Basics + Rubric
Have you ever wondered why temporary tattoos go on using water, but don’t come off in the shower? Why do so many foods contain soy lecithin? Why do people say diesel burns cleaner than gasoline?
(A Day Without Chemistry: 2 minute Video from Bytesized Science)
“If there is any one subject that an educated person in the world should know, it is Chemistry” –Roger Kornberg, Nobel prize winner 2006
Chemistry is all around us! It has been used to create products, cure diseases, can be used to explain natural phenomena, and is involved in many natural and industrial processes.
In class, you have been learning about Chemistry from an academic standpoint. Now, it’s your chance to apply that learning to explain something in real-life.
Create a poster describing the CHEMISTRY involved in an everyday event, thing, or product. It’s totally your choice. You may work with a partner or on your own.
You can pick any topic you want to, but try to choose something that you find genuinely fascinating and/or curious. Start by thinking about your passions. Then pick a small detail to look into further. For example, if you love to play saxophone you could research why they are made of brass instead of other metals or how brass is made. If you love food, you might research why eggs solidify when heated or why cooking tomatoes deepens their color.
Here are some ideas:
· A consumer product like Sharpies, motor oil, Spandex, computer chips, fertilizers, sparklers, and super glue…
· A natural event like curly hair, snail shells, amethysts, leaves changing, and composition of sea water…
· A processes like frying an egg, roasting coffee, recycling paper, making gasoline, brewing beer, prevailing winds, and dew on the grass…
Here are some great resources...
To help you pick a topic:
Chemistry Matters: Video from Nobel Prize on Chemistry all around us
Chemistry is Everywhere: A pinterest board with masses of ideas
Chemistry in Everyday Life: A brainstorm-type compilation of examples
What’s That Stuff?: Articles published by the American Chemical Society
NBC Learn- Chemistry Now: Video series on the Chemistry of a huge range of subjects
Chemistry of Everyday Life: The World and I article with several examples
To get deeper into your topic, follow the trail on a link above, or try these general search toolsà
Our city library for resources in paper or Kindle, or to ask the librarian
SciSeek is a science-specific search engine with a curated list of sites
Infotopia is a search engine that will only give you kid-friendly sources, especially good if your topic is either very common and there are too many sources available or very complex and the sources you’re finding are difficult to understand
KidzSearch is similar to Infotopia