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ACTIVITY in Mole Concept, Dimensional Analysis, Measurements, Kitchen Chemistry. Last updated March 25, 2020.


Summary

In this lab, students take an abstract concept, the mole, and turn it into a real measurable concept by measuring quantities of household materials in quantities related to the mole.

Grade Level

High school

Objectives

By the end of this lesson, students should be able to

  • Understand the mole concept.

Chemistry Topics

This lesson supports students’ understanding of

  • Mole concept
  • Dimensional analysis

Time

Teacher Preparation: 30 minutes

Lesson: 45 minutes

Materials

  • Aluminum foil
  • Salt
  • Copper
  • Water
  • Chalk

Safety

  • Always wear goggles when working in a chemistry lab.
  • Students should wash their hands thoroughly before leaving the lab.
  • When students complete the lab, instruct them how to clean up their materials.

Teacher Notes

  • The students have to calculate the mass of each material using the mole concept, mass the material, and them bring it to the instructor for them to mass and check their answer.
  • I have done this lab for the past 10 years and the students always seem to understand the mole unit better. It improves their learning.

For the Student

Lesson

Station Material Calculation Teacher Initial
1 One mole of aluminum
2 0.250 moles of NaCl
3 5.6 x 1023 atoms of copper
4 3.45 moles of water
5 9.0 x 1022 molecules of chalk, CaCO3
6 8.9 x 1023 atoms of hydrogen in water