Lesson Plans

Note:Theselessonsandmaterialsareadaptedfromthecurriculumdesignedbythe
AmericanModelingTeachersAssociation.
Lesson 1
Materials
Video
Lab notebooks
Balances
Ice chips
Vials
Bins (labeled)
Slips of paper
1. Introduction (20 minutes)
Lessonbeginswithashortvideoofaglassofwaterfreezing.Thewatervisiblyexpands,
causingabulgeonthetopsurfaceofthewater,andcrackstoappearintheglass.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFRu2mt6SgQ
Beforethevideothestudentswillbeaskedtopaycloseattentiontowhatishappeningat
thesurfaceoftheice,andwhatishappeningtotheglass.Afterwordwewilldiscusswhat
happenedinthevideo,macroscopicallyandthenaskstudentsforexplanationsofwhathappened.
Didthewatergainmass?Diditgainvolume?Howwouldyoutellifitgainedoneorbothof
these?Studentsentertheirpredictionaboutwhethermasswasgainedintheirlabnotebooks.
FinallyItellthestudentsthatwearegoingtousebalancesandchipsoficeandtestthe
predictions.Thestudentshavealreadyusedathreebeambalance,intherecentpast
(measurementlab)sotheywillprobablyrememberhowtodothat,andwillbeabletodothe
measurement.Iwillgivetechnicalhelponanindividualbasisasneeded.
2. Main Teaching Activities (20 minutes)
Students will break into their groups, obtain safety equipment and begin working on their
labs. I will circulate to give help and take attendance. In addition to writing their results in the lab
notebook, students will be asked to write their value for the change in mass of the water on a
small card. There will be bins at the front with value on them -0.05g, -0.03, 0, +0.03,+0.5g.
Students should put the card in the bin closest to their value.

3. Conclusion (10 minutes)

I will ask the class how they would like to display the class data, and I will try to steer them
toward a bar graph. I will count their results in front of them and put the bar graph up on the
board. We will briefly discuss what the bar graph means. Most likely the graph will show that the
change in mass was zero on average. We will arrive at this conclusion because most groups will
be a little over or a little under, and zero will lie at the center of the data. Prelab for the next days
lab will be given as homework (this will also be announced in the introduction and each lab
group will have their first procedure worksheets in their folders at the beginning of the hour)
Lesson 2 and 3
Materials
Steel wool
Burners
Calcium nitrate and sodium carbonate solutions
Balances
Sugar
Alka-selzer
Water
Watch glasses
Lab exercise procedure worksheets (not yet produced)
1. Introduction (15 minutes)
The lesson starts with me telling the students that we are going to do an investigation of
several more transformations of matter, to see whether mass was gained or lost, and to see if we
can account for what happened with each process. I will introduce each of the processes by
listing them on the board. Each group will do some of the activities but not all of them. Each
group will have been assigned to prep for their first lab activity as homework. The activities are
-

The Mass of Steel Wool

The Mass of Burning Steel wool
The Mass of a Precipitate
The Mass of Dissolving Sugar
The Mass of Dissolving Alka-selzer

I will briefly describe all of these, and tell the students that their group will do the lab
they are assigned first, and then additional labs, as time allows. I will tell them that they
are responsible for a group prediction about whether mass will be gained or lost for each
lab. Once students finish a lab, they are to find me and ask for an additional lab
assignment (Ill give them another procedure worksheet), or for further directions.
Finishing a lab entails conducting the experiments that they were given, as well as
performing whatever calculations are necessary in order to figure out whether mass was
lost or gained. Students will also be told that they should keep careful notes, because they

will be responsible for telling the class about their experiments and results the next day.
The procedure worksheets will need to contain some information about how the students
should put data in their lab notebooks. Make sure to stress the fact that students should be
taking careful observations of chemical appearances.
2. Main Teaching Activities (30 minutes)
The activities appear in the AAMT curriculum as follows:

Part1Massofsteelwool
Apparatus
Balance
Small wad of steel wool (~ 1/4 of a pad of #1 steel wool)

Prelabdiscussion
It is likely that students may confuse volume and mass as measures of the amount of stuff in a
sample. Display a small tightly wadded ball of steel wool. Ask students to predict whether the
mass will change if the wad of steel wool is pulled apart.

Labperformancenotes

Students should determine the mass of the wad of steel wool.

