Stoichiometry Performance Assessment, Matthew E.

Brunette 12/12/15
Context
This performance assessment is designed to be an instructional unit on stoichiometry for high
school chemistry. As I thought out my plan for inquiry based learning, and how I wanted to
implement new protocols in my classroom, I came across the 2014 work of Barry Still, and felt
that his plan was and is a good one, and I felt that it would be a very workable scenario for me to
utilize in my classroom. And so, in total honesty I have modified his original format substantially,
but I do not claim the work you are about to read as intellectually my property, as the idea is not
original to me.
My intent with this plan is to rewrite the way that I teach my stoichiometry unit. I have felt for
some time that the way I taught the concept lends itself to disjointed mathematical operations
that had poor connectivity to other concepts in the unit. My hope is that I will be able to make
more lasting connections that will help them retain a better understanding of why the material is
important, and where it is applicable in the everyday world.
Objectives:
1. Given a word equation, students will be able to write a balanced chemical equation.
2. Students will be able to interconvert from moles of any reactant or product to moles of
any other reactant or product.
3. Students will be able to take mass of a reactant or product and find the mass or either
products made, or reactants needed.
4. Students will be able to find the percent yield for a reaction, given the mass of one
reactant, and the mass of product actually made in the reaction.
5. Students will be able to determine which of the reactants is limiting, and be able to
explain why it limits the production of product.
6. Students will be able to determine the limiting reactant of a reaction, as well as
determine the theoretical yield of a reaction.
7. Students will be able to draw molecular model representations to explain what is
happening in the reaction by highlighting the differences before and after the reaction.
Essential Questions
I have come to appreciate how the essential questions in my classroom help me stay focused on
the important concepts that I am trying to reach in that particular unit or lesson. And so with
that in mind, the units essential questions are as follows.

How can we use math to do chemistry?

Why is it important to be able to know how much of a chemical you can make before you do a
reaction?
What does chemistry look like in real life?
Why are moles important in chemistry?

Student Setup

The students are being instructed to assume that they are process engineers in chemical factory
that makes an impressive array of chemicals for industrial use. Much like chemical engineers do
in the real world, they are being asked to streamline chemical processes to save the company as
much money as possible. To accomplish this, they will be forced to become familiar with
calculating efficiency of a reaction, limiting reactant, and theoretical yield. After they have a
handle on the basic concepts surrounding the assignment, they will be asked to step into the lab,
and perform experiments to find actual efficiencies of the experiment as it is performed. From
this data, they will need to perform cost per kilogram of product calculations, and extrapolate to
find out how much the company is spending to produce the product. Ultimately, it would be
very interesting to ask students to propose where to find efficiencies in the system, and predict
the savings to the company as a result.
Along the way, the students will need to write memos to bosses (me in this case), to keep me
abreast of where they are in the process, and at the end they will need to present to their
colleagues what they have found out, using whatever presentation format works best for them.
Their presentation needs to have solid data indicated, as well as a solid linkage to that data to
support their position.

Performance Assessment Plan

Ideally, this unit should take place over the course of 12-15 days (block schedule of 90 minutes
per class, every other day). The performance task will be unveiled at the beginning of the unit
because it will be what everything else in the unit is based around.
This performance task should ideally be done individually, but due to time, space, and lab related
safety concerns many of the parts of the performance task will be done with students working
with a partner. The first thing to happen will be that each student will choose a chemical process
to evaluate, possible processes could be: production of sulfuric acid, production of ammonia,
production of nitric acid, production of sodium hydroxide, production of hydrogen gas, etc. Once
processes were chosen, groups will be formed either by teacher or students as appropriate. As
the unit progresses, the students will learn about the different parts of stoichiometry and they
will be asked reflect about how they will be able to use each of those parts to complete the
performance task. At some point towards the end of the unit, the students will be asked to go to
the lab and do a small-scale test of their reaction to determine how much of their chemical they
are able to make based on having enough of the starting materials to make 5 grams of their
chemical. They will need to calculate how much of each of their starting materials are necessary
to make this amount. This will then give them the data that they need to determine the
efficiency (percent yield) of their reaction. Once they know the efficiency of the reaction, they
can determine the true amounts of the starting materials that they will need and they can turn to
determining how much that will cost. They will need to look up the prices for their starting
chemicals from supplier sites such as Sigma-Aldrich, Fischer scientific, etc. or for things like
water, they will need to determine the price of water from the city. They can then do some math
and determine the total cost of making 1 kg of their product. They will next need to determine
the going price for their product, by looking at the same websites from earlier.
Their final step will be to create a short presentation (using PowerPoint, Prezi, or something
similar) detailing their reaction, their finding from their small-scale test including the reaction
efficiency, the cost of their reaction per kg of product including the costs of the starting materials
and a comparison of their price to the going market price of their chemical, and finally a
recommendation to either continue making their chemical as is, or to look for alternative
methods of production. The presentations to the boss will ideally happen either individually
with the teacher or other adult who will evaluate the presentation, or in small groups where
students and the teacher would evaluate the presentation. As a final reflection, I will ask the
students to think back over the unit and use what theyve learned to answer one of the essential
questions.
Considerations:

