Chemistry
WebQuest:
Chemicals at Home
A WebQuest for 11th and 12th Grade Chemistry
Designed by
Amy Trauth-Nare
anare@nolancatholichs.org
Introduction
Chemistry has very practical and useful applications in everyday life. Synthetic fibers
in clothing, fertilizer used on landscapes and in gardens, non-stick coating on frying
pans, and the countless types of plastics are all the result of applied chemistry. Most
scientists would argue that our lives are better due, in part, to the ways that
chemistry is used everyday. In order to become more aware of the ways in which
chemistry affects your daily life, you are asked discover chemicals in your own home,
analyze them, and evaluate the elements they are composed of.
Guiding Questions
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What chemicals are readily found in the home?
What are the uses of household chemicals?
What are the active and inert ingredients found in household chemicals?
What elements are household chemicals most commonly made of?
Are the compounds found in household chemicals "safe"?
The Task
Part I
You will choose several household products from a list of categories. You are
required to compare three different products within each category by finding both
their "active" ingredients and "inert" or inactive ingredients. For example, if you
choose the pain reliever category, you might compare the active and inert
ingredients in Tylenol, Aleve, and Motrin. You will then use the Internet to find the
chemical formulas for both the active and inert ingredients in the products. Once you
have determined the chemical formulas for each ingredient, you will then count the
number of atoms of each element present in those compounds. Finally, you will
determine whether the chemicals found in your products are organic or inorganic.
For this part of your WebQuest, you can organize your data in several ways,
including:
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
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in
in
in
in
an Excel spreadsheet,
a table generated in Word,
a PowerPoint presentation, or
a Webpage designed by you.
Part II
Using the data gathered in Part I, you will type a reflection paper. This paper will
summarize your findings and include your thoughts on the safety of chemicals in the
home and insights you gained from your research. You will answer the guiding
questions found in the Process section and submit your reflection with your data
from Part I.
The Process
Part I
1.
Choose three categories from the list below. Within each category, you will
find three different brand name products. You will compare the chemical
compounds that make up these products. In most cases, the chemical
ingredients found in these products are listed as "active ingredients" and
inactive or "inert ingredients".
Categories
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Pain relievers
Hand/Body lotions
Antacids
Hair care products
Cough drops
Cold symptom relievers
Allergy medicines
Laundry soaps
Cold sore ointments
Athlete's foot treatments
Antiperspirants
Pesticides/Insecticides
Herbicides
Fertilizers
2.
You will make a list of all active and inert ingredients listed on each label and
the quantities (ex: mg, oz, %) in which they are found.
Using the Internet, find the chemical formulas for each of the chemical
ingredients listed.
3.
While most of the information on chemical formulas can be found on the Internet,
the following books and manuals will be on hand for reference in the classroom:
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Merck Index
MSDS sheets
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Handbook of Chemistry and Physics
Chemical Dictionaries
Several websites can be used to find the chemical formulas you are looking for:
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Chemexper Chemical Directory: http://www.chemexper.com/
ChemFinder: http://chemfinder.cambridgesoft.com/
NIST Chemistry WebBook: http://webbook.nist.gov/chemistry/form-ser.html
Sheffield Chemdex: http://www.chemdex.org/
You can also venture forth on your own, using Google, Altavista, Dogpile, or some
other search engine to find the chemical formulas you need to complete this
WebQuest.
4.
5.
6.
7.
After finding the chemical formulas for each chemical ingredient, list the all of
the elements in each chemical ingredient and how many atoms of each
element are present. For example, the chemical formula for sodium acetate is
NaC2H3O2. The elements found in this chemical are sodium (Na), carbon (C),
hydrogen (H) and oxygen (O). In this compound there are 1 sodium atoms, 2
carbon atoms, 3 hydrogen atoms, and 2 oxygen atoms.
Organize your information in a coherent fashion. You can do this in a variety
of ways. You can organize this information into an Excel spreadsheet, in a
table generated in Word, in a presentation in PowerPoint (a separate slide for
each product, perhaps), or in a webpage. See an example here.
Classify each chemical compound ionic or molecular. If it is a molecular
compound, further classify it as organic (contains carbon) or inorganic (do not
contain carbon). For example, sodium acetate (NaC2H3O2) is also ionic, since
it is made of a metal (Na) and a nonmetal polyatomic ion, acetate (C 2H3O2).
For each product, list the source where you found the chemical formula. (i.e.- which webpage, book, online index did you use?)
Part II
In this part of your WebQuest, you are asked to review several web pages about
products that can be found commonly in household. Read the three web pages
below, then answer the questions that follow in an essay. Your essay must be typed,
at least three double-spaced pages in 12 point Times New Roman font.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Read the article on the Internet titled The Hazards of Household Cleaning
Products. Next, review the information on Household Hazardous Waste and
the Household Hazardous Waste Chart. Both of the pages part of a website
maintained by the Environmental Collection Center in the city of Fort Worth.
