ALEX | Alabama Learning Exchange

What Is a Chemical Reaction?

Classroom Resource Information

Title:

What Is a Chemical Reaction?

URL:

https://www.middleschoolchemistry.com/lessonplans/chapter6/lesson1

Content Source:

Other
American Chemical Society

Type:

Lesson/Unit Plan

Overview:

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.

Content Standard(s):

Science
SC2015 (2015)
Grade: 8
Physical Science

6 ) Create a model, diagram, or digital simulation to describe conservation of mass in a chemical reaction and explain the resulting differences between products and reactants.

NAEP Framework

NAEP Statement::
P8.7b: When substances undergo chemical change, the number and kinds of atoms in the reactants are the same as the number and kinds of atoms in the products.

NAEP Statement::
P8.7c: Mass is conserved when substances undergo chemical change.

Unpacked Content

Scientific And Engineering Practices:

Developing and Using Models

Crosscutting Concepts: Energy and Matter

Disciplinary Core Idea: Matter and Its Interactions

Evidence Of Student Attainment:

Students:

Create a model, diagram or digital simulation to describe conservation of mass in a chemical reaction.
Explain the differences between products and reactants in a chemical reaction.

Teacher Vocabulary:

Conservation of mass
Chemical reaction
Product
Reactant
Model (e.g., diagram, digital simulation)

Knowledge:

Students know:

Substances react chemically in characteristic ways.
In a chemical reaction, the atoms that make up the original substances (reactants) are regrouped into different molecules, and these new substances (products) have different properties from those of the original substances (reactants).
In a chemical reaction, the total number of each type of atom is conserved, and the mass does not change. In a chemical reaction, each molecule in each of the reactants is made up of the same type(s) and number of atoms.
In a chemical reaction, the number and types of atoms that make up the products are equal to the number and types of atoms that make up the reactants.
Each type of atom has a specific mass, which is the same for all atoms of that type.

Skills:

Students are able to:

Develop a model, diagram, or digital simulation in which they identify the relevant components for a given chemical reaction.
Describe relationships between the components.
Use the model to describe that the atoms that make up the reactants rearrange and come together in different arrangements to form the products of a reaction.
Use the model to provide a causal account that mass is conserved during chemical reactions because the number and types of atoms that are in the reactants equal the number and types of atoms that are in the products, and all atoms of the same type have the same mass regardless of the molecule in which they are found.

Understanding:

Students understand that:

In a chemical reaction, the atoms of the reactants are regrouped into different molecules, and these products have different properties from those of the original reactants.
Mass is conserved during chemical reactions and the mass of reactants is equal to the mass of the products.

AMSTI Resources:

AMSTI Module:
Exploring the Properties of Matter
Experimenting with Mixtures, Compounds, and Elements

Tags:

atom, bonds, chemical reaction, methane, molecule, oxygen, reactant, substance

License Type:

Custom Permission Type
See Terms: https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/terms.html
For full descriptions of license types and a guide to usage, visit :
https://creativecommons.org/licenses

Accessibility

Text Resources: Content is organized under headings and subheadings

Comments

This resource provided by:

Author:

Stephanie Carver

ALEX Classroom Resource

What Is a Chemical Reaction?