Students are arranged in sets of four that can be broken up into pairs
2. CSI investigation: Students will work in their groups to determine what killed a man in a CSI case.
Inquiry Reflection--Empirical formula and Molecular formula
Make a copy of this document and share with your partners and instructor.
Names: Courtney, Hana, Amber, Kelly
This lesson was aligned to NGSS HS-PS1-7.
This lesson occurred over a 2 day period. Students already had some experience with empirical formulas and how to calculate them. This lesson was more designed to teach students the difference between empirical and molecular formulas as well as the importance of both types of formulas.
Day 1: To start my students off, I had them observe the phenomenon of two different liquids that look exactly the same, be composed of the same two elements; Hydrogen and Oxygen, but because of the ratios of these elements, these liquids behave very differently. Students were hooked, and immediately tried to guess which one was just water. In fact, I had twins arguing over which one they thought was water and which was hydrogen peroxide by smell. After walking around the room letting the students observe the two different beakers, I asked them to open up an Inquiry Reflection sheet and share it among their group members using Google Docs. Each member responded to the phenomenon section and then generated questions. Once they completed these two sections, they put away the Inquiry Reflection and started the first investigation: a POGIL (Process-Oriented Guided-Inquiry Learning) discussing empirical and molecular formulas. This work made the students read through information, process the examples, and extrapolate new information for their own learning. Students worked on this collaboratively in their groups, and I only assisted when there was a misconception. I wanted the students to struggle through this work and it paid off. Students spent the majority of the time working on this POGIL and sharing out the answers at the end of the class. When we moved to the next days work, they were able to immediately get started on the work.
Day 2: I had the CSI case copied and laid out on the desks. The students were intrigued as soon as they walked in and you could tell they were ready to get to work. Students had to go through a process of questions. I wanted them to appreciate that sometimes there are many unknowns--and the reason for death could be a major unknown. Once students identified that there could be many unknowns, they were handed 5 different scenarios. Each group worked together, read each case, and split the work up to find the empirical and molecular formulas for each compound that was in suspect. After the compounds were discovered the students had to submit their work on a Google Form. As I saw the answers compile in on the Google Form I gave the students the toxicology report. I did not want to give the toxicology report until they confirmed the compounds, as the report had all the names of each compound and what amount was found in the body. Once students were able to review the toxicology report and their information the found about each compound, they were able to deliberate on the cause of death. Most students came to the same conclusion on what was the culprit of the victim's death. Once the students made a final decision, they had to return to the Inquiry Reflection and complete the Task section. Students submitted their work electronically to me to review.