Apologia Chemistry Module 1: Measures

Update: After the lab, we spent time reviewing metric prefixes, SI units, significant figures, with examples and practice.  My husband, Rob, leads the math exercises.  I like to do a few problems together, assign problems to work individually, check answers, and finally, explain problems most of the kids missed.  With this method, we can hone in on which students need more help individually.  After class, Rob spent 20 minutes teaching A.

Yes, we’re still in Module 1, Day One.  For my classes, Day One can last a month.  My goal is to introduce a host of skills.  Tomorrow’s class we’ll finish Flinn’s Reaction in a Bag.  The kids observed a change in temperature and we didn’t have any thermometers.  We’ll repeat the lab and measure temperature changes. ( BTW, the phenol red in the lab is the same indicator solution used in many pool kits.  The lab calls for 10 mL and small samples of chemicals are available through Home Training Tools.). Here’s the overview of tomorrow’s lesson.

Lesson Thursday

1. Check Koolaid, Cards, Density, Accuracy Lab, Safety contracts, emails, student names, notebooks, Concepts maps Module 1, and Reaction in a Bag.
2. Finish Reaction in a bag with thermometers. Show them how to use digital thermometers.
3. Conversions WS
4. Greek prefixes
5. Sig. Fig. WS
6. Precision vs Accuracy
7. Job of Zero
8. Degree of Accuracy
9. Koolaid Lab example: degree of accuracy with mass and cup of sugar.
10. Practice Sheets
11. Check sci fair ideas
12. Null and Alternative hypotheses
13. Controlled, confounding, and independent variables
14. Review WS, Lab, Problem solving note-keeping and digital records.
15. Notebook Guidelines:  organize information into tables, concept maps, list, include title, name, and date, each value has units of measure and a label, such as mean, median, and mode, or sugar, water, Koolaid.