Chemistry Lesson Plan
Title:
HTP vs. Soil: The Oil Spill Throwdown
Subject:
Chemistry and Biology
California State Standards:
Investigation and Experimentation Standard 1. To be a scientist and
make scientific progress students must ask meaningful questions
and conduct investigations. Students should develop their own
questions and perform their own investigations.
Chemistry Standard 2b. Students know chemical bonds between atoms
in molecules such as H2, CH4, NH3, HCCH2, N2, Cl2, and many large
biological molecules are covalent.
Chemistry Standard 10b: Students know the bonding characteristics of
carbon that result in the formation of a large variety of structures ranging
from simple hydrocarbons to complex polymers and biological molecules.
Chemistry Standard 10d. Students know the system for naming the ten
simplest linear hydrocarbons and isomers that contain single bonds,
simple hydrocarbons with double and triple bonds, and simple molecules
that contain a benzene ring.
Author:
O.C.E.A.N.I.T.S G.W
Grade Level:
10th
Time Duration:
55 minutes
Overview:
Hydrocarbons are chemical compounds that consist only of Hydrogen and
Carbon molecules. They can be in the form of a gas, a liquid, or a low melting solid.
They are found mostly in the form of crude oil. They are classified into four main
categories: Saturated, Unsaturated, Cycloalkanes, and Aromatic Hydrocarbons.
Saturated Hydrocarbons are saturated because of Hydrogen. They have only single
bonds, and have the basic formula of CnH2n+2. It is also important to note that Saturated
Hydrocarbons are the basis of most petroleum fuels. Unsaturated are ones that contain
one or more double, and even triple bonds between the carbon atoms. Cyclolkanes have
one or more carbon rings with hydrogen atoms attached. Aromatic hydrocarbons, also
known as arenes, contain at least one aromatic ring.
Microbes are microorganisms that contain either one cell--making them
unicellular-- as well as multiple cells, or even no cells at all. They can be found in any
part of a biosphere, as long as liquid water is present. In the four categories of
microorganisms, microbes fall under bacteria. Bacteria are microorganisms that are
known to recycle nutrients on planets, making them decomposers. Microbes, specifically
oil-eating ones, break down hydrocarbons and convert them into nutrients that are afe to
be consumed by other organisms that live in water. When an oil spill becomes evident,
microbes are known to become dominant in the polluted areas of the water, where they
begin the process of breaking down the oils and other hydrocarbons. They become even
more effective if supplemented with soils.
HTP is a product that is comprised of soils, wood chips, and microbes. It is a
100% organic product that encapsulates and solidifies oils immediately upon contact. It
works on any type of surface, but works instantly if there is water present where oils are
spilled. After HTP has encapsulated the oil, it needs to be removed from the site and can
be disposed best at a landfill or can also be incinerated. It has been used to clean up
smaller sections of oil spills, and could be a very viable solution for future oil spills, on a
bigger scale. In the following lab, students will be comparing HTP in its cleaning up of oil
spills, and comparing its effectiveness to regular soils.
Objective:
Compare the effectiveness of the bioremediation process performed by regular
soil and HTP in order to find which of the two provides greater and better results.
Content:
Students will be learning the basic characteristics of hydrocarbons and microbes.
They will also learn the relationship hydrocarbons have with microbes in ocean water.
Through a short lab, they will find out about how much more effective oil-eating microbes
are, when they are mixed with soils. A great example is HTP, a 100% organic, oilencapsulating product they will work with in the lab as they observe how effective it is
compared to regular soil.
Prerequisites:
Students should have a basic understanding of bio remediation and why it is
important in all environments. They should also be able to perform basic measurements
of liquids in beakers and know the difference between tablespoons and teaspoons.
Students must be able to make basic, and logical observations that they can use, on top
of what they have learned, in order to make conclusions.
