HEADING

HelenHuangHobbs
Chemistry10thgrade

Acids,bases,andcategorizingcompoundsfindingpatternsinchemistry

40minutes

OVERVIEW/RATIONALE
Studentshaverecentlycompletedaunitongaslawsandaconceptbasedlessononcolligative
properties.Earlierintheyear/course,studentswereintroducedtoacidsandbases.Todaythey
willmoreformallylearnaboutacids,bases,andthepropertiesandcategorizationsystembehind
acidsandbases.Wewillinitiallysurfacepriorknowledgeofacidsandbases,andbuildupon
existingunderstandings.Todaytheywilldevisetheirownsystemoforganizingasetofchemical
compounds,learnaboutdifferentacidbasetheoriesfocusinginonBronstedLowry,andlearn
aboutconjugateacidandbasepairs.Withanyremainingtimewewillmoveintostrongandweak
acidsandbases,andcalculatingpH.Studentswilldemonstratetheirunderstandingsby
completingadigitalexitticket,determiningaconjugateacidorbase,andparticipatingin
discussionswiththeirpeers.

ENDURINGUNDERSTANDINGS
Chemicalcompoundsappearinourliveseveryday.
Understandingpatternsinclassifyingchemicalcompoundsrevealsinformationaboutthenature
ofthechemicalcompounds.
Acidsandbasesdisplaydistinctcharacteristicsthatinfluencechemicalreactions.
Acidsandbasesarechemicaloppositesandcanreacttogethertoneutralizeoneanotherandform
asalt.
AcidsandbasesaremeasuredusingpH,andpHisalogarithmicscalethatdescribesthe
concentrationofH+ions
GOALS/OBJECTIVES
Studentswillbeableto:

Identifythepropertiesofacidsandbases
Classifysolutionsasacids,bases,orneutral

Studentswillunderstand:

TheArrheniusandBronstedLowrycategorizationofacidsandbases

Studentswillknow:

Vocab:acid,base,ions,electrolyte,BronstedLowryacid/base,conjugateacid,conjugate
base,amphoteric,indicator,titration,litmuspaper,

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STANDARDS
NextGenerationScienceStandards:
Crosscuttingconcept:
Differentpatternsmaybeobservedateachofthescalesatwhichasystem
isstudiedandcanprovideevidenceforcausalityinexplanationsofphenomena.(HSPS11)
DisciplinaryCoreIdea:PS1.A:StructureandPropertiesofMatter
Eachatomhasachargedsubstructureconsistingofanucleus,whichismadeofprotonsand
neutrons,surroundedbyelectrons.(HSPS11)
MATERIALS
GoogleSlidesPresentationonacidsandbases
Setsofacidandbasecards
Printedversionofslides(ifrequired)
Smartboardorprojector

PROCEDURES

OPENER
(5minutessmallgroup+3minutesgroupdiscussion)
Asaclassopener,studentswillbeaskedtotakealookatasetofcards(acidsandbases)andare
asked,Howwouldyoucategorizethesecompounds?Inthesesmallgroupsstudentswillcome
upwithasinglerulefordividingthecompoundsintotwogroupssomegroupswillhavetrickier
compoundslikeNH3,H2O,CH3COOHthiscouldbeagoodwaytodifferentiategroupswill
bepermittedtopauseasinglecompoundfromtheirstackforlatercategorization.Theywill
sharetheircategorizationruleswiththerestoftheclassandwewillmoveintoourconversation
fortheday,introductiontoacidsandbases.
BODYOFTHELESSON

(Mixed:25minutesdiscussion/demonstration/individual
practice)
Iwillfirsttrytosurfacepriorunderstandingsandknowledgeofacidsandbasesbyaskingstudent
tolistwhattheyalreadyknowaboutacidsandbases.Thismaterialwillbemotivatedbya
demonstrationofmarblechips/chalkreactingwithvinegar.
Didnthavethevinegardodemo
didntoccurbutstudentsseemedtohaveenoughacidbaseunderstandings.Duringthelater
discussionofacid/baseinreallifeapplicationswetalkedaboutthebakingsodavinegarreaction
thattheyhaveseeninsciencefairvolcanoprojects.Thisconversationalsowasgoodbecauseit
helpedthemunderstandthatbakingsodawasbasic.Thelineofquestioningwassomewhatdirect,
butstudentsseemedtoenjoyusingpriorexperiencesandunderstandingsandconnectingittonew
formalinformation(Acidsandbasesreactwithoneanother).
Thisreactionwillbetiedto
realworldunderstandingsofacidrainandcorrosionforbuildings,andacidificationofoceans
anddamagetoshellsofmarineorganisms.
Wewillreviewalistofpropertiesofacidsandbasessomethingthathashistoricallyhelped
scientistscategorizethingsaseitheranacidorbase.Studentswillbeaskedtoapplytheir
understandingsbyclassifyingsomecommonhouseholdmaterials(lemonjuice,soap,antacid,