Reflect on the chemicals you investigated in Part I. Would any of the products
you researched fall under the category of "hazardous waste"? Which ones?
Describe at least three practical ways in which you can reduce household
hazardous waste in your home.
Identify the proper way to dispose of the following: empty aerosol cans,
expired prescription medicines (pharmaceuticals), old tires, nail polish,
swimming pool chemicals, and insecticides.
Evaluate the potential harm to the soil, water, and air that could be caused by
improperly disposing of hazardous household waste.
In addition to the questions above, briefly address the following:
6.
7.
What was the most difficult aspect of completing this WebQuest? With what
part of the process did you struggle with the most? Why?
What was the most valuable knowledge you learned from this WebQuest?
How will you use the knowledge you gained from this WebQuest in another
academic subject or in your everyday life? Explain.
Evaluation
Each student will be evaluated using the rubric below. Student work will be scored
based on completeness, accuracy, and organization of the data gathered in Part I.
The reflection paper in Part II will be graded for thoughtfulness and thoroughness.
0 - 4 points
5 - 10 points
11 - 15
pts
16 - 20 pts
Part I:
Active
and Inert
Chemical
Compone
nts
Six or fewer
household
products were
analyzed;
many active
and inert
chemical
components
are missing;
many errors
in the
quantities of
each chemical
Six to nine
household
products were
analyzed;
some active
and inert
chemical
components
are missing;
several errors
in the
quantities of
each chemical
Eight to
nine
household
products
were
analyzed;
nearly all
active and
inert
chemical
components
are
represented
; quantities
of each
chemical
are accurate
Nine
household
products were
analyzed; all
active and
inert chemical
components
are
represented;
quantities of
each chemical
are accurate
Part I:
Chemical
Formulas
Many chemical
Most chemical
formulas are
formulas are
inaccurate or
accurately
missing; many
written or
written with the
missing;
correct the
wrong elements
many errors
and/or
in the
subscripts
elements
present
and/or
the subscripts
Most elements Many
in each
elements in
chemical
each chemical
Most
chemical
formulas
are
accurately
written
with the
correct
elements
and
subscripts
All chemical
formulas are
accurately
written with
the correct
elements and
subscripts
Nearly all
elements in
each
All elements
in each
chemical
Part I:
Elements
and
Atoms
formula are
not identified;
many errors
in calculating
and/or
classifying the
number of
atoms in each
compound
(ionic/molecul
ar)
formula are
not identified;
many errors
in calculating
the number of
atoms and/or
classifying
each
compound
(ionic/molecul
ar)
chemical
formula are
identified;
the number
of atoms in
each
compound
is mostly
correct in
calculation
and
classificatio
n
formula are
identified; the
number of
atoms in each
compound is
correctly
calculated and
classified
(ionic/molecul
ar)
Part I:
Presentati
on of
Data and
Sources
Final product
(table, paper,
etc.) is
unorganized;
few sources
are cited;
necessary
data is often
missing or
inadequate
for chosen
chemicals
Final product
(table, paper,
etc.) is
satisfactory in
construction,
somewhat
organized;
some sources
are cited;
some data is
missing or
inadequate fo
r chemicals
Final product
(table, paper,
etc.) is
esthetically
pleasing, well
organized; all
sources are
cited; all
necessary
data are
included for
all chemicals
Part II:
Reflection
Paper
Essay is 1-2
pages, many
grammatical
errors,
responses are
terse and not
well-explained
Essay is 2
pages, some
grammatical
errors;
responses are
satisfactory
but not
thorough or
comprehensiv
e
Final
product
(table,
paper,
etc.) is
well
formulate
d, mostly
organized
; sources
are cited;
most of
the
necessary
data are
included
for chosen
chemicals
Essay is
2-3
pages,
few
grammati
cal errors;
responses
are
thoughtful
and
thorough
Essay is 3
pages,
grammatically
correct;
responses to
questions are
complete,
thoughtful,
and
comprehensiv
e
Conclusion In this WebQuest, you investigated common household
products and the chemicals that are found in them. After compiling a list of
chemicals, you utilized the World Wide Web to find chemical formulas and analyze
their composition. In the second part of the WebQuest, you were asked to reflect on
the safety of household chemicals and their use in everyday situations.
For those of you who would like to explore this topic further, I would suggest
investigating the molecular structure of common compounds, especially those
organic compounds essential to life.
Here are a few websites for visualizing and analyzing molecular structure that you
might be interested in. Most use some sort of plug-in, such as MDL Chime:
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MathMol Library at NYU:
http://www.nyu.edu/pages/mathmol/library/related.html
Dr. Woodcock's Molecular Models webpage:
http://www.molecularmodels.ca/molecule/molecule.html
Credits & References
This WebQuest was inspired by a similar project shared with the author by Ted
Koehn at Lincoln East High School (Lincoln, NE).
Here is a link to The WebQuest Page so that you can acquire the latest version of this
template and training materials to design your own WebQuest!