Chemistry Lab: How Big Is A Mole?

Two facts we all know about teaching chemistry:

• The concept of a "mole" is absolutely crucial to the teaching of our class.
• Many of our students struggle with this concept every single year.

According to the textbook:  A mole is the quantity of a substance that has a mass in grams equal to its molecular mass and contains Avogadro's number of particles.   I think that many students memorize the definition of a mole, but fail to grasp the concept of a mole.  I want my students to be able to visualize a mole and to have a grasp on the size of a mole of substance.

I just added a new lab to my yearly chemistry curriculum.  It is not really an "experiment" but more of a review and reinforcement of the mole concept. The idea of the activity is very simple:  Students are given ordinary household substances and are asked to determine how many moles are in a teaspoon of the substance.

Purpose: 

1. To determine the number of molecules and/or atoms in small amounts of everyday substances.
2. To determine how many moles of chalk it takes to write your name on the board.

Materials:               

• Balance           
• Weighing dishes        
• Plastic spoons
• Water              
• Salt (NaCl)                 
• Sugar (C₁₂H₂₂O₁₁₎
• Chalk              
• Chalkboard    

I had the students find the mass of a teaspoon of a substance.  From this mass, I had students determine the number of moles of substance, the numbers of molecules of substance, and the number of a particular atom within the substance.  The bottom line is that this activity provides repetitive practice in mole conversions.

I was a little concerned that my "sophisticated" high schoolers would find this activity too elementary.  Wrong!!  They embraced the activity whole-heartedly and came away with a better understanding of the "size" of a mole.

The activity concludes with a student-designed experiment.  I asked my students to design an experiment to determine the number of moles of chalk required to write their name on the chalkboard.  Students had to write the steps of their procedure, construct a data table, and convert their data to moles and molecules.  SO SIMPLE, but my students had a great time with this.  They enjoyed comparing the "size" of their name to that of their classmates.

Click above picture to view this product in my TpT store.

The Atoms Family: Teaching About Atoms and Energy With a Monster Theme

The Atoms Family

This site makes learning about atoms, molecules and energy fun!

I recently came across this site while surfing the net for some new and fun science activities.  It is called "The Atoms Family", which I found amusing.  It is a spoof on the old television show called "The Adam's Family."  Don't worry, there is nothing scary on this site.....just a lot a really, really fun science activities and experiments.  It is based on The Atoms Family exhibit at the Miami Science Museum.

The stie is divided into these five general areas:

1. The Mummy's Tomb:  Learn about energy conservation, kinetic, and potential energy.
2. Dracula's Library:  Learn about the properties of light, waves, and particles.
3. Frankenstein's Lightening Laboratory:  Learn about different forms of electricity and electrical safety.
4. The Phantom's Portrait Parlor:  Learn about the principles of atoms and matter.
5. The Wolfman's Ghostly Graveyard:  Learn about fuel conservation and energy transfer.

Each of the above areas offers several activities to choose from based on the age of the child.  Some activities are aimed at younger elementary children, while others are more suitable for middle school children.  These activities can be carried out in a school classroom, or easily done at home.  All of the activities can be done with simple, easy to find materials.

Some of my favorite activities included:

• Making a Christmas light shine using a lemon
• A paper cutting activity that demonstrates the size of an atom
• Building a marble racetrack to show the differences in potential and kinetic energy.

All in all, I found this site to be both fun and educational!

Happy Teaching!