This activity provides the students with a visual description of the four types of chemical reactions using cartoon illustrations and then allows them time to interact with their peers so they will understand the components of each reaction. Students will also create a flip-book for the following reactions: synthesis, decomposition, single, and double replacement in order to describe the conservation of mass. Finally, students will use a digital tool to produce a "Cartoon Chemistry" artifact which will allow them to demonstrate their understanding of chemical reactions.
This activity was created as a result of the DLCS COS Resource Development Summit.
In this lesson, the teacher will use a small candle flame to demonstrate a chemical reaction between the candle wax and oxygen in the air. Students will see a molecular animation of the combustion of methane and oxygen as a model of a similar reaction. Students will use atom model cut-outs to model the reaction and see that all the atoms in the reactants show up in the products.
Students will be able to explain that for a chemical reaction to take place, the bonds between atoms in the reactants are broken, the atoms rearrange, and new bonds between the atoms are formed to make the products. Students will also be able to explain that in a chemical reaction, no atoms are created or destroyed.
In this lesson, students will analyze the chemical equation for the reaction between vinegar (acetic acid solution) and baking soda (sodium bicarbonate). They will make the connection between the written chemical equation, the molecular model, and the real substances in the reaction. Students will see that the gas produced in the actual reaction is also written in the products of the equation. Students will also change the amount of one or more reactants and see how the change affects the amount of products.
Students will be able to explain that for a chemical reaction to take place, the bonds between atoms in the reactants are broken, the atoms rearrange, and new bonds between the atoms are formed to make the products. Students will be able to count the number of atoms on the reactant side and on the product side of a chemical equation. They will also be able to explain that the equal number of atoms on each side of the equation shows that mass is conserved during a chemical reaction. Students will also be able to explain, on the molecular level, why changing the amount of one or more reactants changes the amount of products. They will also be able to explain why simply adding more and more of one reactant will eventually not produce additional products.
In this lesson, students will combine two clear colorless solutions (baking soda solution and calcium chloride solution) and see the formation of a solid and a gas. Students will analyze the chemical equation for the reaction and see that all atoms in the reactants end up in the products. They will make the connection between the chemical equation and the real substances and see that the solid and gas produced in the actual reaction are also in the products of the equation.
Students will be able to explain that for a chemical reaction to take place, the reactants interact, bonds between certain atoms in the reactants are broken, the atoms rearrange, and new bonds between the atoms are formed to make the products. Students will also be able to explain that this definition applies to the production of a solid called a precipitate.
In this lesson, students watch a video and do a quick activity to see that a catalyst can increase the rate of the breakdown (decomposition) of hydrogen peroxide. Students will then use salt as a catalyst in a reaction between aluminum foil and a solution of copper II sulfate. Students will be introduced to the concept that a catalyst increases the rate of a chemical reaction but is not incorporated into the products of the reaction.
Students will be able to define a catalyst as a substance that increases the rate of a chemical reaction but is not incorporated into the products of the reaction.
