Chemical Reactions: Save the Reptile Eggs

Engineering Design Challenge

Challenge
Congratulations! You and your team have been hired as chemical
engineers to design, test, modify, and optimize a device that uses
a chemical reaction to reach a specific temperature range to
create a portable reptile egg incubator.

Materials
goggles baking soda graduated
cylinder
2 small thermometers water 2 small
plastic cups
Calcium Chloride medicine cup measuring
spoons
Ziplock bags
Criteria
Students use their findings and ideas about insulation and heat
transfer to draw an optimized design that:

1. Keeps an egg at the ideal temperature

2. Holds an egg in the proper orientation
3. Protects the egg from impact.

Constraints
What are some factors that might prevent the design from
successfully meeting all these criteria?

1. The chemicals might not produce the right temperature

2. Might need a large amount of chemicals to make it
work (too expensive and wasteful)
3. The temperature might not stay in the right range long
enough

Controls

Variables

Introduction
It is halftime at the soccer game and you decide to investigate the
various booths and vendors to find some souvenirs to bring home
to your parents and little brother and sister who could not come
on the trip with you. There are so many different options
available: candy, toys, posters, clothing, etc. You make a decision
at several booths and pick out the following items to bring home:

For your mom, a fleece jacket with the Olympic logo.

For your dad, an official soccer jersey from his favorite team.

For your brother, a box of chocolates shaped like different

Olympic events.

For your sister, a framed photograph of her favorite sport.

While you are making your purchases, your teacher buys a bottle
of headache medicine for one of the other chaperones who has
been complaining of a headache since the beginning of the game.
Do you think that the items that you and your teacher bought
have anything in common? Let's think about who was involved in
the creation of each item. Do you know? Well, each of these items
was actually created with the help of chemical engineers!
Knowing that, what do you think chemical engineers do? Chemical
engineers use their knowledge of chemistry to convert chemicals
and materials into more useful forms. Chemical engineers are
involved in several fields, including food science, photography,
and the development of materials needed for the aerospace,
biomedical, automotive, computer, environmental and electronic
industries. Let's brainstorm some other items that chemical
engineers are involved in developing. Among the many, many
developments, they are involved in the production of all kinds of
materials, including gasoline, biodiesel, even candy.
One of the most important decisions chemical or materials
engineers have to make is which material to use for each specific
task. To determine which materials to use, engineers look at the
many different properties of the material available to them.
Properties are characteristics that help to describe the material.
Every material is made up of something called matter. Matter is
defined as anything that takes up space and has mass. That
means that you are made up of matter, as is your desk, your
backpack, your books, your juice box, your pencil and anything
else that you can imagine! Everything is made up of matter, and
matter has several different states. Does anyone know what the
different states of matter are? The most common three states are
solid, liquid and gas. Can you think of some examples of each of
these different states?
Solids, liquids and gasses all behave in different ways. One
important difference is in their shapes and volumes. Solids have a
fixed shape and a fixed volume. For example, think of a sugar
cube. No matter in what shape container you place the cube, it
will stay the same shape and size. Liquids, on the other hand,
have a fixed volume, but they take the shape of their container. If
you pour juice into a round cup, or a square box, it will take the
shape of the cup or box. Gasses expand to fill the container they
are in, so they have neither a fixed shape nor a fixed volume.
Some other properties of materials include mass, color, shape,
volume and texture. When building or designing something,
engineers have to consider all of these properties and decide
which material is best suited for the task at hand. Let's imagine
that you have been asked to design the official USA Olympic
team's warm-up suits. What kind of materials would you want to
use? What properties should these materials have? Materials for
the warm-ups would all be solids, not liquids, and we would
assume they should be soft, light and comfortable. Naturally, for
team USA, the specific colors red, white and blue would be used.
You would not want to choose a really textured material, such as
sandpaper, because it would not be at all comfortable for the
athletes and coaches to wear.

Vocabulary
Chemical engineering: The application of scientific and
mathematical knowledge to convert raw chemicals and materials
into more useful forms.

Fluid: A substance that has the ability to flow and does not resist
deformation.
Gas: A fluid; one of the states of matter; defined by having no
fixed shape or volume; fill the container that they are held within.

Liquid: A fluid; one of the states of matter; have a fixed volume

but a shape defined by the container in which the liquid is placed.

Material properties: A set of characteristics that describes a

material; can include the state of a material solid, liquid or gas,
as well as its characteristics, such as what it looks, smells, feels,
tastes and sounds like.

Material science: A division of chemical engineering focusing on

the study and development of new materials specially designed
for their specific purpose.

Matter: The substance of which physical objects are composed;

anything that takes up space and has mass.

Solid: One of the states of matter, defined by a having a set

shape and volume; can be deformed or altered, but does not
change on its own.

Engineering Connection
Chemical engineers are involved in many different fields, from
fuel manufacturing to candy and chocolate production! Chemical
engineers work with chemical elements to design a process or an
item. They understand that different materials have different
characteristics and properties, and choose materials for specific
applications based on their properties. These properties depend
on what the materials are made of, as well as their state: solid,
liquid or gas.

Background
Matter
Matter is defined as anything that takes up space and has mass. It
is anything made up of atoms and molecules. Matter has five
different states, though there are three that are most commonly
discussed: solid, liquid and gas.

Solids are items that you can hold that have a certain size and
shape. Some examples of solids would be blocks of wood, a desk,
the floor, etc. Solids do not have to be hard; they can be soft and
fluffy, like a pillow or a cotton ball. Solids hold their shape unless
a force is applied. The shape of a solid can be changed by
squishing, cutting or twisting the object.

