Chemistry
Standard 1, objective I
Title: Formative Assessment Probes
Author: Janis Taylor, Bingham High School
Description: This assessment contains two formative assessment probes where students answer a question that is integral to their mastery of this objective. They will explain the answer and provide reasoning that can help the teacher understand their level of understanding.
Time Needed: 20 minutes
Materials: Assessment Probe (see below)
Procedures:
1. Provide each student with a copy of the probe and ask them to fill it out as completely as possible. No name is necessary on the paper.
2. Use a strategy designed to recombine the paper with a different student. Suggestions:
· Students may crumple their papers into a ball and throw them around the room (this is a favorite of students). They pick up a paper that is not their own.
· Students may pass the papers to the left, then forward, then left, right, left and so on.
· Students may turn them in and the teacher can redistribute them.
3. Students will share the answer on the paper they have. Techniques for this include:
· Reading them out loud and discussing the answers.
· Moving to a corner of the room marked A, B, C or D, depending on the answer on the paper. A few students in each corner read the answers on their paper.
· Using clickers or cards with letters on them to gather class data.
Explanation/Ideal Answer
Boxes should be filled in this order: fusion, fission, chemical reaction, fission, fusion, fusion, fission.
Suggestions for Instruction/Assessment
Nuclear energy is a great topic for student research. Students in a class could be assigned different relevant topics about nuclear energy such as nuclear waste storage, nuclear power-plant accidents (Chernobyl etc.), use of radioactive materials in curing cancer, nuclear weapons, and others. After their research they could choose some format to share what they found and either share the information with peers or the class.
Reaction Types: Chemical, Fusion, Fission
As your read the statements listed below determine which type of reaction is involved. Write “C” for chemical reaction, “I” for nuclear fission, or “U” for nuclear fusion on the box next to the statement as appropriate.
______/ Occurs in stars and produces tremendous amount of energy.______/ A larger atom splits and forms two smaller atoms.
______/ Two elements combine to form a compound.
______/ Spontaneous once it is started and must be controlled or it could have the effect of a nuclear bomb.
______/ The energy needed for this to occur must reach 10,000,000 degrees Celsius because the nuclei of the atoms must touch.
______/ Two smaller atoms combine and form a larger, heavier atom.
______/ In the US the Manhattan Project was organized to produce a nuclear bomb in 1942.
Describe your thinking. Describe the rule or reasoning you used to decide what type of reaction was listed.