Foundation Science

Preview of the Chemistry Course

Sample Learning Experiences

View sample learning experiences [pdf]: Teacher Guide and Student Book

Chemistry at a Glance

The two semesters of Foundation Science: Chemistry are designed to be the equivalent of a full year introductory course in chemistry at the introductory high school level. Throughout the two semesters, the most important understandings are how people organize matter into substances and mixtures, the differences between physical and chemical change, and the connections between bonding, atomic arrangement, and the properties of materials. As in Foundation Science: Physics, an important overarching idea is that an understanding of fundamental concepts in science facilitates the design of new technologies and products that improve the quality of life. Every effort has been made to align content to national standards.

Short overviews and tables that describe the first and second semesters of Foundation Science: Chemistry follow.

First Semester: Chemistry 1

The first semester of Foundation Science: Chemistry is an introduction to the main concepts of chemistry, which are the recognition of physical and chemical properties, an understanding of the organization of the periodic table, physical and chemical change (including the energy transformations and transfers that accompany those changes), atomic structure, atomic bonding, and an introduction to organic chemistry.

Learning Experience	Science Concepts	Learning Activities
Course Introduction
1. Introduction: Mystery of the Hindenburg Disaster	Substances and mixtures, physical and chemical properties, physical and chemical changes	Students determine factors that led to the fire on and subsequent crash of the Hindenburg. Students propose a cause for the fire.
Unit 1: Organization of Matter
2. Anthrax Scare: Physical and Chemical Properties	Substances, mixtures, physical and chemical properties	Students measure the properties of white powders and use their results to determine the identity of an anthrax hoax.
3. It’s in the Cards: The Periodic Table	Compounds and elements, periodic table, periodic properties, atomic number, chemical formulas	Students observe the decomposition of water into elements and sort and organize element cards in order to build their own periodic table.
Unit 2: Physical and Chemical Changes
4. Project Oil Cleanup: Physical Properties and Physical Change	Physical changes at the macro and micro levels, states of matter, mixtures, separations, conservation of mass in physical changes	Students work as a team to decontaminate and separate the components of crude oil after Hurricane Katrina.
5. Heat It Up, Cool It Down: Energy in Physical Change	Endothermic and exothermic physical processes, intermolecular bonds	Students investigate how water puts out fires and look for an alternative way to put out fires.
6. Copper and the Statue of Liberty: Chemical Changes	Chemical changes at the macro and micro levels, chemical reaction types, conservation of mass in chemical changes, ratios in chemical changes, balancing equations	Students learn how the copper used to make the Statue of Liberty was obtained and extract copper from an ore.
Further Investigation— Baking Soda or Baking Powder?: Chemical Change in Cooking	Further investigation of chemical change, reaction types, balancing equations, and conservation of mass	Students extend their understanding of chemical reactions by comparing three leavening agents – baking soda, baking powder, and yeast.
7. Making It Happen: Energy in Chemical Reactions	Endothermic and exothermic chemical processes, chemical bonds, kinetic theory	Students investigate the properties of phosphorus and its application in matches and design a new product using exothermic and endothermic reactions.
Unit 3: Atomic Structure and Bonding
8. Science Detectives: The Structure of the Atom	Protons, neutrons, and electrons; nucleus; energy levels; orbitals	Students investigate the structure of the atom by role-playing various scientists who contributed to the current atomic theory.
9. Based on Carbon: Chemical Bonds	Electron dot symbols; octet rule; ionic, covalent, and metallic bonding	Students investigate bonding in various compounds and investigate carbon compounds in particular.
10. The Power of Polymers: Structure and Properties of Large Molecules	Polymers, molecular synthesis, structure-properties relationship	Students explore the relationship between structure and properties in natural and synthetic polymers with a focus on plastics.
Course Conclusion
11. Final Challenge: Building By Design And Sometimes By Accident	Substances and mixtures, physical and chemical properties, physical and chemical changes, structure-properties relationship	Students determine what starting conditions for a chemical reaction will result in a polymer with the most “bounce.”

