Writing Prompts
2B: Polymers
Guidance on Student Use:
Below are writing prompts related to content learned in this unit as well as recommended
assessment probes. The assessment probes can be found in a series of books titled
“Uncovering Student Ideas”. One copy of each of these books has been provided to each
school’s science department. The names of each book and the shorthand used to denote the
books follow.
 Uncovering Students Ideas in Science: 25 Formative Assessment Probes, Volume 1 (Vol .
1)
 Uncovering Students Ideas in Science: 25 More Formative Assessment Probes, Volume
2 (Vol. 2)
 Uncovering Students Ideas in Science: Another 25 Formative Assessment Probes,
Volume 3 (Vol. 3)
 Uncovering Students Ideas in Science: 25 New Formative Assessment Probes, Volume 4
(Vol. 4)
 Uncovering Students Ideas in Physical Science: 45 New Force and Motion Assessment
Probes, Volume 1 (PS)
Indicators with Related Writing Prompts and Assessment Probes
4.1.3 The student will explain how atoms interact with other atoms through the transfer and
sharing of electrons in the formation of chemical bonds.
-formation of ions
-bond
-formation of ionic bond
-formation of covalent bond
-ionic and molecular substances
Writing Prompt: The Town’s Water
Assessment Probes: Is it Made of Molecules? (Vol. 1, p. 85), Chemical Bonds (Vol. 2, p. 71),
Salt Crystals (Vol. 4, p. 39)
4.2.1 The student will explain how the properties of a molecule are determined by the atoms it
contains and their arrangement.
-polar and nonpolar molecules
-water
Writing Prompt: Packing Peanuts
Assessment Probes:
4.2.2 The student will explain why organic compounds are so numerous and diverse.
-inorganic and organic compounds
-ability of carbon to form chains and make rings
Writing Prompt: High Octane
Assessment Probes: Is it food for plants (Vol.2, p. 113)
4.2.3 The student will describe the properties of solutions and explain how they form.
-solute, solvent, and solubility
-concentration
-dissociation/ionization
-electrolytes
Writing Prompt: Make it Sweet
Assessment Probes: Sugar Water (Vol. 4, p. 11)
4.2.4 The student will differentiate among acids, bases, and salts based on their properties.
-Arrhenius definition
-salts
-indicators
Writing Prompt: Stomach Ache, Protect My Teeth, Pink or Blue?
Assessment Probes:
4.4.1 The student will illustrate that substances can be represented by formulas.
-subscripts
-acids
Writing Prompt: Disorganized Supply Room
Assessment Probes:
Unit 2B: Polymers
Essential Question
Indicator(s)
Packing Peanuts
How does the arrangement of atoms in a compound affect how
that compound behaves in a solution?
4.2.1 The student will explain how the properties of a molecule
are determined by the atoms it contains and their arrangement.
A new package delivery company has a goal of being environmentally friendly. They did
some research and found out that boxes are often recycled, but packing peanuts (small
foam pieces used to protect delicate objects) are usually thrown out. The average
peanut can take up to 50 years to decompose but some brands claim to degrade much
quicker. These companies claim that water dissolves their peanuts. The company
wanted to test these claims before supporting one particular packing peanut brand. To
test the claim they put one peanut in a beaker of water for 1 hour. Below are the
results.
Brand A in water
Brand B in water
Brand C in water
WATER MOLECULE
H
H
O
Explain why some packing peanuts dissolve in water and others do not. In your
reponse, be sure to include:
 what determines if one substance will dissolve into another substance.
 the type of substance that water is: ionic, polar covalent or nonpolar covalent.
 The type of substance that each brand of packing peanut might be: ionic, polar
covalent or nonpolar covalent.
Be sure to consider the completeness of your response, supporting details, and accurate
use of terms.
Unit 2B: Polymers
Essential Question
Indicator(s)
Make it Sweet
What factors affect the amount of substance that will dissolve
into a solution?
4.2.3 The student will describe the properties of solutions and
explain how they form.
