9-12 SCHOOLS
ChemCom
(Chemistry in the Community)
Core Lab Summaries
Revised Summer 2001
The water, chemical resources and petroleum units contain the most basic concepts for the
course.
It is not possible to teach all of the material in the book. Depending on the interest and
background of the teacher, he/she is free to choose among the remaining units.
Page numbers for the ChemCom book are for the OLD 2nd edition.
ACTIVITY 1
Meter Sticks
(Your Turn, page 7 Chem Com)
CONCEPTS:
To help students become familiar with the metric unit; specifically length
measurements.
EQUIPMENT:
meter sticks
yard sticks
small change
SUMMARY:
Students measure coin diameters and associate various length
measurement units with everyday objects.
SAFETY:
no special concerns
ACTIVITY 2
Foul Water Lab
CONCEPTS:
Aid students in understanding water purity. They will perform oil-water
separation, sand filtration, and charcoal absorption/filtration.
EQUIPMENT:
See ChemCom Teacher’s Manual for specifics.
SAFETY:
No concerns
ACTIVITY 3
Construct a Periodic Table
Starting at Ground Zero, Vol. 3, p A7-12
CONCEPTS:
Modeling Mendeleev procedure in ordering elements into a periodic
table.
EQUIPMENT
element property cards
SAFETY:
None
Science Curriculum: November, 2001
Lab Summaries: Page 1 of 6
ChemCom
9-12 SCHOOLS
ChemCom
(Chemistry in the Community)
Core Lab Summaries
Revised Summer 2001
ACTIVITY 4
Town Council
CONCEPTS:
Students will be assigned a special interest group and will present a
defense to the class.
EQUIPMENT:
None
SUMMARY:
Students represent power company officials, scientists, engineers,
Chamber of Commerce officials, county sanitation commission, and
taxpayers in dealing with a fish kill in the fictional town of Riverwood.
SAFETY:
None
ACTIVITY 5
Making a Petrochemical
CONCEPTS:
To help students understand how an acid (from a hydrocarbon) and an
alcohol can produce an ester with a pleasing fragrance.
To help students understand how reaction rate can be changed.
EQUIPMENT
See ChemCom teacher’s manual
SAFETY:
Standard operating procedures.
NEW FOR 2001-02; replaced “Classification of Mixtures”
ACTIVITY 6
Levels of Science
CONCEPTS:
Students identify physical and chemical properties as well as construct
and interpret a line graph.
EQUIPMENT:
matches
centigram balance
metric rulers
SUMMARY:
A candle is described in both qualitative and quantitative terms. As it
burns, students record mass changes which permit the construction of
a line graph which can be used to summarize trends and predict
additional data. Finally, students propose models that explain their
observations.
SAFETY:
Precautions associated with open flames
Science Curriculum: November, 2001
candles
aluminum weighing trays
graph paper
Lab Summaries: Page 2 of 6
ChemCom
9-12 SCHOOLS
ChemCom
(Chemistry in the Community)
Core Lab Summaries
Revised Summer 2001
ACTIVITY 7
Solubility and Temperature
CONCEPTS:
Students will observe rates of solubility at different temperatures, and
connect the observations to a mental molecular model.
EQUIPMENT:
food coloring
sugar cubes
SUMMARY:
Students drop dye and sugar into containers that have water of different
temperatures, and make observations of rates of diffusion and
dissolving.
SAFETY:
Hot water can burn.
mortar and pestle
ACTIVITY 8
Concentration and PPM Lab
CONCEPTS:
Help students understand the concept of concentration of solutions.
EQUIPMENT:
Spot plates
Eye droppers
De-ionized water
SUMMARY:
Mix water and ink using spot plate procedure to produce a solution with
1 part per million.
SAFETY:
No concerns.
India ink
paper towels
ACTIVITY 9
Physical Properties, Viscosity Lab
ChemCom p. 160
CONCEPTS:
Measure the relative viscosities of several organic materials.
EQUIPMENT:
mineral oil
kerosene
motor oil
SUMMARY:
Students measure mass and volume to calculate densities of petroleum
based materials and determine relative viscosities with falling beads.
They then relate the variables.