Students should carefully pull the wad apart so that it occupies a volume roughly twice as
great as before.
Students then determine the mass of the expanded wad of steel wool.

Postlabdiscussion

Have the students report any change in mass by doing the following calculation:
Mass steel wool-after- Mass steel wool-before
Change in mass

Part2Massofaprecipitate
Apparatus
Balance
Two small vials
0.1M solutions of Ca(NO3)2 (16.4 g per liter of solution) and Na2CO3 (10.6 g per liter
of solution). 300 mL of each should be sufficient for a class of 12 groups. (SB Note: 1L
was short for 32 groupshad to prepare an additional 250 mL.)

Prelabdiscussion
Show students that when some solutions are combined, a solid forms. The question they
must answer is: does the mass change when the solid is formed?

Labperformancenotes
Students should fill each of the vials no more than 1/3 full of the solutions. They should cap the
vials and find the mass of both vials together. Then they should carefully pour the contents of
one vial into the other; then put both vials and caps back on the balance pan. Once they have
found the mass after the reaction, students should pour the solution and precipitate into the waste
bottle provided. Encourage the students to be careful, as they now realize that, if they spill a
solution, the mass will appear to decrease. No special precaution needs to be taken with the
CaCO3, but the students should discard the contents of the vial with the precipitate into a waste
bottle on general principles. At a later time you can wash the CaCO3 down the drain, or add
some acid to the solid before discarding the solution down the drain. The vials can be washed in
soapy water and rinsed.

Postlabdiscussion
Students should do their calculations and post their class results as before. Unless students spill
solution during the transfer, they should find that the change in mass is very nearly zero.
Again, as homework, have the students represent the particles of the substances in the
solutions before mixing and after the precipitate has formed.

Part3Massofburningsteelwool
Apparatus
Balance
Small tuft of steel wool
Crucible tongs

Bunsen burner
Evaporating dish

Prelabdiscussion
Ask students what happens when something burns. Their experience should lead them to
conclude that a flammable substance diminishes when it undergoes combustion. They might
not think that a metal can burn. Ask them to predict what will happen to the mass of the steel
wool when it is heated. Students will remember that pieces of steel wool dropped off in the
first experiment; lead them to propose ways of containing the dropped pieces, such as an
evaporating dish.

Labperformancenotes
Students should find the mass of the steel wool as they did before. They should light the burner,
then holding the steel wool by the tongs over the evaporating dish, heat the steel wool until it

glows. They should turn the steel wool around in the flame so that all sides are exposed. Any
pieces of the steel wool that break free during heating should fall into the dish and then be
transferred to the balance pan. Students should be asked to describe how the appearance of the
steel wool changes when it is heated strongly. Discard the steel wool when they have finished
finding the mass.

Postlabdiscussion
Students should do their calculations and post their class results as before. Most students will
find that the mass of the steel wool increases by a few hundredths of a gram. After the previous
3 experiments, they might be reluctant to accept that the mass should increase as some of the iron
combines with oxygen. Students might have difficulty representing this change with a particle
model. Students have been known to say that the steel wool gains mass by combining with
particles of the flame. During the whiteboarding session at the end of the set of experiments,
there will be time to discuss what happens when the steel wool is burned. At this point, do not
just tell them that the iron in the steel wool is reacting with oxygen in the air! Let them propose
suggestions for what made the mass increase, without correcting them.

Part4Massofdissolvedsugar
Apparatus
Balance
Vial with cap
Sugar

Prelabdiscussion
Ask students what happens when something dissolves. A soluble solid appears to disappear in
solution. Ask students to predict what will happen to the mass when sugar dissolves in water.

Labperformancenotes
Students should fill a vial about 1/2 full of water, then put about a 1/4 tsp of sugar in the cap of
the vial. They should place the vial, water, cap and sugar on the pan of the balance. Then,
students should carefully pour the sugar into the vial, taking care not to spill any. They should
gently swirl the vial to get the sugar to dissolve. If they shake too vigorously, they risk solution
leaking out of the vial. When the sugar has completely dissolved, they should find the mass of
the vial and contents again.

Postlabdiscussion
-

Have the students report any change in mass by doing the following calculation:
Mass vial, water & sugar after
Mass vial, water & sugar before
Change in mass

It is likely that there will be a few more losses than gains (due to spilling sugar or shaking so
vigorously that water leaked out). The reasons for the apparent loss in mass should come out in
the discussion. Again, have the students represent the particles of the substances in the sugar and
water before mixing and after the solution has formed.