A student’s favorite drink is sweet tea. Every morning he makes it by adding exactly thirty
grams of sugar and one tea bag to one liter of hot water. Some days his tea does not taste as
sweet as other days. Those same days he notices that there is sugar sitting at the bottom of
the cup that will not dissolve no matter how long he stirs. He decided to filter out the
remaining sugar and keep track of the data in the graph below.
Amount of Sugar Undissolved in One Liter of Tea
Amount of Sugar Undissolved (grams)
5
4.5
4
3.5
3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6
Day 7
Explain why different amounts of sugar might dissolve at different times. In your reponse, be
sure to include:
 which day the least sugar dissolved and which day the most sugar dissolved.
 what could have caused less sugar to dissolve on some days.
 what the student could do to his drink to make more sugar dissolve.
Be sure to consider the completeness of your response, supporting details, and accurate use
of terms.
Unit 2B: Polymers
Essential Question
Indicator(s)
Disorganized Supply Room
What are the properties of acids and bases?
4.4.1 The student will illustrate that substances can be
represented by formulas.
A new chemistry teacher goes into the back room of her classroom to see what
chemicals and equipment are available. She is surprised to see that the chemicals were
on the shelves in an unorganized manner. This is a problem because it makes it harder
to find what is needed, but more importantly it could be unsafe if there are spills and
unintended reactions. For example, acids and bases should not be stored next to each
other because a lot of heat is produced when they react. She begins to feel
overwhelmed but remembers that she has some students assigned to help her get
organized. Also, she is relieved when she notices that each bottle has a label with the
chemical’s formula. She decides to write down some important information for the
students who will be helping her.
Indicate the important information that the student helpers will need about acids, bases
and salts. In your reponse, be sure to include:
 how acids, bases and salts can be distinguished using their formula.
 examples of formulas of acids, bases and salts.
 an explanation of the reaction that occurs between acids and bases.
Be sure to consider the completeness of your response, supporting details, and accurate
use of terms.
Unit 2B: Polymers
Essential Question
Indicator(s)
Stomach Ache
What are the properties of acids and bases?
4.2.4 The student will differentiate among acids, bases, and salts
based on their properties.
Acidic
Neutral
Baking Soda
Eggs
Tea
Water
Bread
Apples
Soda
Your friend had an upset stomach caused by indigestion. His mother explained to him
that indigestion is when the contents in the stomach are too acidic. She also told him to
drink soda to settle his stomach. The soda did not help. You tell him that you would not
have expected the soda to help with the indigestion based on what you know about
acids and bases.
Basic
Explain why soda would not help settle your friend’s stomach. In your reponse, be sure
to include:
 a better alternative to drinking soda.
 how each substance above would react with the stomach acid.
 defining characteristics of acids and bases, besides how they react.
Be sure to consider the completeness of your response, supporting details, and accurate
use of terms.
Unit 2B: Polymers
Essential Question
Indicator(s)
Protect My Teeth
How is acidity measured?
4.2.4 The student will differentiate among acids, bases, and salts
based on their properties.
A student went to the dentist and found out that he had a cavity. He always brushes his
teeth twice a day, so he didn’t understand how he got a cavity. The doctor told him
drinking things every day that are acidic, such as lemonade, can contribute to cavities.
He didn’t drink lemonade but did drink a variety of other drinks. The next day he
brought in a sample of each drink and asked his science teacher to borrow a pH probe to
test each liquid. Below are the results of the tests.
11.9
pH
Drink A
7.0
pH
5.3
pH
Drink B
Drink C
9.8
pH
Drink D
2.4
pH
Drink E
Explain which drink(s) the student should avoid if he wants to protect his teeth from
further damage. In your reponse, be sure to include:
 an explanation of what pH measures.
 which drinks are acidic, basic, and neutral.
Be sure to consider the completeness of your response, supporting details, and accurate
use of terms.
Unit 2B: Polymers
Essential Question
Indicator(s)
Pink or Blue?
How does pH affect living organisms?
4.2.4 The student will differentiate among acids, bases, and salts
based on their properties.
Hydrangea is a unique flower. It changes color based on the acidity or basicity of the
soil. Florists use this information to purposely change the color. Below is a table
indicating the color of the flower based on the pH of the soil.
