Summary

In this activity, students will watch a video and answer questions about how the molecular geometry and polarity of water give rise to many of its unusual physical properties, including its relatively high boiling point and its ability to dissolve some substances but not others.

Grade Level

Middle School, High School

NGSS Alignment

This activity will help prepare your students to meet the performance expectations in the following standards:

• HS-PS1-3: Plan and conduct an investigation to gather evidence to compare the structure of substances at the bulk scale to infer the strength of electrical forces between particles.
• HS-PS2-6: Communicate scientific and technical information about why the molecular-level structure is important in the functioning of designed materials.
• Scientific and Engineering Practices:
  • Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information
    

Objectives

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

• Describe the bonding that takes place in water molecules and how it affects water’s structure.
• Explain how the bonding and shape of water molecules cause water’s high boiling point and relate to solubility of various substances in water.

Chemistry Topics

This activity supports students’ understanding of:

• Physical properties
• Covalent bonding
• Electronegativity
• Polarity
• Molecular geometry
• Intermolecular forces
• Solubility

Time

Teacher Preparation: minimal
Lesson: 10 minutes

Materials

• The Chemistry of Water Video
• Student handout
• Computer and projector with sound and internet access

Safety

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

Teacher Notes

• The “The Chemistry of Water” video is part of the ACS video series Chemistry Basics.
• The running time of this video is about two and a half minutes.It goes through information quickly, so you may want to pause the video at certain points or play the video through twice.
• This video is intended for students to watch, and for teachers to integrate into their curriculum.
• The student questions are presented in sequential order in the video.
• An answer key has also been provided for teacher reference.