Virtual Science Pro Lesson Guide
Ice on Fire!
Level of difficulty: Difficult (9th - 12th Grade)
How to Use this Lesson Guide
ACTIVITIES:
DAY 1
ESTIMATED
TIMING
Welcome to the Science
WoRx Virtual Science “Ice on
Fire!” lesson guide! As the
name suggests, this tool is
meant to be used as a guide
to accompany the Virtual
Science Pro video “Ice on
Fire!” You may wish to use it
as a two-day lesson plan, as
presented, or you may wish
to tailor the activities to your
Warm Up
10 minutes
1. Pose the question: “What are some of the most heroic
professions you can think of?”
2.If necessary, prompt the class to call out “mining” by
reminding them of current events (i.e., heroic rescue effort
of the Chilean miners).
3.Write several responses on the board, including mining, and
ask the students to come up with different ways science
might be involved in each profession with a focus on the
necessary safety precautions associated with each job.
students’ skill levels and class
time parameters. It is designed
to bring science to life in the
classroom through exposure
Introduce Relevant Vocabulary
Suggested terms:
15 minutes
to real-world scientists
and engaging activities
that demonstrate everyday
applications for science. Have
fun with it! And do let us know
what you think – e-mail us at
science.worx@us.astellas.com –
as we hope to provide more
videos and lesson guides in the
future. Together we can inspire
acetylene coefficient
combustible flammable
product reactant
subscript
the next generation of scientists!
Adult supervision required. Utilize
appropriate Personal Protective
Equipment (PPE) such as safety
goggles, aprons and gloves when
conducting experiments.
Page 1
Introduce Objectives of Lesson
After today’s lesson, students will be able to:
1. Identify the coefficients and subscripts in a
chemical equation
2.Label the reactants and products of a chemical equation
3.Balance chemical equations
4.Explain the law of conservation of mass
5.Describe measures for enhancing mining safety
5 minutes
Watch Science WoRx Video “Ice on Fire!”
Note: If you wish to conduct the “Ice on Fire!” experiment in
your classroom, please contact the Science WoRx team
(science.worx@us.astellas.com) for the protocol and specific
safety instructions.
10 minutes
Virtual Science Pro Lesson Guide
Ice on Fire!
Q&A
To encourage students’ inquisitive tendencies, you may want
to open the discussion to questions, or assign questions for
them to respond to on their own. To get you started, we’ve
provided sample questions below.
10 minutes
1. Why is it necessary to extinguish the fire with a lid and
not water?
2.Other than mining headlamps, what are some other
applications for acetylene?
A few examples include early automobile, motorcycle and
bicycle headlights, early street lamps, radio carbon dating,
welding (mostly artistic) and the manufacture of plastics.
ACTIVITIES:
DAY 2
ESTIMATED
TIMING
Follow-Up Activity
(to Weave in Curriculum-Based Competency)
15 minutes
1. Write “H2 + O2 → H2O” on the board.
2.Walk the class through balancing chemical equations using
the above example, explaining how each atom must be
represented in equal amounts, and as integers, on both
sides of the equation.
3.Explain the law of the conservation of matter and that it is
critical to understand how to balance a chemical equation in
order to predict the quantity of the chemical compound
yielded by the original molecules.
4.Write “CaC2 + H2O → C2H2” on the board and ask the
students to help you balance the equation for acetylene.
Follow-Up Activity
(to Reinforce Knowledge and Test Comprehension)
1. Divide class into small groups, asking them to come up
with a name. Each group will represent a consulting group
or environmental nonprofit group.
Page 2
30 minutes
Virtual Science Pro Lesson Guide
Ice on Fire!
2.Provide students the following scenario:
An unfortunate incident occurred at the Coral Mesa mine in
[insert name of local town students are familiar with]. Luckily,
the mine’s gas detectors and communication devices worked
properly, so all 20 miners were able to seek refuge in the
mine’s safe room until a rescue robot was able to escort the
miners to safety above ground.
Mr. Wilson, a local farmer, wasn’t as lucky. Coral Mesa owns
the mineral rights on Mr. Wilson’s property. It turns out that
one of his cows cut her leg on barbed wire that was erected
to keep the cattle away from the mine shaft. In response
to her distress calls, a group of cattle had surrounded her
when the incident occurred, putting them in harm’s way.
Mr. Wilson lost a dozen head of cattle.
To add an additional twist to the matter, the local
municipality maintains a landfill adjacent to Mr. Wilson’s
property, not far from the mine.
Mr. Wilson sued Coral Mesa, claiming that the company
failed to follow all appropriate safety precautions.
Mr. Wilson also sued the local municipality, claiming that it
failed to enforce appropriate zoning laws by allowing the
mine to operate near a landfill.
A county judge ruled that all parties were responsible for
the accident and livestock casualties, citing that it was
impossible to determine if the increased concentrations
of methane that gave rise to the event were caused by the
landfill or the proximity of the cattle to the mine. Further,
even though Coral Mesa effectively implemented reactive
safety measures, the company failed to follow appropriate
preventive measures.