SAFETY:
Caution in the use of flammable kerosene; do not dispose of in sink.
Science Curriculum: November, 2001
asphalt
paraffin wax
household oil
Lab Summaries: Page 3 of 6
ChemCom
9-12 SCHOOLS
ChemCom
(Chemistry in the Community)
Core Lab Summaries
Revised Summer 2001
ACTIVITY 10
Metal Reactivities
ChemCom, p. 105
CONCEPTS:
Observe and compare chemical reactivity of metals.
EQUIPMENT
Cu(NO3)2
Mg(NO3)2
Zn(NO3)2
AgNO3
Al metal
Zn metal
Mg metal
SAFETY:
Standard operating procedure.
NEW FOR 2001-02; replaced “Water Softening Lab”
ACTIVITY 11
States of Matter
CONCEPTS:
To illustrate the force of expanding steam.
To measure the percent water in popcorn.
EQUIPMENT:
popcorn
small beakers
toothpicks
hot plates
SUMMARY:
Popcorn kernels are weighed before and after popping. Weight
changes are used to calculate the percent water in the popcorn.
Models are portrayed of the particles in solids, liquids, and gases.
SAFETY:
Standard operating procedure for using hot plates.
Science Curriculum: November, 2001
beaker tongs
centigram balance
aluminum foil
Lab Summaries: Page 4 of 6
ChemCom
9-12 SCHOOLS
ChemCom
(Chemistry in the Community)
Core Lab Summaries
Revised Summer 2001
NEW FOR 2001-02; replaced “Bohr Model Races”
ACTIVITY 12
Chemical Changes
CONCEPTS:
Students identify symptoms of chemical change and then classify several
types of common reactions.
EQUIPMENT:
effervescent tablets
magnesium ribbon
copper chloride
metal squares (Al, Cu, Sn, Zn)
small beakers
steel wool
thermometers
SUMMARY:
Students observe and describe a set of chemical changes and then
classify selected chemical events from everyday life.
SAFETY:
Acid is corrosive. Students should not look at burning magnesium.
spoons
beaker tongs
test tubes
100 mL grad. cylinder
3M Hydrochloric acid
matches
ACTIVITY 13
Tinker Toys (molecular models)
CONCEPTS:
Help familiarize students with molecular structure.
EQUIPMENT:
Organic model kits
SUMMARY:
Students build molecular models.
SAFETY:
No concerns.
ACTIVITY 14
Lentil Lab
CONCEPTS:
Help students understand concept of how many 6.02 x 1023 is.
EQUIPMENT:
6-8 lbs of lentils for class
scales
large beakers of pie pans for each pound of lentils
SUMMARY:
Students design a procedure for determining the number of lentils in a
pound, the dry volume of a pound of lentils, and the density of dry lentils.
SAFETY:
No concerns.
Science Curriculum: November, 2001
Lab Summaries: Page 5 of 6
ChemCom
9-12 SCHOOLS
ChemCom
(Chemistry in the Community)
Core Lab Summaries
Revised Summer 2001
ACTIVITY 15
Molarity Lab
CONCEPTS:
Aid student understanding of concentration of solution.
EQUIPMENT:
Kool-Aid
graduated cylinder
styrofoam cup
SUMMARY:
Students compare the molarity of four different solutions mathematically
and by color, clarity, and viscosity with optional taste test.
SAFETY:
No concerns.
funnel
glass stirring rod
pen light
NEW FOR 2001-02; replaced “Limiting Reactant Lab”
ACTIVITY 16
Heat of Combustion of Candle Wax
CONCEPTS:
Students will determine the calories emitted by burning candle wax.
EQUIPMENT:
candles
can lids
coffee cans
soft drink cans
centigram balance
thermometers
SUMMARY:
As a candle burns, students measure its weight loss and the amount of
temperature increase for water positioned over its flame. These data
are used to calculate the calories per gram from the wax. Selected
food samples may then be compared for their calories per gram.
SAFETY:
Precautions for open flames.
Science Curriculum: November, 2001
crucible tongs
ring stands
stirring rods
100 mL grad. cylinders
ice
250 mL beakers
Lab Summaries: Page 6 of 6
ChemCom