"ELEMENTS NECESSARY FOR LIFE" PROJECT
developed by Michael Geyer
with assistance from Cynthia Bedell
downloaded from The Catalyst (www.TheCatalyst.org)
“Elements Necessary for Life” project
THE ASSIGNMENT:
You have been asked by the American Chemical Society (ACS) to design an
advertisement which promotes an element that is necessary for the health and well being of the
human body. You must choose the age group (children, teenagers, adults, or senior citizens) and
sex (male or female) you intend to target, as the nutritional requirements for your element may
change depending on these factors. Pregnancy may also be a factor you need to account for. For
example, the daily requirements for the element calcium vary depending on whether you are male
or female, and whether you are a child, teenager, adult or senior. In addition to this, pregnant and
nursing women have additional calcium requirements for their diet. Not every element will have
different RDA’s for each of these different people groups, so you will need to check carefully.
Your advertisement must be presented in such a way that the average reader in your age group
will understand it. Do not rely only on text in your presentation. For example, add some visual
aids such as tables to convey information, or pictures of foods that your mineral can be found in.
You have four options for presenting your advertisement:
 Tri-fold pamphlet
 Elemental “Baseball” card
 PowerPoint presentation
 Pretaped video commercial presentation
The following is required information for your advertisement:
• Element name and atomic number
• Recommended daily allowances (RDA’s)
• Main food sources of element (must also bring in a sample for the class to see)
• Why does your body need this element required, how does it help the body?
• Problems if you get too much in your body (include symptoms)
• Problems if you get too little in your body (include symptoms)
• Are mineral supplements containing this element available at the local pharmacy?
(Look specifically for a supplement that only contains the one element, not a
multivitamin. Use a multivitamin as a last resort, and let your audience know that you are
referring to a multivitamin if you do so.)
• If so, what is the average cost for a daily supplement? (Pay attention to how many pills
make up a daily supplement.)
• A bibliography which includes at least three sources (including books, web addresses,
magazines, etc.).
When conducting a search for the above information, you will want to search under the name of
your element as well as the following: minerals, trace minerals, essential minerals, or
macrominerals.
You will present your information to your classmates in a three to five minute presentation. You
will be working alone on this project and will be given class time to perform some of your
research. However, you cannot hope to complete this project with class time only. This project
will be assigned a value of 50 points.
Pamphlet Presentation
Your pamphlet must be designed so that it can be folded into thirds, and will have six panels for
presenting your information. The following are the minimum requirements for your pamphlet:
Title panel must show the element name and symbol,
Back panel must include your bibliography of at least three sources, with your name at the
bottom of this panel, and
You must use some color in designing your pamphlet.
acceptable.
Black and white only is not
Format: A tri-fold pamphlet is generally laid out as in the figure below:
Please pay attention to the details shown at
the left and below so that you will not lose
points during grading.
• DO NOT use ruled or lined paper; no school
notebook paper or paper with holes should be used.
Plain white paper is OK, but heavier paper is
preferred. Construction paper has been used with
good results.
• TYPED pamphlets are preferred. If you must write
by hand, PRINT NEATLY in INK. If you use
pencil to help you lay out the pamphlet, make sure
that it is all erased before you hand it in.
• If you cannot set your typewriter or computer to
make the columns necessary to properly fold the
pamphlet, type or print the text out at the
appropriate column width and then fix it to the
brochure. Glue Sticks or rubber cement work
better than white glue.
• Check your spelling and grammar - it counts!
Elemental “Baseball” Card Presentation
Your card must be designed so that it will fit on a 5” x 7” index card (provided by the instructor).
Type written words may be printed out and pasted onto the card (glue sticks work better than
white glue). You are encouraged to add a picture, drawing, or some other artwork, and you must
use some color in designing your card. Black and white only is not acceptable. Check your
spelling and grammar, it will count towards your final grade.
Your final product will be laminated. To have your card laminated, you must turn it in one day
before your presentation, and I will have it laminated for you.
PowerPoint Presentation
For those of you who are computer literate, and have some PowerPoint experience, you may
prepare your presentation with PowerPoint. Do not rely only on text in your presentation; add
some visual aids. In addition to visual aids, you may also include sound effects or movie clips.
Check your spelling and grammar, it will count towards your final grade.
You will be allowed to use one of the class computers to make your presentation to the class.
You will be required to save your final project on a blank diskette to turn in after your class
presentation.
Pretaped Video Commercial Presentation
For those of you who are very creative, you may use a video camera to record a three to five
minute “infomercial” about your element. You can treat it as an infomercial, a news report, or a
true product advertisement.
You must turn in a videocassette of your final project one day before your presentation to the
class so that your instructor may view it before it is shown to the class. For this type of
presentation you will not actually make a live presentation to the class. Instead, you will show
your video-taped work to the class.
You will be required to turn in a copy of your videocassette after your class presentation.
NOTE: If you have any specific questions regarding any of the four presentation options, see
your instructor. Do not make any assumptions! If you are unsure about anything, ask. If you
would like to add your own creative touch, make sure you get approval from your instructor.
Moreover, the stated requirements for this project must be met regardless of which presentation
option you choose.