Materials:
For each experiment:
2 beakers (Measuring at least two cups)
3 3”x3” brown lunch bag sheets
1 Tablespoon
1 Teaspoon
Motor Oil
Sea Water
HTP
Soil
1 dropper
Observation Worksheet
Other:
HTP vs. Soil PowerPoint
The Green Team Newscast
Preparation:
1. Video: The Green Team Newscast
2. Present the HTP vs. Soil PowerPoint
3. Prepare 6-7 lab stations. Students will sit 5 to 6 per lab station, depending on
the size of the class being taught.
4. Place 2 beakers on each lab station.
5. Place one tablespoon and one teaspoon on each lab station
6. Provide 4 cups of sea water to each lab station.
7. On each lab station place 3 mini paper cups. In one, put a max of 2
tablespoons of motor oil. In another cup, place 2 tablespoons of HTP. In the
third cup, put 2 tablespoons of the regular soil.
8. Cut out 10-12 sheets of 3x5 inches from a brown lunch bag, and place one
on each lab station.
Procedures:
1. In both beakers, make sure 2 cups of sea water are provided in each.
2. Next, place 1 teaspoon of the motor oil in both beakers from.
3. Using a dropper, place a drop of motor oil on one of the brown sheets. Has the
area where you placed the drop become translucent?
4. Add one the rest of the motor oil into both beakers of contaminated waters. Label
one beaker “HTP” and the other beaker “Soil”. Place one tablespoon of HTP into
one beaker. Observe what happens to the oil, and record your observations. Now
place one tablespoon of the soil in the other beaker, and record your
observations on the observation sheet.
5. From both beakers, remove only the HTP and soil. Make sure to place them back
in their respective cups from which you found them.
6. Now Place one brown sheet in the regular soil beaker for one second, then
immediately take it out. Do the same with the second sheet in the HTP beaker.
Which one has more of a translucent appearance?
7. Observe the cups to which you returned the Soil and HTP. Which of the two
retained the oil?
Conclusions:
How does this fit into the class’ curriculum?
Our lesson plan covers approximately %5 of the class curriculum. Students learn
hydrocarbons are basic molecules of organic chemistry. They also understand that
hydrocarbons, composed of only hydrogen and carbon, are the basis for many types of
petroleum, including crude oil. Students also learn what makes up petroleum and why it
has become a very important, but negative, source of energy since the Industrial
Revolution. They are then able to apply the concept of why hydrocarbons do not mix
with water molecules in the experiment. Water is a polar molecule, where as
hydrocarbons are non-polar.
How many times was the lesson plan taught?
The lesson plan was taught twice to a total number of about 60 students.
Reflection:
The first class we taught went very well. Everyone seemed to understand what
they were doing. Timing was good, though we did have a couple of extra minutes to
spare. In that time, we decided to review the observation questions, as well as give them
more information for HTP and why it is a viable solution to help in the cleaning up of oil
spills. One thing we notice din the lab, was that the wording in the procedures made
some of the instructions a little hard to follow and understand. This was in part to last
minute alterations made to materials used in the experiment. Some procedures asked
students to measure amounts of the substances. However, due to a lack of some
measuring materials, these measurements were calculated prior to the start of the lab.
Students did not particularly enjoy cleaning up the oil, but they were pleased to
learn new information about HTP and the fact that it is able to encapsulate and retain oil
after it has absorbed it. So we wanted to make it be smoother for the next class by
explaining any unclear procedures properly. To compensate for the extra time, we made
the decision to show our newscast on oil spills. This worked out perfectly and we ended
the second class on time. We are really glad that the lab was successful in both classes
as it was one that we created on our own, and even though we had tested it, we were
still nervous about having other people do it on their own. This lesson plan ties in with
our community service because the purpose was to demonstrate the importance of
reducing, reusing, and recycling, and how they prevent natural disasters such as oil
spills. Our lesson plan demonstrated what actions can be taken when an oil spill does
occur.
Works Cited:
“Microorganism.” Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 20 Jan. 2012. Zumdahl,
Steven S., Susan L. Zumdahl, and Donald J. DeCoste. World of Chemsitry.
Evanston: McDOugal Littell, 2002. Print