Summary

In this game, students will solve a series of six escape room-style puzzles using their knowledge of various fundamental chemistry concepts, including elements and atomic structure, the periodic table, scientific notation, measurements, unit conversions, significant figures, density, and lab safety. In this activity, students will apply the chemical concepts used in the game to additional practice problems.

Grade Level

Middle School, High School

NGSS Alignment

This game will help prepare your students to meet the following scientific and engineering practices:

• Scientific and Engineering Practices:
  • Using Mathematics and Computational Thinking
  • Analyzing and Interpreting Data

Objectives

By the end of this game, students should be able to:

• Identify elements on the periodic table based on a variety of characteristics, including information about subatomic particles, names and symbols, and common uses.
• Write large numbers in scientific notation.
• Identify metric units and convert between metric and non-metric units.
• Record measurements to the appropriate number of significant figures.
• Calculate densities from mass and volume data.
• Identify safe and unsafe situations in a lab setting.

Chemistry Topics

This game supports students’ understanding of:

• Elements
• Atomic structure
• Periodic table
• Scientific notation
• Measurement
• Dimensional analysis
• Significant figures
• Density
• Lab safety

Time

Teacher Preparation: minimal
Lesson: 30-40 minutes

Materials

• Student handout
• Device connected to the Internet
• Access to game: https://teachchemistry.org/classroom-resources/chemistry-basics-escape-room

Safety

• No specific safety precautions need to be observed for this activity.

Teacher Notes

• The game can be found at the following link (note that students can access the simulation without an AACT login):
  • https://teachchemistry.org/classroom-resources/chemistry-basics-escape-room
  • Note that a better game experience will be had if it is played on a larger screen, like a computer or tablet, rather than a phone.
• This game could be used as an fun review activity after an introductory chemistry unit in middle or high school, such as the Chemistry Basics and Measurement Quick Start Unit Plan or the Chemistry Basics Unit Plan.
• This game is a series of 6 escape room-style puzzles that students can solve using their knowledge of introductory chemistry topics. Students will start out in an “office” for the first three puzzles, which are more pencil-and-paper, and once they solve these they will proceed to the “lab” where they will use lab data and techniques to solve the remaining three puzzles and complete the escape room.
• Some of the puzzles may take students longer to solve than others. Teachers should play through the escape room before students if time allows so they can best anticipate where their students might get stuck. Here are summaries of each puzzle and some tips/hints that could be provided to students if they are struggling:
  • Puzzle 1 – Periodic Table: This one requires students to identify elements on the periodic table based on a list of characteristics left in a letter to “Dr. Mendeleev.” Make sure students know they can click on the “Periodic Table” tab in the upper left corner of the screen, and that the elements on the periodic table are clickable. If they select all the correct elements corresponding to the list in the letter, they should see that they are in the shape of the number “24” – which is hinted at in the italicized text in the letter, “There are only so many hours in a day.”
  • Puzzle 2 – Scientific Notation: This puzzle is all about scientific notation. They are given the distance, in either miles or kilometers, from each planet in the solar system to the sun, and there is a 4 digit code they have to enter to move to the next puzzle. The word search on the right should help them figure out which four numbers – the three hidden words are “exponent,” “notation,” and “metric.” They should deduce that they need to use the four measurements reported in metric (km) on the left-hand page, write them in scientific notation, and use the exponents as the digits for the code.
  • Puzzle 3 – Unit Conversions: In this puzzle, students must identify the correct size bottle to order based on the bottle racks they have available. They are given a bottle diameter of 1.25 inches and told the bottle order needs to be submitted in centimeters. Students may have to look up the conversion factor between inches and centimeters (1 in = 2.54 cm) if they don’t know this conversion off-hand, or you could have it pre-written somewhere in your classroom.
  • Puzzle 4 – Significant Figures: Photos of a volumetric flask, a graduated cylinder, a burette, and a beaker pop up when the corresponding icons are clicked. Students can record the one-letter label for each piece of glassware and the volume measurements in the data table provided. Note that this table is just for them to make notes, like scratch paper. The only thing they must type in to move on is the 4-letter code. The clue to identifying the code is revealed in the “Textbook” tab in the top left of the screen. When they place a piece of paper with strategically cut holes over a textbook page, the words that are still visible through the holes read “order glassware from least to most significant figures in measurement letters open door.” The label letters, when the glassware is placed in order from fewest to most significant figures, are the code!
  • Puzzle 5 – Density: Students will see a partially filled data table containing volume measurements and blank spaces for mass measurements and density calculations. When they click “Lab Notebook” in the upper left corner of the screen, they can click on the various object in the data table and record their mass, then calculate their densities. The “Lab Notebook” tab also contains a paragraph about density and a lamp – when that lamp is turned on (clicked), it reveals the secret message in the highlighted words “Density of most dense object is secret combination” – the density of the most dense object in their data table is the 3-digit code they need to move on to the final puzzle.
  • Puzzle 6 – Lab Safety: Students must identify unsafe scenarios in the lab that need to be addressed before a safety inspection. They should note an open container of flammable liquid, a flask about to fall off the edge of the lab bench, an unattended lit Bunsen burner near a roll of paper towels, a spilled beaker, cracked test tubes, and lunch in the lab. Discussing which things are unsafe and why could be a good post-activity discussion.
• The student handout is divided into three parts:
  • Part 1 should be completed prior to beginning the game as it primes students to think about various fundamental chemistry skills they will use to solve the puzzles in the game.
  • Part 2 should be completed after playing the game as it challenges the students to apply the same concepts to additional practice problems and examples.
  • The final “Challenge” portion of the student handout has students design an escape room-style puzzle using another introductory chemistry topic not addressed in this game and challenge a classmate to solve it.
• An Answer Key document is available for teacher reference.