Color of Hydrangea Based on pH
pH
Color
4.5
deep blue
5.0
medium blue
5.5
purple
6.0
purplish-pink
6.5
medium pink
7.0
deep pink
Explain how acidity and basicity affect hydrangeas. In your reponse, be sure to include:
 the trend of how acidity or basicity affects the color of a hydrangea.
 what a substance that changes color in the presences of an acid or a base is
called.
 a prediction of what would happen to a hydrangea if the pH of the soil were very
high or very low.
Be sure to consider the completeness of your response, supporting details, and accurate
use of terms.
Unit 2B: Polymers
Indicator(s)
The Town’s Water
4.1.3 The student will explain how atoms interact with other
atoms through the transfer and sharing of electrons in the
formation of chemical bonds.
A town just built a water tower. The mayor of the town wanted the water to contain fluoride
so that all of the residents would have healthier teeth. He read that ionic compounds must
be used to get the fluoride into water. He looked up fluorine containing compounds and
came up with the following list.
NaF
NF3
SiF4
CaF2
NH4F
Explain which compound(s) could be used to get fluoride into the water. In your reponse, be
sure to include:
 which compounds are ionic and which are covalent.
 how ionic and covalent compounds are different.
 why only ionic compounds would produce fluoride in water.
Be sure to consider the completeness of your response, supporting details, and accurate use
of terms.
Unit 2B: Polymers
Essential Question
Indicator(s)
Analogies
How are products of chemical reactions predicted?
4.5.1 The student will describe the general types of chemical
reactions.
A tutor comes up with analogies to help students to remember the types of reactions:
single displacement, double displacement, synthesis and decomposition. He represents
the analogies with the pictures below.
Analogy 1:
→
Analogy 2:
+
→
+
Analogy 3:
Analogy 4:
+
+
+
→
→
+
Explain how the analogies relate to the types of chemical reactions. In your reponse, be
sure to include:
 the type of reaction that each analogy represents: single displacement, double
displacement, synthesis and decomposition.
 a description of what happens to molecules in each type of reaction.
Be sure to consider the completeness of your response, supporting details, and accurate
use of terms.
Unit 2B: Polymers
Essential Question
Indicator(s)
Silver Production
How are chemical reactions represented?
4.5.2 The student will balance simple equations.
A science teacher comes across an old jar of silver (II) fluoride (AgF2). She knows that it
is not used for any experiments used in class and thinks about disposing of it. Then she
realized that she could do a reaction to form solid silver (Ag), which is valuable. She
contemplates many reactions to determine the best one. One of the steps to
determining the best reaction is balancing the reactions.
___AgF2 + ___K → ___KF + ___Ag
___AgF2 + ___Zn → ___ZnF2 + ___Ag
___AgF2 + ___Al → ___AlF3 + ___Ag
___AgF2 + ___Sn → ___SnF4 + ___Ag
Explain how to balance the reactions. In your reponse, be sure to include:
 the four balanced equations.
 an explanation of why equations must be balanced.
 how having balanced equation might help the teacher determine which reaction
to use.
Be sure to consider the completeness of your response, supporting details, and accurate
use of terms.
Unit 2B: Polymers
Essential Question
Indicator(s)
The Dangers of Cleaning
How are chemical reactions represented?
4.4.1 The student will illustrate that substances can be
represented by formulas.
An article in the local newspaper had an interview with a man whose lungs were
damaged when he inhaled chlorine gas. The paper stated that this happens more
frequently than one might expect. The mixing of cleaning products is one possible
scenario where this may occur. Some products contain bleach (NaOCl) and other
products contain ammonia (NH3). When these two chemicals come in contact, they
react to form chlorine, a green, toxic gas. The reaction represented below.
2 NaOCl(aq) + 2 NH3(aq) → 2 NaONH3(aq) + Cl2(g)
Explain how equations are used to represent chemical reactions. In your reponse, be
sure to include:
 what each number in the equation indicates.
 what each letter in the equation indicates.
 what each symbol in the equation indicates.
Be sure to consider the completeness of your response, supporting details, and accurate
use of terms.