Depending on student aptitude in the lab, groups may have to do their small-scale test more
than once, possible several times to get good data.

A contingency plan for absent students will need to be determined. Ideally they could get
data and help from their partner, but what if they missed many parts?
 Students will need computer time and class time to work on their presentations.

Depending on number of students, it might be unfeasible for everyone to do their own project,
but it could be adapted to work with groups, although I would add in some peer evaluation to
promote accountability for all members working equally

Use of Technology
The technology used in this performance assessment will be the PowerPoint, Prezi, etc.
presentation that will be the final part of the performance task. In my experience, if you can talk
someone through what you did in a stoichiometry problem, especially a complex one such as
this, you demonstrate your understanding of it.
Narrative of teaching methods used
Students will be introduced to the concepts of stoichiometry via an inquiry immersion processes,
where they will research what it is, and how it is applicable to them. After that we will begin the
process of being able to perform stoich calculations by focusing on the fact that it is all ratios.
We will specifically start with SMORES stoich, or sandwiches stoich, to work through the ratio
making and using process. This will give students a foundation of understanding when we go
away from the macroscale objects, so that they will be able to make sense of the chemical
equations we will be working with. This portion is done largely with Socratic dialogue, and very
little direct instruction. I have found that students generally do better with this material if they
are allowed to come to their own conclusions before we move forward. The next step is to show
students what this looks like in a chemical equation. I model this through direct instruction, and
practice for my students, making sure to allow time for students to reach the desired conclusion
at different rates. Once Students have demonstrated a basic understanding of the process, I
then ask them to perform the 5 grams of compound labin which they are asked to make 5
grams of a compound, given two starting materials. This then will lead us directly to the
assigned equation, and will have given them exposure to all the different facets of the project
before they are asked to demonstrate proficiency.
Standards Addressed in this unit
NGSS
HS-PS1-7. Use mathematical representations to support the claim that atoms, and therefore mass, are
conserved during a chemical reaction.

HS-PS1-2. Construct and revise an explanation for the outcome of a simple chemical reaction based on the
outermost electron states of atoms, trends in the periodic table, and knowledge of the patterns of
chemical properties.

HS-PS2-6. Communicate scientific and technical information about why the molecular-level structure is important in
the functioning of designed materials.

Wisconsin Model Academic Standards

C.12.2 Identify* issues from an area of science study, write questions that could be investigated*,
review previous research on these questions, and design and conduct responsible and safe
investigations to help answer the questions

C.12.3 Evaluate* the data collected during an investigation*, critique the data-collection procedures
and results, and suggest ways to make any needed improvements
C.12.4 During investigations*, choose the best data-collection procedures and materials available,
use them competently, and calculate the degree of precision of the resulting data

D.12.1 Describe* atomic structure and the properties of atoms, molecules, and matter during physical
and chemical interactions*

D.12.4 Explain* how substances, both simple and complex, interact* with one another to produce new
substances

D.12.5 Identify* patterns in chemical and physical properties and use them to predict* likely chemical
and physical changes and interactions

D.12.6 Through investigations*, identify* the types of chemical interactions*, including endothermic,
exothermic, oxidation, photosynthesis, and acid/base reactions

