Text Set Assignment
11th Grade Chemistry
Acids and Bases
Dan Wilson
EDC 448
Fall 2012
Guiding Questions
1. What are acids and bases?
2. How do acids and bases interact with one
another?
3. What are some real-world
applications/examples of acid base chemistry?
Offline Texts
1. Merrill Chemistry
Citation: Smoot, Robert C. ., Richard G. . Smith, Jack Price, and
Tom Russo. Merrill Chemistry: Student Edition. New York:
Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, 1998. Print.
Quantitative Analysis: This textbook received a Flesch-Kincaid
Grade Level Score of eleven, meaning that eleventh grade
students should be able to comprehend its content.
This is a 910 page high school chemistry textbook. While the
size of the book may seem overwhelming at first, it contains a
chapter on acids, bases, and salts that begins by identifying
everyday items as acids and bases. The book gives a thorough
but understandable overview of acid-base chemistry. The book
has clearly labeled sections that make their purpose clear.
Although the textbook uses scientific jargon, it clearly defines
each unfamiliar term and contains a vast array of pictures,
tables, charts, and diagrams to help readers understand
abstract concepts.
2. The Cartoon Guide to Chemistry
Citation: Gonick, Larry, and Craig Criddle. The Cartoon Guide to
Chemistry. New York: Harper Resource, 2005. Print.
This book has a chapter dedicated to an informal
introduction to acids and bases, a brief and comical
overview of acid-base interactions at the atomic level,
and a listing of common acid-base conjugate pairs. The
illustrations in this chapter should remind the reader of
a comic book. While they are less formal than the
diagrams one would find in a textbook, they are still
very informative and relatively easy to understand. The
book identifies everyday items as acids and bases,
relating to the reader’s prior knowledge base. Because
it does not demand very high levels of prior knowledge,
excerpts from this book would work well as a casual
introduction to the subject of acids and bases.
3. Weird Chemistry: Kitchen Creations
Citation: Wetterschneider, Molly F. Weird Chemistry: Kitchen
Creations. Chicago: Wright Group/McGraw-Hill, 2005. Print.
This textbook is written for younger grades but gives
definitions of acids, bases, and neutral chemicals by example.
Although first-time readers wouldn’t realize this, the book
is actually introducing different levels of the pH scale, a
method of classifying chemicals that is relevant to acids and
bases but sometimes hard to understand. While this purpose
is not easily identified, the knowledge gained from this text
will serve as good background information in the future.
The book gives everyday examples of acids, bases, and neutral
chemicals, relating to readers prior knowledge. Although the
text is well below grade level and does not use much technical
vocabulary, the info on acids and bases could serve as a
comfortable introduction to the subject before readers are
asked to understand a much more complex textbook. Using
this book would also benefit members of the class at a lower
reading level than their peers.
Online Texts
1. URI Chemistry Dept.: Titration Video
Citation: Geldart, Sue. "Experiment 4: Performing a
Titration." URI Department of Chemistry. University of
Rhode Island, n.d. Web.
<http://www.chm.uri.edu/labcam/mpeg/titration_64
0.mpg>.
This video was produced by the University of Rhode
Island Department of Chemistry to show students in
introductory level chemistry labs how to properly
complete
a
titration
experiment.
Titration
experiments are one of the most common types of
experiment used for understanding introductory level
acid-base reactions. The video would be useful in a
high school setting because it provides students with
a visual representation of what the technical
vocabulary in their textbook or laboratory manual
describes. It allows the students associate names with
the pieces of equipment to which they belong,
understand what proper laboratory technique actually
looks like, and how equipment is incorporated into
that technique. The video is short but dense with
information and utilizes narration.
2. NSF/ACS ChemEd DL
Citation: "Welcome! Explore Chemistry with ChemEd DL." Welcome to
the Chemical Education Digital Library. National Science Foundation,
American
Chemical
Society,
Etc.,
2012.
Web.
<http://www.chemeddl.org/>.
The National Science Foundation, American Chemical Society, and other
partners produced the Chemical Education Digital Library. This database
provides an interactive periodic table, library of rotatable 3-D molecular
structures, and other resources.
This online text provides visual resources unlike any available in print.