Liquids are items that have volume, but no set shape. Liquids take
the shape of the container in which they are placed. Some
examples are soda or juice in cans/containers, a glass full of
water, or even a spoon full of cough syrup. When you pour a
liquid from one container to the other, the shape of the liquid
changes, but the volume of liquid stays the same.

Gas is matter that has no set size or shape. Gas will expand to fill
a container or if not contained, will continue to spread. An
example would be the gas filling a pressurized bag of chips. The
air we breathe is made up of many different gases.

There are some forms of matter that exhibit properties from more
than one state. One example is Jell-O. Jell-O begins as a liquid,
but after being refrigerated, changes into a solid. Butter is a solid
at room temperature, but when heat is added, the butter melts
and becomes a liquid. Water is all around us in all three states: as
ice (a solid), as drinking water (a liquid) and as water vapor (a
gas). Water goes through phase changes at specific temperatures
to alter its state from a solid to a liquid to a gas. Water has a
melting point of 0 degrees Centigrade; at this temperature, ice
begins to melt and become liquid water. Conversely, water has a
vapor point of 100 degrees Centigrade; at this temperature, liquid
water boils and becomes steam or water vapor.
Some properties of matter can be identified through observations,
such as those found using your five senses: smell, touch, sound,
sight and taste.

Feats of Chemical Engineering

Chemical engineering is an enormous field with many different

applications and job options. See below for a list of the 10
greatest achievements in chemical engineering (from the
American Institute of Chemical Engineers,
http://www.pafko.com/history/h_whatis.html). Chemical engineers
had a major role in each of these triumphs.

The Atom

Our ability to split the atom and isolate isotopes has advanced
biology, medicine, metallurgy, and power generation beyond
belief. An abrupt conclusion to World War II occurred with the
production of the atomic bomb. Today the technology of the
atomic bomb has found uses in more peaceful applications:
medical doctors now use isotopes to monitor bodily functions to
quickly identify clogged arteries and veins; biologists gain
invaluable insight into the basic mechanisms of life; and
archaeologists can accurately date their historical findings thanks
to this achievement.

Plastics

The 19th Century brought about enormous advances in polymer

chemistry. However, during the 20th Century, chemical engineers
mass produced polymers, turning the concept into a viable
economic reality. A plastic called Bakelite, introduced in 1908,
quickly found uses in electric insulation, plugs and sockets, clock
bases, iron cooking handles, and fashionable jewelry.

The Human Reactor

Chemical engineers study complex chemical processes by
breaking them up into smaller "unit operations." Fortunately, this
concept has also been applied to the human body. The results of
such analysis have helped improve clinical care, suggested
improvements in diagnostic and therapeutic devices, and led to
mechanical wonders such as artificial organs. Medical doctors and
chemical engineers continue to work hand in hand to help us live
longer, fuller lives.

Drugs

Today's low price, high volume, drugs owe their existence to the
work of chemical engineers. This ability to bring once scarce
materials to all members of society through industrial creativity is
a defining characteristic of chemical engineering.

Synthetic Fibers

Synthetic fibers keep us warm and comfortable in the form of

blankets, pillows and clothing. They help reduce the reliance on
natural sources of cotton and wool, and can be tailored to specific
applications. For example; nylon stockings and bullet proof vests
are made from synthetic fibers.

Liquefied Air

When air is cooled to very low temperatures (about 320 o F below

zero), it condenses into a liquid and allowing chemical engineers
to separate out the different components. The purified nitrogen is
used to recover petroleum, freeze food, produce semiconductors
or prevent unwanted reactions. Oxygen is used to make steel,
smelt copper, weld metals together and support the lives of
patients in hospitals.

The Environment

Chemical engineers provide answers to clean up waste and

prevent pollution. Catalytic converters, reformulated gasoline and
smoke stack scrubbers all help keep the world a cleaner place.
Furthermore, chemical engineers help reduce the strain on natural
materials through the development of synthetic replacements,
more efficient processing of the materials and new recycling
technologies.

Food

Chemical fertilizers help provide nutrients (nitrogen, potassium

and phosphorus) to crops, which in turn provide us with a
bountiful and balanced diet. In certain regions of Asia and Africa,
where food can sometimes be scarce, the development of
fertilizers is very critical to their food source. Finally, chemical
engineers are at the forefront of food processing where they help
create better tasting and most nutritious foods.

Petrochemicals

Chemical engineers have helped develop processes to break

down the complex organic molecules found in crude oil into much
simpler species. These building blocks are then separated and
recombined to form many useful products including: gasoline,
lubricating oils, plastics, synthetic rubber, and synthetic fibers.

Synthetic Rubber

Chemical engineers played a prominent role in developing today's

synthetic rubber industry. Tires, gaskets, hoses, and conveyor
belts (not to mention running shoes) are all made of rubber.

Investigative Questions
1. How does your device keep an egg at the ideal
temperature for as long as possible?
 2. How does your device hold an egg in the proper
orientation?
3. How does your device protect an egg from impact?

Post Activity Questions

1. When you saw other team presentations, did you get any
ideas that would improve your design?
2. Which design is sturdiest? Lightest? Simplest? Uses the
fewest materials?
3. Your design had to withstand bending, twisting, and pushing.
How well did you design resist these forces?
4. What are some ways an improved design could help the
environment?
5. How their design might be efficiently and inexpensively
manufactured?