The judge called for each of the three parties in the lawsuit
to pay fines (the fines for each individual party were not
disclosed) for a combined total of $1.5 million. The county
then issued a request for proposals for a $1.5 million contract
to implement innovative safety measures to prevent a
similar incident in the future, and to provide a model for
neighboring counties.
Page 3
Virtual Science Pro Lesson Guide
Ice on Fire!
3.Tell the groups that they will compete for the contract, and
that the first phase of the selection process is to correctly
balance as many chemical equations as possible (you may
want to provide each group a hand out of the equations to
balance). Some suggested equations to balance are:
a) _CH4 + _O2 → _CO2 + _H2O (methane combustion)
b)_Mg + _O2 → _MgO (fireworks)
c) _O2 + _H2 → _H2O (hydrogen combustion, responsible
for the Hindenburg blimp incident)
4.Provide bonus points to the teams who can answer why
cows and landfills would contribute to the elevated levels of
methane in the mine.
5.Provide bonus points to the teams who come up with the
most safety measures.
6.Announce the winning group at the end of class.
Note: If desired, and depending on time constraints, there are
a number of ways to extend this activity, including making
it a more formal project for each group to present to the
class. You could also change steps 4 and 5 from bonuses to
required assignments.
Homework Assignment
5 minutes
(to
provide
Ask students to research a famous chemical mishap (i.e., the
assignment)
West Virginia mining incident in early 2010) and to bring the
following to the next class:
1. A one-paragraph summary of the details surrounding and
circumstances leading to the event.
2.The correct, balanced chemical equation that led to
the event.
3.A recommended safety measure to prevent future mishaps
of the same kind.
Additional Resources
For additional resources, visit our partner websites:
http://www.nsta.org
http://www.ibioinstitute.org
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Virtual Science Pro Lesson Guide
Ice on Fire!
Balancing Equations Practice Worksheet
Balance the following equations.
Explosion Reactions:
1)___CH4 + ___O2 → ___CO2 + ___H2O (methane combustion)
2)___Mg + ___O2 → ___MgO (fireworks)
3)___O2 + ___H2 → ___H2O (hydrogen combustion)
4)___C8H18 + ___O2 → ___CO2 + ___H2O (gasoline combustion)
5)___C3H5(NO3)3 → ___CO2 + ___H2O + ___N2 + ___O2
(detonation of nitroglycerin)
Additional Reactions:
1)___ NaNO3 + ___ PbO → ___ Pb(NO3)2 + ___ Na2O
2)___ AgI + ___ Fe2(CO3)3 → ___ FeI3 + ___ Ag2CO3
3)___ SiCl4 + ___ H2O → ___ H4SiO4 + ___ HCl
4)___ ZnSO4 + ___ Li2CO3 → ___ ZnCO3 + ___ Li2SO4
5)___ V2O5 + ___ CaS → ___ CaO + ___ V2S5
6)___ Mn(NO2)2 + ___ BeCl2 → ___ Be(NO2)2 + ___ MnCl2
7)___ AgBr + ___ GaPO4 → ___ Ag3PO4 + ___ GaBr3
8)___ H2SO4 + ___ B(OH)3 → ___ B2(SO4)3 + ___ H2O
9)___ Fe2(SO4)3 + ___ KOH → ___ K2SO4 + ___ Fe(OH)3
10)___ H2SO4 + ___ HI → ___ H2S + ___ I2 + ___H2O
Page 5
Virtual Science Pro Lesson Guide
Ice on Fire!
Solutions for the Balancing Equations Practice Worksheet
Explosion Reactions:
1)CH4 + 2 O2 → CO2 + 2 H2O (methane combustion)
2)2 Mg + O2 → 2 MgO (fireworks)
3)O2 + 2 H2 → 2 H2O (hydrogen combustion)
4)2 C8H18 + 25 O2 → 16 CO2 + 18 H2O (gasoline combustion)
5)4 C3H5(NO3)3 → 12 CO2 + 10 H2O + 6 N2 + O2
(detonation of nitroglycerin)
Additional Reactions:
1)2 NaNO3 + PbO → Pb(NO3)2 + Na2O
2)6 AgI + Fe2(CO3)3 → 2 FeI3 + 3 Ag2CO3
3)SiCl4 + 4 H2O → H4SiO4 + 4 HCl
4)ZnSO4 + Li2CO3 → ZnCO3 + Li2SO4
5)V2O5 + 5 CaS → 5 CaO + V2S5
6)Mn(NO2)2 + BeCl2 → Be(NO2)2 + MnCl2
7)3 AgBr + GaPO4 → Ag3PO4 + GaBr3
8)3 H2SO4 + 2 B(OH)3 → B2(SO4)3 + 6 H2O
9)Fe2(SO4)3 + 6 KOH → 3 K2SO4 + 2 Fe(OH)3
10)H2SO4 + 8 HI → H2S + 4 I2 + 4 H2O
Page 6