The design of the website allows students to find the molecule they need
and view its structure. Understanding the structure of acids and bases is
crucial to understanding their interactions. The system also associates
the structure of the molecule with its written name and chemical
formula. This database is useful because it is straightforward while
communicating a high level of complex information with reasonable
expectations of prior knowledge.
3. Khan Academy: Acid-Base Titration
Citation: "Acid Base Titration." Khan
Academy. Khan Academy, 2012. Web.
<http://www.khanacademy.org/science/ch
emistry/acids-and-bases/v/acid-basetitration>.
This video by the Khan Academy walks the viewer through an entire acid-base titration problem while clearly
explaining each step and the reason for it. The video uses technical terminology that may be a stretch for
some viewers, but does so logically and in a way that viewers can easily follow as they are guided to the
problem’s solution. The chronological order of steps shown in this video serves as an excellent example for
students. The purpose of the video is made clear early on and the narrator provides accurate and informative
explanation of his written steps. The differentiation of colored text makes the explanation of the solution ‘s
steps easier to understand, and the background knowledge expectations of the video are reasonable.
4. The New York Times: Ocean
Acidification
Citation: Beddington, John, and Jane Lubchenco. "Acid Test for Marine Life." The New York Times. The New York
Times, 18 June 2012. Web. <http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/19/opinion/acid-test-for-oceans-and-marinelife.html>.
This article from the New York Times describes the acidification of our oceans due to environmental conditions.
It is an adequate text for this set because it applies vocabulary that students should know after learning about
acids and bases in a new context that is relevant to current everyday life. The article allows students to relate
their prior knowledge of our world’s environmental conditions to a subject they are learning in class. While this
text requires some prior knowledge, its demands are not unreasonably high. It is written in an informative but
causal register and is organized like other news media texts. It should be somewhat comfortable for the reader
but also engaging.
5. Acid-Base Slideshow
Citation: "Acid-Base Chemistry." Bridgewater State
University,
7
June
2009.
Web.
<http://webhost.bridgew.edu/c2king/Other%20Teaching
%20Stuff/Greener%20chemistry%20curriculum.pdf>.
This slideshow taken from an introductory level
chemistry course at Bridgewater State University again
provides the student with everyday examples of acids
and bases, relating to their prior knowledge base. The
text utilizes graphic organizers in its organization, and this
sets it apart from textbooks and other reference
materials because it makes it easier for the reader to
differentiate between the two things being discussed.
The text goes beyond base-level definitions to more
scientifically specific vocabulary and processes. It defines
each term and guides readers to an understanding of the
processes described by the vocabulary.
6. Purdue University: Titration Problem
Guide
Citation: "Acid/Base Titration." Purdue University Chemical Education. Purdue University, 2011. Web.
<http://chemed.chem.purdue.edu/genchem/probsolv/stoichiometry/acid-base1/>.
This text from Purdue University guides students through webpages of text designed to give a comprehensive
understanding of how to complete acid-base titration problems. The pages are divided so that they separate
the task at hand from the strategy recommended to complete that task. By the end of completing the tasks,
the student has completed the problem. The pages give the completed calculations for each component in the
problem and the answer to them in a different color text, so that the user can walk through the entire problem
if it is too difficult to understand. This guide is very well organized because it lists the steps to completing
titration problems chronologically. In regard to this specific problem-solving process, the guide’s prior
knowledge demands are relatively low, which could be very helpful because of the difficulty and abstractness
of this material.
Fight Club (1999)
Citation: Fight Club. Dir. David Fincher. Perf. Brad Pitt and
Edward Norton. Fox 2000 Pictures, 1999.
In this film, starring Brad Pitt and Edward Norton, one
character pours an extremely dangerous base onto
another’s hand. The base, lye, is used in soap-making
processes like the one discussed in the film. I would not
show the entire film to my class, but I would consider
showing them this clip. My high school chemistry teacher
showed it to my class, and I can remember it resonating
with us as a “cool” example for understanding chemistry.
Our class was then more interested in learning about acids
and bases; we even were interested in the chemistry of
soap-making processes. Showing a film clip like this one is
a good way to connect the text to the subject culturally;
many high school students have seen this film before and
recognize it as an element of popular culture. If possible, it
is great to have some level of cultural connection between
the students and the material so that the class can really
get engaged.