Chemistry Webquest: Chemicals at Home

Chemistry WebQuest: Chemicals at Home

A WebQuest for 11th and 12th Grade Chemistry

Designed by

Amy Trauth-Nare

Introduction

Chemistry has very practical and useful applications in everyday life. Synthetic fibers in clothing, fertilizer used on landscapes and in gardens, non-stick coating on frying pans, and the countless types of plastics are all the result of applied chemistry. Most scientists would argue that our lives are better due, in part, to the ways that chemistry is used everyday. In order to become more aware of the ways in which chemistry affects your daily life, you are asked discover chemicals in your own home, analyze them, and evaluate the elements they are composed of.

Guiding Questions

·  What chemicals are readily found in the home?

·  What are the uses of household chemicals?

·  What are the active and inert ingredients found in household chemicals?

·  What elements are household chemicals most commonly made of?

·  Are the compounds found in household chemicals "safe"?

The Task

Part I

You will choose several household products from a list of categories. You are required to compare three different products within each category by finding both their "active" ingredients and "inert" or inactive ingredients. For example, if you choose the pain reliever category, you might compare the active and inert ingredients in Tylenol, Aleve, and Motrin. You will then use the Internet to find the chemical formulas for both the active and inert ingredients in the products. Once you have determined the chemical formulas for each ingredient, you will then count the number of atoms of each element present in those compounds. Finally, you will determine whether the chemicals found in your products are organic or inorganic. For this part of your WebQuest, you can organize your data in several ways, including:

·  in an Excel spreadsheet,

·  in a table generated in Word,

·  in a PowerPoint presentation, or

·  in a Webpage designed by you.

Part II

Using the data gathered in Part I, you will type a reflection paper. This paper will summarize your findings and include your thoughts on the safety of chemicals in the home and insights you gained from your research. You will answer the guiding questions found in the Process section and submit your reflection with your data from Part I.

The Process

Part I

1.  Choose three categories from the list below. Within each category, you will find three different brand name products. You will compare the chemical compounds that make up these products. In most cases, the chemical ingredients found in these products are listed as "active ingredients" and inactive or "inert ingredients".

Categories

·  Pain relievers

·  Hand/Body lotions

·  Antacids

·  Hair care products

·  Cough drops

·  Cold symptom relievers

·  Allergy medicines

·  Laundry soaps

·  Cold sore ointments

·  Athlete's foot treatments

·  Antiperspirants

·  Pesticides/Insecticides

·  Herbicides

·  Fertilizers

2.  You will make a list of all active and inert ingredients listed on each label and the quantities (ex: mg, oz, %) in which they are found.

3.  Using the Internet, find the chemical formulas for each of the chemical ingredients listed.

While most of the information on chemical formulas can be found on the Internet, the following books and manuals will be on hand for reference in the classroom:

·  Merck Index

·  MSDS sheets

·  Handbook of Chemistry and Physics

·  Chemical Dictionaries

Several websites can be used to find the chemical formulas you are looking for:

·  Chemexper Chemical Directory: http://www.chemexper.com/

·  ChemFinder: http://chemfinder.cambridgesoft.com/

·  NIST Chemistry WebBook: http://webbook.nist.gov/chemistry/form-ser.html

·  Sheffield Chemdex: http://www.chemdex.org/

You can also venture forth on your own, using Google, Altavista, Dogpile, or some other search engine to find the chemical formulas you need to complete this WebQuest.

4.  After finding the chemical formulas for each chemical ingredient, list the all of the elements in each chemical ingredient and how many atoms of each element are present. For example, the chemical formula for sodium acetate is NaC2H3O2. The elements found in this chemical are sodium (Na), carbon (C), hydrogen (H) and oxygen (O). In this compound there are 1 sodium atoms, 2 carbon atoms, 3 hydrogen atoms, and 2 oxygen atoms.

5.  Organize your information in a coherent fashion. You can do this in a variety of ways. You can organize this information into an Excel spreadsheet, in a table generated in Word, in a presentation in PowerPoint (a separate slide for each product, perhaps), or in a webpage. See an example here.

6.  Classify each chemical compound ionic or molecular. If it is a molecular compound, further classify it as organic (contains carbon) or inorganic (do not contain carbon). For example, sodium acetate (NaC2H3O2) is also ionic, since it is made of a metal (Na) and a nonmetal polyatomic ion, acetate (C2H3O2).

7.  For each product, list the source where you found the chemical formula. (i.e.-- which webpage, book, online index did you use?)

Part II

In this part of your WebQuest, you are asked to review several web pages about products that can be found commonly in household. Read the three web pages below, then answer the questions that follow in an essay. Your essay must be typed, at least three double-spaced pages in 12 point Times New Roman font.