Student Pages are below

Stoichiometry Project, SCHS Chemistry

Name:___________________________

Introduction:
As a chemical engineer at a company that makes all sorts of industrial chemicals you have been
tasked by your boss to evaluate the cost effectiveness of the chemical reaction used to make one
of those chemicals. Your job will be to choose a reaction and determine its efficiency and how
much it costs to make 1 kg of the chemical in question. Then you will write a memo to your boss
explaining your findings and making a recommendation to either keep making the chemical as
currently done, or to explore other methods of making the chemical. Your work will be judged on
the clarity and accuracy of your presentation and the clarity and quality of your accompanying
data.
Your group will be assigned a chemical that you are to investigate, and will need to spend some
time working with the reaction to make sure that you are aware of the efficiency of the process in
question, so that you are more able to intelligently infer how much money the company is
currently spending during production. I would ask at this point that you research different
venders for sourcing the raw materials, and make sure that all possible savings are realized.
As you work through the process ask yourself the following questions to make sure that you have
adequately performed your duties.
Have you and your partner.
1. Made a stance as to if the reaction is productive enough to be continued?
2. Determined the efficiency of the reaction?
3. Determined a cost to produce per kilogram of product?
4. Determined the profit for the reaction (excepting labor)?
5. Made a solid case for your position, using your experimental data?
6. Considered the validity of your experimental data (do more trials need to be run)?
7. Have you made weekly memos indicating your progress on your project?
8. Have you made a strong case to support your determination about the production of
this chemical in the company?
Timeline of project activities
Class Period Description of what should be accomplished
#1 Determine which chemical reaction you and your partner will be
evaluating. Sign up on google document before you leave today.
#2 Perform the stoichiometry to find theoretical yield of 5 g your product.
Verify. begin to design experiment to find actual yield of reaction.
#3 Continue designing experiment. Considerations
Are the starting materials present in the lab
Have you shared your plan with instructor to verify safety
What equipment is needed to perform experiment?
Are the byproducts of my reaction safe to dispose of?
Email instructor memo #1
#4 Experiment Day #1 Considerations
Is my data reliable? Are multiple trials needed to ensure validity?
#5 Experiment Day #2
Make sure to clean up and get all needed data while working in the
lab today.
Memo #2Highlight observations, and indicate progress thus far.
#6 Experiment Wrap Day If needed, otherwise begin writing presentation.
Do I have enough information to determine the followinglimiting
reactant, percent yield, efficiency of reaction, and cost per kilogram
of product
Is there a better way to make this product and maximize product?
Do you need to go back into lab to test a possible reaction?
#7 Presentation work day #1 Prepare your presentation to your colleagues.
#8 Presentation work day #2
Memo #3highlight your preparations, and if you are ready or not
at this point.
#9 Presentation Day.please be ready
#10 Presentation Day if we need more time.

Project Rubric
8 6 4 2 Score
Description Chemical reaction is Chemical reaction is
of your given and correctly missing or
chemical balanced incorrectly balanced.
Results of Description of how Description of how Description of how
your small- you carried out your you carried out your you carried out your
scale trial trial and the results trial and the results trial and the results
is detailed. is vague or missing is vague and missing
elements. many elements.
Includes discussion Discussion of the
of the theoretical Includes discussion theoretical yield,
yield, actual yield of the theoretical actual yield, and
and calculated yield, actual yield calculated percent
percent yield. and calculated yield is partially or all
percent yield missing.
Cost of Current prices of Current prices of Current prices of Current prices of
producing starting chemicals starting chemicals starting chemicals starting chemicals
your are given and the are given and the are missing or and current price of
chemical current price of the current price of the current price of product chemical are
product chemical is product chemical is product chemical is missing. Sources of
given. Sources of given. Sources of missing. Sources of prices are missing.
prices are present. prices are missing prices are missing Calculations to
Calculations to Calculations to Calculations to support are missing.
support are present support are present support are present
 and correct. and correct. but incorrect.

Recommendati Is supported by your Is not supported by

on
work and math your work and math
Presentatio Presenter maintains Presenter maintains Presenter does not
n good eye contact good eye contact maintain eye contact
mechanics and appropriate and appropriate and appropriate
speaking volume and speaking volume and volume and tone.
tone. The tone. The The presentation is
presentation is presentation is hard to follow. The
focused and timely. unfocused and either presentation visual
The presentation is too short or too long. elements obscure
visually appealing. The presentation is the presentation
visually distracting.
Accompanyi Data is easy to follow Data is messy and Shows an Data or math is
ng data and math is done hard to follow or appropriate usage of missing. Does not
correctly. Clearly math is done stoichiometry, but show an appropriate
shows an incorrectly. Clearly one of the required usage of
appropriate usage of shows an elements is missing stoichiometry
stoichiometry and appropriate usage of because more than
contains theoretical stoichiometry and one of the required
yield, actual yield, contains theoretical elements are missing
percent yield, yield, actual yield,
recalculation of percent yield,
products required recalculation of
after small-scale trial products required
and calculations after small-scale trial
relating to cost and calculations
analysis. relating to cost
analysis.
total /36