In this lesson, students will use citric acid and sodium carbonate solutions to see that adding a base to an acidic solution makes the solution less acidic. Students will then use a base to help them identify which of the two acidic solutions is more concentrated.
Students will be able to explain, on the molecular level, that pH is affected by the concentration of the H3O+ ions in water. They will also be able to explain why adding a base to an acid or an acid to a base can make the pH of the solution closer to 7.
In this lesson, students will see a demonstration of a color change using universal pH indicator. Students will change the concentrations of an acid and a base and use the universal indicator to test the pH of the resulting solutions. Students will see an animation showing that water molecules interact and separate into the H3O+ ion and the OH− ion. Students will see that the pH of a solution is related to the concentration of these ions in water.
Students will be able to explain, on the molecular level, that pH is a measure of the concentration of the H3O+ ions in water and that adding an acid or a base to water affects the concentration of these ions.
In this lesson, the teacher blows into a universal indicator solution until it changes color. Students interpret this color change and explain that the solution becomes acidic. Students explore whether carbon dioxide from other sources, namely carbonated water and a chemical reaction between baking soda and vinegar, can also make a solution acidic. Students then apply their observations to the environmental problem of ocean acidification by doing research on this issue.
Students will be able to explain that carbon dioxide from any source reacts chemically with water to form carbonic acid. They will also be able to use the color changes of universal indicator to monitor the changing pH of a solution during a chemical reaction.
In this lesson, students will use test liquids on different known powders and observe their reactions. Then students will use these characteristic chemical changes to help them identify an unknown powder.
Students will be able to identify and control variables to develop a test to identify an unknown powder. Students will be able to explain that a substance reacts chemically in characteristic ways and that these characteristics can be used to identify an unknown substance.
In this lesson, students will place isopropyl alcohol, mineral oil, and corn syrup in water to see if any of these liquids dissolve in water. Students will extend their understanding and definition of “dissolving” and see that certain, but not all, liquids can dissolve in water.
Students will identify and control variables to help design a solubility test for different liquids in water. Students will be able to explain, on the molecular level, why certain liquids, but not all, will dissolve in water. They will also be able to explain that the solubility of a liquid is a characteristic property of that liquid.
In this lesson, students will observe the dissolved carbon dioxide (CO2) in a bottle of club soda. They will help design an experiment to compare the amount of CO2 that stays in cold club soda compared to warmer club soda.
Students will be able to explain, on the molecular level, how a gas dissolves in water. They will also be able to explain why the gas comes out of solution faster in warm water than in cold water.
In this lesson, students will observe a copper and an aluminum cube of the same volume placed on a balance. They will see that the copper has a greater mass. Students will try to develop an explanation, on the molecular level, for how this can be. Students are then given cubes of different materials that all have the same volume. Students determine the density of each cube and identify the substance the cube is made from.
Students will be able to calculate the density of different cubes and use these values to identify the substance each cube is made of. Students will be able to explain that the size, mass, and arrangement of the atoms or molecules of a substance determines its density.
In this lesson, students use the water displacement method to find the volume of different rods that all have the same mass. They calculate the density of each rod and use the characteristic density of each material to identify all five rods. Then students consider the relationship between the mass, size, and arrangement of atoms to explain why different rods have different densities. Students will be briefly introduced to the periodic table.
Students will be able to explain that materials have characteristic densities because of the different mass, size, and arrangement of their atoms. Students will be able to use the volume displacement method to find the volume of an object.
In this lesson, students measure the volume and mass of water to determine its density. Then they measure the mass of different volumes of water and discover that the density is always the same. Students make a graph of the relationship between the volume and the mass of water.
Students will be able to measure the volume and mass of water and calculate its density. Students will be able to explain that since any volume of water always has the same density, at a given temperature, that density is a characteristic property of water.
In this lesson, students will investigate a wax candle and a piece of clay to understand why the candle floats and the clay sinks even though the candle is heavier than the piece of clay. Students will discover that it is not the weight of the object, but its density compared to the density of water, that determines whether an object will sink or float in water.
Students will be able to determine whether an object will sink or float by comparing its density to the density of water.
In this lesson, students will observe three household liquids stacked on each other and conclude that their densities must be different. They will predict the relative densities of the liquids and then measure their volume and mass to see if their calculations match their observations and predictions.
Students will be able to determine whether a liquid will sink or float in water by comparing its density to the density of water.
In this lesson, students place hot and cold colored water into room-temperature water. They observe that the hot water floats on the room-temperature water and the cold water sinks. Students will combine the concepts of temperature, molecular motion, and density to learn that hot water is less dense than room-temperature water and that cold water is denser.
Students will be able to explain, on the molecular level, how heating and cooling affect the density of water.
What are the “physical properties” of matter, and how can they be measured and observed? Students will learn about some basic characteristics of matter—including those that depend on the amount of a substance and those that don’t—with this interactive lesson.