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soda,householdcleaner).*describethelemon*Studentswillbeaskedtodescribethelemon,itis
afruit,itisyellow,itissour,ithasapeel.Allofthesedescriptionsaretrue,butnotallfruitsare
yellow,notallplantshaveyellowfruit,etc.thisactivitycouldhelpstudentsconnecttowhy
scientistsgobackandrevisetheirdefinitions!
StudentswilllearnoftheArrheniuscategorizationmethodandwewilldiscussthelimitationsof
Arrheniusssystemofcategorization.Wewillpracticeaproblemidentifyingwhycertain
compoundsareArrheniusacids/basesbutothersarent.
WewilldiscusstheBronstedLowrycategorizationsystem.Wewillcomparethissystemtothe
Arrheniusacid/basedefinitions.Studentswillbeaskedaboutfringecompounds.Wewillgoback
totheirwarmupcards&seewhichoneswecanaddbackin.Studentswillbegivenapractice
sheet&beaskedtodothetopproblems13asaquickcheckin.
Dependingonthetiming,wewilleithercontinuethediscussionorstudentswillusetheirlaptops
tocompleteanexitticket(Kahoot.itquizgame).
Limitedtime:Thetopofthepracticeproblemssheetcouldserveasawarmupforthenextday.
Extension/withextratime:
Introductionoftheterms,conjugateacidandconjugatebase.These
conceptswillbetiedbacktopriorunderstandingsfromwritingchemicalreactionequations
(reactants/productsarrownotationbalancingequations)andnamingcompounds(wemayhave
toreviewnamingofacids).Studentswillbeaskedtoindividuallypracticefindingconjugatepairs
fortheacidandbasecardsusedinthewarmupactivitythentheywilldiscussandsharetheir
conjugateionswiththeirsmallgroups.
Infollowingclasses,Iwouldhavestudentsbringina
householdproducttotestthepHoftheproductandaskthemtoreviewtheingredientsanddo
onlineresearchtodeterminetheacidsandbasespresentintheirdailylives.Alargerassessment
wouldincludehavingthemselectanappropriateindicator,anddoatitrationtodeterminethepH
ofansolutionofunknownconcentration.
Studentwhoneeddifferentiation:Printedversionsofslidesanddiagramswouldbemade
availableaswellasthedigitalversions.Studentsneedingredirectionwouldbeplacednearthe
instructorandboardsoastolimitdistractions.
Reflections:Lecturewentlongerthanintendedbutsincestudents&Iwerenewtoeachother,this
teachercentricapproachissomethingthattendstobemorefoolproof.Studentswere
responsiveandItriedtogivetimeandspaceforthemtospeakwithoneanother.Providedasolid
numberofcheckins,andIwouldhaveactuallylikedtoexpandtheslideswithsome
diagrams/visuals.IdidntemphasizethetwohighlightquestionsnotallArrheniusbasesareBL
basesbecausetechnicallysomeAbasesdontacceptprotons(theyionizeintoahydroxidegroup
thatdoestheacceptingThisisarealizationthatIonlyhadrecentlyprobablypartofwhyI
struggledwithacidbasedefinitionsasastudent!)
Igotagoodsenseofhowstudentsareaslearners,commentaryetc.Someoftheselfgrouping
couldhavebeenmixedupbyhavingstudentscountoff.Ididnotgivespecificinstructionfor
groupingandstudentsprettymuchfigureditoutontheirownNotsurehowusualthisis.

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UnshockinglyIdidnotgettoallofmylearninggoalsandslides(didntgettheworksheet)butI
didgettodotheKahootwhichstudentsreallyseemedtoenjoy.
Ineededabetterideaofwherestudentshadknowledgere:ionizationinsolution.Ididntdisrupt
miscategorizationatthebeginningbutthegroupthatputCH3COOHintothebasecategoryled
metounderstandthattheyweresimultaneouslyknowingandapplyingamishmashof
BronstedLowry,andarrhenius,definitionsi.e.thatacidsdonateprotons,butalsobaseshaveOH
onthem.Ithinkthatthiscouldbebrokendownandrebuiltbyfirst(re)introducingionizationto
students.
CLOSER

(5minutes)

Individually,studentswillconductaKahootexitticket.
Studentswillalsobeaskediftheyhaveanyremainingquestionsaboutpropertiesofacidsand
bases,andthedefinitionsofacidsandbases(writtenonanindexcard)
Theywillturninthisthesecommentsattheendofclass.Kahootdatacanbedownloadedfor
analysisafterwards.
Thisformativeassessmentwillhelpguideanyrevieworreinforcementthatmayneedtooccur
tomorrow.Basedoffoftheiranswersandtheirquestions,Iwouldeitherallowstudentsmoretime
toindividuallypracticetheirskillstomorrowandIwouldprovideindividualorsmallgroup
support,orIwouldmoveforwardincalculatingpH,andacidbaseequilibria.
ACCOMMODATIONS

Contentwillbedeliveredvisuallyviapowerpointslides,andverballyvialecture.Demonstration
willbeusedforvisuallearners.Cardswillbeusedasamanipulativeforstudentsthatneed
concreteobjectstohelpconnecttolearning.Objectivesforthelesson,andanoutlineofthe
timingwillbestatedatthebeginningoftheclasstohelpthosewhospecificallyneedscheduling
andstructure(ADHD,anxiety).Printedversionsofthenotesareavailableforstudentswithvisual
processing,orliteracyissues.Studentswillworkingroupsonthefinaltask,andduringthistime
Iwillmovethroughouttheroomofferingassistanceandreinforcementasneeded.
ASSESSMENT/EVALUATION
Individualpracticewillbemonitoredthroughoutthelessonandwillguideinstruction.Group
activitywillallowforstudentstoassistoneanotherinmasteringthepropertiesofacidsandbases,
anddeterminingconjugateacidsandbases.
Theexitslipwillserveasaformativeassessmentandallowmetoseewhichpartsofacid/base
propertiesandconjugateacid/basedeterminationstudentswillneedpracticewith.
Tomorrowstudentswillbeaskedtocompletethefollowingwarmup:
1. Identifytheacid,base,conjugateacid,andconjugatebaseinthefollowingequation:
+
2
HNO
+H
OH
O
+NO
2
2
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