Second Semester: Chemistry 2

In the second semester of Foundation Science: Chemistry, students are given an opportunity to further apply and deepen their understanding of interactions at the atomic/molecular level and of bonding, concepts they learned in the first semester. Students are also introduced to the concepts of the gas laws, moles, polarity, reactions kinetics, and nuclear chemistry. These concepts are introduced in contexts that concern products that are prevalent in everyday life.

Learning Experience	Science Concepts	Learning Activities
Course Introduction
1. Introduction: The Origins of Elements	Nuclear fusion; atomic mass; isotopes; electronegativity; atomic radius; ionization energy	Students learn how elements are created within stars and are introduced to some specific characteristics of atoms.
Unit 1: Mixtures
2. The New Inventors: Atoms and Alloys	Solid state; alloys; metals; crystals; manipulation of physical structure to achieve specific properties; mole concept	Students investigate the properties of a base metal and one of its alloys and model alloying at the atomic level. Students convert from grams to ratios of atoms and from ratios of atoms to grams.
3. How Does a Sports Drink Work?: Investigating Water-based Solutions	Liquid state; ionic bonds; ions; solutions; solubility; diffusion; osmosis; mole concept	Students investigate dissolving and observe what happens when a membrane is placed between solutions with different concentrations of salt.
4. Breathless in the Quecreek Mine: Air as a Mixture	Gas state; covalent bonds; diffusion; mole concept; gas laws	Students examine the composition of air, how the composition of air changes during breathing, and learn the relationships among pressure, volume, moles, and temperature in a gas.
Unit 2: Chemical Reactions
5. Collision Chemistry: Exploring Reaction Rates	Collision theory, reaction rates, factors influencing reaction rates	Students design experiments to increase the rates of reactions in various scenarios.
6. How Much CO2?: Quantifying Chemical Reactions	Hydrocarbons, combustion, balancing equations, stoichiometry, exothermic reactions, endothermic reactions, activation energy, specific heat capacity, heat of combustion, calorimeter, thermochemistry	Students investigate burning and learn how to quantify the products of burning, carbon dioxide and energy. Students then apply what they learned to calculate how much carbon dioxide is released and how much energy is used daily by an average American household.
7. Can the Rivers and Lakes Be Saved?: Understanding Acid-Base Reactions	Arrhenius acids and bases, hydrogen ions, hydroxide ions, Bronsted-Lowry acids and bases, hydronium ions, pH scale, acid-base reactions, buffering, Le Chatelier’s principle	Students use indicators to identify common examples of acids and bases and carry out an acid-base neutralization. Students then measure the pH of water in their area and also investigate the water’s buffering capacity.
8. What Will Fuel the Future?: Understanding Oxidation-Reduction Reactions	Voltaic cell, oxidation-reduction reactions, electrochemical reaction, current, voltage, electrodes, half-reactions, fuel cells, efficiency	Students investigate how batteries and a hydrogen–powered fuel cell works. They apply what they learned to design an energy system for a home that uses hydrogen fuel cells and rechargeable batteries to provide a reliable flow of electricity.
Unit 3: Nuclear Chemistry
9. No Supernova Needed: Describing Nuclear Fusion	Radioactivity, isotopes, nuclear fusion, nuclear fission, nuclear strong force	Students learn how fusion in the laboratory is used to create super heavy elements, and why these elements are radioactive. They propose which elements might fuse to make a new super heavy element.
10. Radioactive Assassination in London: Identifying Nuclear Isotopes	Radioactivity, isotopes, band of stability, alpha particles, beta particles, gamma rays, alpha decay, beta decay, half-life, radioactive decay series, fission, fusion	Students study naturally-occurring radioactive isotopes, radioactive decay, decay series, and half-life. They apply what they learned to identify the likely radioactive isotope used as a poison in a murder case.
Course Conclusion
11. The Final Challenge: The Future of Energy	Chemical reactions, nuclear reactions, energy	Students research alternatives to burning fossil fuels for energy and weigh the costs and benefits of each.

This outline is subject to change.

EDC: Center for Science Education