Caustic A Chemistry Project

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Caustic A Chemistry Project
Impression
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Caustic A Chemistry Project
Teacher Planning and Management
The class is an open-minded learning group. Each
student has Internet access at home, and many are
already familiar with using computers as work
tools. There are many links between the topic of
acids and bases on the one hand, and the direct
and future environment of students on the
other Technology (car battery, batteries, paint
stripping)Nutrition (fruit acids, vitamin C,
vinegar, soft drinks, )Cosmetics (fruit acids,
salicylic acid, soaps, )Cleaning (vinegar-based
cleaners, suds )Medicine (hyperacidity, the
skins protective layer, health through
additives?...) One question leads to the next
good conditions for embedding a topic in a
broader context.Example Why is there no
lemon-flavored toothpaste? (answer
experimentally) What does dental care chewing
gum actually do? Why should you avoid brushing
your teeth immediately after drinking a soft
drink? Do grownups know the things we are
supposed to be learning here? (answer by
conducting a survey in a public space)
Documents
Quelle Fotos Oliver Weber, wrs, Harald Lapp
jeweils bei www.pixelio.de
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Caustic A Chemistry Project
Teaching aids and resources
Students can investigate research questions
experimentally in the chemistry lab. They start
by doing a survey in the nearest large town, St.
Wendel, on a market day. Here, the goal is to
find out what the public knows about acids and
bases. Microsoft Office Word is used in this
context to design questionnaires, to write
letters informing parents about the project, and
so forth. Microsoft Office Outlook is used to
make contact with the municipality (permission to
carry out a survey), to inform the press and to
enquire about the possibility of visiting
companies. The results of the survey are then
analyzed Microsoft Office Excel and prepared for
presentation in Microsoft Office PowerPoint. The
overall project timeline is outlined using
Microsoft FrontPage to allow others to track the
projects progress and findings online. Depending
on how motivated the students are and how the
project progresses timewise, the research results
may be collected in an Microsoft Office Access
database. This would enable detailed search
queries to be made, e.g. to identify everything
that contains citric acid, or an area may be
selected in which acids are used, with the data
being prepared on that basis. Company visits
(pharmacies, drugstores, car dealerships,
mechanical engineering, bakeries, retail)
provide insights into the need for chemical
knowledge in different jobs. The visits can be
captured using a camera and the resulting images
or videos can be included in the presentations.
Documents
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Caustic A Chemistry Project
Assessment and Standards
Evaluation categories Rules for the project are
defined together with the students. They govern
the form of cooperation, the distribution of work
and behavior during classes and experiments. The
joint development of student performance
evaluation criteria on the project is of key
importance. It is not so much the final product
that is at the center of attention, but rather
the process. The required process steps become
apparent, which makes the students work with
greater focus and more effectively because they
are more aware. But the project is also evaluated
as a whole. In the ideal case, a student will
specialize on GrafStat. Else, it will be done by
the teacher. Positioning in the framework plan
In this project, the focus lies on learning
various skills from the areas of communication,
gaining insights, and evaluation. Special
attention will be paid to communication among
students as well as between groups of students
and external persons. The objective of gaining
insights is supported by research in the private
environment (looking for acids and bases in the
kitchen, the bathroom and the garage), on the
Internet and on excursions. The evaluation of
experiences and findings promotes critical debate
around the technical content and the external
information sources.
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Caustic A Chemistry Project
Teacher and School Information
Oberthal site Namborn site
Responsible teacher Annette Wagner, M.A.
School principal Barbara Georg