I previously "NGSS-ified" one of my favorite inquiry labs to begin the kinetics unit; Alka Seltzer Rockets. In this lab students are given a film canister, a quantity of Alka Seltzer of their own choosing and any materials available in the room to investigate factors that affect the rate of reaction. Students generally choose to change the surface area of the tablet, the amount of water in the canister, the temperature of the water or the amount of tablets used and determine the time for the top of the canister to pop off. For this activity students are not given a procedure, just a guiding question:
“How does your factor affect the rate of reaction?”
In order to address NGSS Science & Engineering Practices, each group of students is asked to create a one sentence claim, provide evidence and support it with reasoning on their CER board.
Many teachers are now teaching labs virtually or via a hybrid model of instruction. I have used this activity in person in my classroom with a mix of general and special education tenth grade students but I have also included some tips for adapting this lesson to a virtual setting.
The amount of time required depends upon the setting this is completed in. The original in-person activity requires about 10 minutes of teacher prep, 80 minutes of student time planning, completing their experiment and creating a CER whiteboard plus about 20 - 30 minutes for the Glow and Grow session.
For an in-person activity, each group will require the following list of materials. In a virtual or hybrid setting, the amount of materials will depend upon the methods used.
- a film canister (if there are none available, they can be purchased HERE.)
- a quantity of alka seltzer of each groups own choosing (of course you may need to set an upper limit or require them to provide their own)
- an assortment of materials and glassware should be available as determined by the instructor
- whiteboard for developing a CER board
- Each group of students will use two colors of sticky notes for each of the other boards they will review.
IN-PERSON SETTING
Students are not provided a procedure outlining every step they will take in the laboratory. They are just given a guiding question: “How does your factor affect the rate of reaction?”
Students are then directed to create a one sentence claim, provide evidence and support it with reasoning. Students are given 80 minutes to determine what they wanted to test, do the experiment and get their CER boards ready for review.
Instead of a typical argumentation session I have used a glow and grow session for this activity. Students have to provide positive and negative feedback for each board. This can be done by having students walk around as groups and put a specific color Post-It (usually green) for a way the group can grow, and different color post-it (typically yellow) for features of the board which were particularly well done by the group.
See Glow and Grow Whiteboard #1 below for an example of a CER board along with accompanying comments. (Log in to your ChemEd X account to download the Supporting Information to see additional examples of CER whiteboards and comments.)
VIRTUAL or HYBRID SETTING
Day 1 - Begin with a teacher demonstration of Alka Seltzer and water in a film canister. Another option would be to use a YouTube clip of the demonstration, without sound on, so as not to give away the chemical details of the reaction.
In your virtual meeting platform create student breakout rooms for the different factors the students would like to test to provide a collaborative space for the students to decide how to conduct the experiment. One example would be a breakout room for students who are interested in testing the surface area of the tablet. Provide students with a link to a virtual whiteboard, such as Jamboard for students to share ideas.
Day 2 - If on an alternating synchronous hybrid schedule, the students in school could perform the experiment while the classmates at home record the data and create a data table on a live document, such as a Google doc, for both classmates to observe in real time. Following data collection, students could write a claim to answer the guiding question,“How does your factor affect the rate of reaction?” This lab portion can be done at home if necessary. The teacher could provide students with a kit to e consisting of: Alka Seltzer, film canister and stopwatch allowing students to perform the experiment at home and record their data on the google doc. If the students cannot do the experiment in class, and the teacher does not have the ability to send kits home, an engineering component could be added to this whereby students design a rocket, using household materials. Finally, the students could come up with the methods and the teacher could perform each experiment and supply the students with data.
Day 3 - Students create a CER (Claim, Evidence, Reasoning) chart on their virtual whiteboards. Students write “glow” and “grow” comments for the CER boards of different groups with virtual post-it notes. This can be done easily in Jamboard posting a yellow post for a “glow” comment to highlight something well done on the slide or a yellow post indicating a “grow” comment where the group could develop an idea further or could have put more effort into their assignment. This can also be done using Flipgrid by having students explain their CER board and/or provide feedback to other students.
Organize and set out materials and whiteboards.
Safety
General Safety
General Safety
For Laboratory Work: Please refer to the ACS Guidelines for Chemical Laboratory Safety in Secondary Schools (2016).
For Demonstrations: Please refer to the ACS Division of Chemical Education Safety Guidelines for Chemical Demonstrations.
Other Safety resources
RAMP: Recognize hazards; Assess the risks of hazards; Minimize the risks of hazards; Prepare for emergencies
NGSS
Constructing explanations and designing solutions in 9–12 builds on K–8 experiences and progresses to explanations and designs that are supported by multiple and independent student-generated sources of evidence consistent with scientific ideas, principles, and theories.
Constructing explanations and designing solutions in 9–12 builds on K–8 experiences and progresses to explanations and designs that are supported by multiple and independent student-generated sources of evidence consistent with scientific ideas, principles, and theories. Construct and revise an explanation based on valid and reliable evidence obtained from a variety of sources (including students’ own investigations, models, theories, simulations, peer review) and the assumption that theories and laws that describe the natural world operate today as they did in the past and will continue to do so in the future.
Engaging in argument from evidence in 9–12 builds on K–8 experiences and progresses to using appropriate and sufficient evidence and scientific reasoning to defend and critique claims and explanations about natural and designed worlds. Arguments may also come from current scientific or historical episodes in science.
Engaging in argument from evidence in 9–12 builds on K–8 experiences and progresses to using appropriate and sufficient evidence and scientific reasoning to defend and critique claims and explanations about natural and designed worlds. Arguments may also come from current scientific or historical episodes in science.
Evaluate the claims, evidence, and reasoning behind currently accepted explanations or solutions to determine the merits of arguments.
Planning and carrying out investigations in 9-12 builds on K-8 experiences and progresses to include investigations that provide evidence for and test conceptual, mathematical, physical, and empirical models.
Planning and carrying out investigations in 9-12 builds on K-8 experiences and progresses to include investigations that provide evidence for and test conceptual, mathematical, physical, and empirical models. Plan and conduct an investigation individually and collaboratively to produce data to serve as the basis for evidence, and in the design: decide on types, how much, and accuracy of data needed to produce reliable measurements and consider limitations on the precision of the data (e.g., number of trials, cost, risk, time), and refine the design accordingly.