1.  Read the article on the Internet titled The Hazards of Household Cleaning Products. Next, review the information on Household Hazardous Waste and the Household Hazardous Waste Chart. Both of the pages part of a website maintained by the Environmental Collection Center in the city of Fort Worth.

2.  Reflect on the chemicals you investigated in Part I. Would any of the products you researched fall under the category of "hazardous waste"? Which ones?

3.  Describe at least three practical ways in which you can reduce household hazardous waste in your home.

4.  Identify the proper way to dispose of the following: empty aerosol cans, expired prescription medicines (pharmaceuticals), old tires, nail polish, swimming pool chemicals, and insecticides.

5.  Evaluate the potential harm to the soil, water, and air that could be caused by improperly disposing of hazardous household waste.

In addition to the questions above, briefly address the following:

6.  What was the most difficult aspect of completing this WebQuest? With what part of the process did you struggle with the most? Why?

7.  What was the most valuable knowledge you learned from this WebQuest? How will you use the knowledge you gained from this WebQuest in another academic subject or in your everyday life? Explain.

Evaluation

Each student will be evaluated using the rubric below. Student work will be scored based on completeness, accuracy, and organization of the data gathered in Part I. The reflection paper in Part II will be graded for thoughtfulness and thoroughness.

0 - 4 points / 5 - 10 points / 11 - 15 pts / 16 - 20 pts
Part I: Active and Inert Chemical Components / Six or fewer household products were analyzed; many active and inert chemical components are missing; many errors in the quantities of each chemical / Six to nine household products were analyzed; some active and inert chemical components are missing; several errors in the quantities of each chemical / Eight to nine household products were analyzed; nearly all active and inert chemical components are represented; quantities of each chemical are accurate / Nine household products were analyzed; all active and inert chemical components are represented; quantities of each chemical are accurate
Part I: Chemical Formulas / Most chemical formulas are accurately written or missing; many errors in the elements present and/or the subscripts / Many chemical formulas are inaccurate or missing; many written with the correct the wrong elements and/or subscripts / Most chemical formulas are accurately written with the correct elements and subscripts / All chemical formulas are accurately written with the correct elements and subscripts
Part I: Elements and Atoms / Most elements in each chemical formula are not identified; many errors in calculating and/or classifying the number of atoms in each compound (ionic/molecular) / Many elements in each chemical formula are not identified; many errors in calculating the number of atoms and/or classifying each compound (ionic/molecular) / Nearly all elements in each chemical formula are identified; the number of atoms in each compound is mostly correct in calculation and classification / All elements in each chemical formula are identified; the number of atoms in each compound is correctly calculated and classified (ionic/molecular)
Part I: Presentation of Data and Sources / Final product (table, paper, etc.) is unorganized; few sources are cited; necessary data is often missing or inadequate for chosen chemicals / Final product (table, paper, etc.) is satisfactory in construction, somewhat organized; some sources are cited; some data is missing or inadequate for chemicals / Final product (table, paper, etc.) is well formulated, mostly organized; sources are cited; most of the necessary data are included for chosen chemicals / Final product (table, paper, etc.) is esthetically pleasing, well organized; all sources are cited; all necessary data are included for all chemicals
Part II: Reflection Paper / Essay is 1-2 pages, many grammatical errors, responses are terse and not well-explained / Essay is 2 pages, some grammatical errors; responses are satisfactory but not thorough or comprehensive / Essay is 2-3 pages, few grammatical errors; responses are thoughtful and thorough / Essay is 3 pages, grammatically correct; responses to questions are complete, thoughtful, and comprehensive

Conclusion In this WebQuest, you investigated common household products and the chemicals that are found in them. After compiling a list of chemicals, you utilized the World Wide Web to find chemical formulas and analyze their composition. In the second part of the WebQuest, you were asked to reflect on the safety of household chemicals and their use in everyday situations.

For those of you who would like to explore this topic further, I would suggest investigating the molecular structure of common compounds, especially those organic compounds essential to life.

Here are a few websites for visualizing and analyzing molecular structure that you might be interested in. Most use some sort of plug-in, such as MDL Chime:

·  MathMol Library at NYU: http://www.nyu.edu/pages/mathmol/library/related.html

·  Dr. Woodcock's Molecular Models webpage: http://www.molecularmodels.ca/molecule/molecule.html

Credits & References

This WebQuest was inspired by a similar project shared with the author by Ted Koehn at Lincoln East High School (Lincoln, NE).

Here is a link to The WebQuest Page so that you can acquire the latest version of this template and training materials to design your own WebQuest!