Part5MassofdissolvedAlkaSeltzer
Apparatus
Balance
Vial with cap
Small piece (1/4 tablet) of Alka-Seltzer

Prelabdiscussion
Remind students what happened in the previous experiment. A soluble solid appeared to
disappear in solution, yet the mass remained nearly constant. Ask students to repeat the
experiment, but this time, dissolving a piece of Alka-Seltzer in water.

Labperformancenotes
Students should fill a vial about 1/2 full of water, then put the 1/4 tablet of Alka-Seltzer in the
cap of the vial. They should place the vial, water, cap and AS on the pan of the balance. Then,
students should put the piece of AS into the vial, and loosely cap the vial. They should observe
what occurs when the AS appears to dissolve. When the piece of tablet has completely
dissolved, they should find the mass of the vial and contents again.

Postlabdiscussion
-

Have the students report any change in mass by doing the following calculation:
Mass vial, water & AS after
Mass vial, water & AS before
Change in mass

All of the groups should find that the mass of the system appears to decrease. In fact, you might
want to adjust the scaling of the histogram to be able to display the results graphically. The
reasons for the apparent loss in mass should come out in the discussion.
We will have the students carry out any calculations found in the post-lab discussions,
however, we will not debrief each individual experiment with each individual student.
Day one will be concerned with giving the students time to carry out experiments and
analyze their data in preparation for discussion on day 2. We will not be doing histograms
for this set of activities as each activity will probably be done between 2 and 3 times. I
will give a ten minute warning, where I tell students that we are close to the end of the
period and to finish up whatever activity they are doing and start cleaning up. I will not

approve new experiments during this period. This lab will not include a debrief, but
rather students will clean up at the end, and work on finishing up any notes until the bell.

3. Conclusion (45 minutes)

The introduction for day 2 of the matter lab will begin with instructions for the
whiteboarding discussion to come. Students will have a whiteboard entry for each experiment
they successfully completed (up to 2). The whiteboards will contain a short description of their
procedure, as well as their calculation, and their result. (allow 10 minutes for the beginning)
The students will be given 15 minutes to prepare their whiteboards (attendance will be
taken during this time)
The whiteboard discussion will proceed. I will first call on a group to present a lab, and
then I will ask which other groups did that same lab. All the groups who did a particular lab will
present that lab at the same time, and I will put their numbers up on the smart board (or possibly
my own whiteboard). The groups will be encouraged to ask questions pertaining to what the
other groups did and explore discrepancies in results. At the end of each lab discussion I will try
to summarize what Im hearing as the consensus about what happened, and I will ask for
students to correct or challenge my summary if they dont agree. This should lead to a five part
discussion in which multiple groups are engaged at a time. The discussion will go to the end of
the period. If it ends early students will begin working on worksheet 1 this period instead of next
period.

Lesson 3
Materials
Worksheet 1
Name
Date

Pd

Unit1Worksheet1:MassandChange
1. When you pulled the steel wool apart, you found that the mass was unchanged. But,
when you heated the steel wool, you found that the mass changed. Explain.

Draw diagrams (at the simple particle level) of the steel wool before and after the change.

before

Steel wool-pulled apart

after

before

Steel wool-heated
after

2. When ice melts, the volume of water is smaller than that of the ice. How does the mass
of the water compare to the mass of the ice?

Draw diagrams (at the simple particle level) of the ice and water. Use small circles to
represent the particles of water.

3. When the sugar dissolved in the water, you found that the mass remained unchanged.
When the Alka-Seltzer dissolved in the water, the mass of the system changed. Explain.
Draw diagrams (at the simple particle level) of each of the materials before and after it was
dissolved.

4. State the Law of Conservation of Mass in your own words. (be sure to
discuss what particles do during the processes above)
1. Introduction ( 5 minutes)
Students will be asked to get into their groups and begin working on the worksheet. They
will be given all hour to do this
2. Main Teaching Activities (40 minutes)
I will take attendance as the students work in their groups. I will also help them construct
their models by asking them leading questions.
3. Conclusion ( 1 minute)
Students will hand in worksheets at the end of the period. Additional time may be given for
the worksheet if necessary in later class periods.