LOUISIANA CURRICULUM FRAMEWORK CONTENT STRAND: CHEMISTRY
GRADE LEVEL: 11
OBJECTIVES:
THE STUDENTS WILL
1. DETERMINE THE VOLUME OF A MOLE OF M&M'S.
2. USE DIMENSIONAL ANALYSIS TO CONVERT LITERS TO CUBIC FEET
3. DETERMINE THE VOLUME OF THEIR HIGH SCHOOL BUILDINGS
4. DETERMINE IF A MOLE OF M&M'S WILL FILL THEIR HIGH SCHOOL
TEACHER INFORMATION:
TIME FRAME:
2-3 DAYS
MATERIALS:
LITER BEAKER (CLEAN)
2-3 EXTRA LARGE BAGS OF M&M'S OR
HAVE STUDENTS BRING IN 1 SMALL BAG EACH
TOWEL
TAPE MEASURES
SCIENTIFIC CALCULATOR (OPTIONAL)
STUDENT GROUPING:
3 PER GROUP
CURRICULUM INTEGRATION:
DIMENSIONAL ANALYSIS
CALCULATION OF VOLUME
TABLES
BENCHMARKS:
PS-E-A2, PS-H-A1, PS-H-A2, SI-H-A3, M.1, M.3, AND M.4
POSSIBLE OBSTACLES TO STUDENT LEARNING
LACK OF MATH SKILLS: SCIENTIFIC
NOTATION AND METRIC CONVERSIONS
OPPORTUNITIES FOR ASSESSMENT
PERFORMANCE OF PROCEDURE
(PARTICIPATION)
LAB REPORT WITH TABLES AND
CALCULATIONS
STUDENT PREDICTION AND CONCLUSION
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
SHOW EXAMPLES OF DIMENSIONAL ANALYSIS
(FACTOR LABEL METHOD)
PROBLEM SOLVING AND GIVE THEM EXAMPLES AS PRACTICE.
ex. 101,376 in converted to miles
101,376 in * 1 foot
* 1 mile =
1.6 miles
12 inches 5280 feet
ex. 78 m/s to mi./h
78.00 meters * 60 seconds
* 60 minutes *
100 cm. * 1 in. *
second
1 minute
1 hour
1 m. 2.54 cm
1 ft. *
1 mile = 174.5 mi/h
12 in.
5280 ft
HAVE STUDENTS CALCULATE THE
VOLUME OF SMALL OBJECTS WITH RECTANGULAR
AND CUBIC
SHAPES.
HAVE STUDENTS WORK METRIC CONVERSIONS
WITH CUBIC DIMENSIONS.
PROCEDURE:
DAY 1 POUR M&M'S
INTO A CLEAN LITER BEAKER.
POUR THEM OUT ONTO A CLEAN TOWEL AND HAVE STUDENTS COUNT THEM.
THE STUDENTS MAY EAT THEM AFTER AN ACCURATE COUNT IS TAKEN.
THE STUDENTS SHOULD CALCULATE THE NUMBER OF M&M'S PER CUBIC FOOT.
x m&m's * 1 liter
* 1mL *
(2.54cm)3 * (12 in.)3
= x m&m's
1 liter 1000mL.
1 cm3
1 in3
1 ft3
ft3
THE STUDENTS SHOULD CALCULATE THE NUMBER OF CUBIC FEET
OF M&M'S PER
MOLE.
6.02 x 1023 m&m'S *
1 ft3
= 6.02 x 1023
ft3
mole
x M&M'S
mole
DAY 2 EACH
GROUP SHOULD HAVE A MEASURING TAPE, PAPER, AND PEN TO RECORD
THE DIMENSIONS OF THE BUILDINGS OF YOUR CAMPUS. THE STUDENTS SHOULD
BE ASSIGNED TO MEASURE PARTICULAR SITES AND GIVEN A TIME LIMIT TO
COMPLETE THE TASK.
THE STUDENTS SHOULD CALCULATE THE VOLUME OF EACH BUILDING AND
COLLECT THE DATA FROM THE OTHER GROUPS.
THE STUDENTS SHOULD USE THE CALCULATIONS FROM THE PREVIOUS DAY TO
SOLVE AND SEE IF A MOLE OF M&M'S CAN FILL UP YOUR SCHOOL.
DAY 3
OPTIONAL
STUDENTS MAY NEED TIME TO FINISH CALCULATIONS AND COMPLETE
A LAB
REPORT. THE LAB REPORT SHOULD HAVE A PURPOSE, PROCEDURE, TABLES OF
ALL THE DATA COLLECTED, AND A PAGE SHOWING ALL THE
CALCULATIONS. THERE SHOULD BE A CONCLUSION FROM EACH STUDENT
WITH AN OPINION OF WHAT THEY LEARNED.
ENGAGEMENT:
TELL STUDENTS THAT THEY CAN EAT
THE CANDY AFTER THE EXPERIMENT.
HAVE STUDENTS PREDICT HOW
MUCH OF THE SCHOOL WILL BE FILLED BY A MOLE OF M&M'S.
EXTENSIONS:
THIS IS A GOOD INTRODUCTION INTO
MASS-MOLE-PARTICLE PROBLEMS.