Tasty Solution Lesson Plan

Lesson Plan #:AELP-CHM004
Author: Cindy Robinson, Owasso, OK Date: May 1994

These lesson plans are the result of the work of the teachers who have attended the Columbia Education Center’s Summer Workshop. CEC is a consortium of teacher from 14 western states dedicated to improving the quality of education in the rural, western, United States, and particularly the quality of math and science Education. CEC uses Big Sky Telegraph as the hub of their telecommunications network that allows the participating teachers to stay in contact with their trainers and peers that they have met at the Workshops.

Grade Level(s): 7, 8, 9

Subject(s):

Science/Chemistry

OVERVIEW: The section covering solutions in the physical science curriculum often poses itself as a boring, hard to memorize, useless chapter to most ninth grade students. Although solutions, solvents, and solutes are evident in the students everyday life, these ideas do not seem important unless they can be brought to the students as something they can touch, feel, see, and even taste.

PURPOSE: Science should be fun as well as thought provoking. In order for students to learn and remember what they learn, science class should be a hands on experience whenever possible. The Tasty Solution Lab helps students to identify the different parts of a solution and to determine that exposing more surface area of a solution speeds up the dissolving time.The purpose stated on the lab would be – to determine the fastest way to dissolve candy.

OBJECTIVES: As a result of this activity students will:

Know the difference between a solvent, solute, and solution.

Know that by exposing a solution to chewing and stirring (exposing more surface area) the dissolving time will be shorter.

Know that a solute dissolves by spreading out evenly throughout a solvent.

RESOURCES/MATERIALS:

3 bite-sized pieces of soft candy for each student (such as Hershey’s Kisses)

ACTIVITIES AND PROCEDURES:

Students are to place one of the candy pieces in their mouth without chewing or moving their tongues around.

Record the time that it takes for this candy piece to dissolve.

Students are to place a second candy piece in their mouth, this time moving their tongues, but not chewing.

Record the time it takes to dissolve this candy piece.

Students are to place the third piece of candy in their mouth and chew it.

Record the time to dissolve this third piece of candy.

TYING IT ALL TOGETHER:

Students will report their results on the conclusion section of the lab. (Moving the candy around and chewing it decreases the time necessary for dissolving).

Students will also understand why by completing the following sentences: The candy dissolves in the (saliva) in your mouth to form a liquid solution. Solutions contain two parts, a (solvent) and a (solute). The solvent is (saliva) and the solute is the candy. The solute (dissolves) by spreading out evenly throughout the solvent. The candy can quickly dissolve when it is (exposed) to chewing and stirred by moving it around with the tongue.

This activity can be followed up with a worksheet of different solutions where students try to determine the solvent and solute of each.

An outside activity good to tie school and home together would be for the students to find as many different types of solutions in their kitchen as possible. They can also determine if it is possible to find out what the solute and solvent are.

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