In this example, students observe the production of both a gas and a solid, a color change with the indicator, and a slight increase in temperature. Students reason that since baking soda was reacted with two different substances, it makes sense that the reactions they observed were different. Finally, students conclude that different substances have characteristic chemical reactions and that these reactions can be used to identify a substance.
In this lesson, students will design, test, modify, and optimize a device that uses a chemical reaction. This lesson begins with a design challenge: to invent a small device that uses a chemical reaction to prevent a cell phone from sinking if the phone accidentally falls into the water. Rather than using a 5-E format, the lesson is organized according to the steps of the engineering design process.
In this lesson, students observe chemical reactions that produce obvious effects (as opposed to reactions in which the substances appear not to change at all). They begin by exploring a different substance every day for one week. They compare the substances and learn that substances can be solids, liquids, or gases. Next, through teacher demonstration (or direct, supervised student involvement), students watch what happens when sand and water are mixed together (no chemical reaction), and when several pairs of acids and bases are mixed together (a chemical reaction occurs). Students then get to build their own "film canister rockets," using baking soda and vinegar as rocket fuel. This lesson concludes with open-ended thinking when students are asked to determine where rust comes from.
An object’s pH level can be tested using indicators. Objects with a low pH are acids, and those with a high pH are bases. Acids and bases react together to form water and salt.
The classroom resource provides a video that will introduce students to pH levels, acids, bases, and their possible reactions. This resource can provide background information for students before they conduct their own investigations. There is also a short test that can be used to assess students' understanding.
Jump in with both feet as you watch oobleck (cornstarch and water mixture) videos and learn about three states of matter: solids, liquids, and gases. Learn to use captions and charts to make reading comprehension less messy and loads of fun.
