Experiment Variations To Improve Critical Thinking Skills Chemistry Level I Experiment 3

Science began when humankind first asked “Why?” and then went to look for an answer. We believe “why” and “what if” are still the most important words anyone can use when studying science at any level.

This blog will pose new questions, many linked to specific RS4K lessons or experiments, that may help you and your student(s) further enjoy the discovery that is science. Learning to ask questions that go beyond information presented helps promote discernment, analysis and evaluation skills – known as “critical thinking” – across all areas of study.

Experiment Variations To Improve Critical Thinking Skills: Chemistry Level I Experiment 3

Asking “What if…?” trains our minds to understand experiments in more depth and teaches us to think for ourselves beyond information presented.

For example, Experiment 3 in the Chemistry Level I workbook asks students to identify chemical reactions using a variety of household products. What if…your student first warmed the vinegar before adding the baking soda?

Here is a good process to use when you want to open any experiment to new possibilities.

I. Think and discuss.
Have students first discuss what they think would happen if the vinegar was warmed before adding the baking soda. Direct their inquiry with questions. Do they think the reaction will go faster? Slower? Stop?

II. Observe it.
Have the students slightly warm the vinegar in Experiment 3 by placing the measuring cup in warm water and then proceed with the experiment.

III. What happened?
Have the students write about what happened when the vinegar was warmed.

IV. What next?
Have students ask their own “What if?” questions. What if the vinegar is very cold from the refrigerator? What if it is diluted with a bit of water?

Did this process of inquiry make the experiment more educational? Did your students feel more involved because they could ask their own questions and then find the answers? Did anyone come up with a surprising or creative question? Do you see other areas of study where this scientific process of inquiry would be useful?

The Arts KOG

What is The Arts KOG?

The Arts KOG helps students connect art, music, and literature to science. There are many ways in which art and science differ, but there are also many ways in which art and science overlap. The Arts KOG will give students a look at how science and art both overlap and differ.

Art and Science

There can be no science without fancy and no art without fact. Vladimir Nabokov

How are art and science similar?

How do art and science differ?

There are many different answers to these two questions and the answers will often depend on whether or not you bend in the direction of being an artist or bend more towards being a scientist. I am a scientist and my daughter, who is an artist, have different answers to these two questions. Regardless of your answers, however, there was certainly a time in history where art was more directly coupled to science and today science is certainly more involved in art than ever before.

But what does it mean that “there is no science without fancy?”

How are art and science similar?

Both art and science are creative endeavors. During the Renaissance the artists and the scientists were often the same people. Leonardo da Vinci both painted the Mona Lisa and discovered some of the basic laws of physics. Michelangelo was both a great sculptor and the architect for St. Peters Cathedral.

A quote by Sven Carlson from Science News (1987) describes the overlap between art and science.

Art and science will eventually be seen to be as closely connected as arms to the body. Both are vital elements of order and its discovery. The word “art” derives from the Indo-European base “ar,” meaning to join or fit together. In this sense, science, in the attempt to learn how and why things fit, becomes art. And when art is seen as the ability to do, make, apply, or portray a way that withstands the test of time, its connection with science becomes more clear.

One way to think about the overlap between art and science is to consider that both art and science attempt to explain some aspect of the real world. A good artist is able to capture the depth of meaning of the world around him through various art forms such as music, painting, prose, or dance. And with this expression of meaning, good art will usually resonate with the audience on a deep emotional level, giving depth to their experience of the world around them. Science also attempts to capture the depth of meaning of the world around us and good science will more accurately reflect the real world and thus withstand the test of time. Even the design of a machine, such as a computer, is influenced by artistic elements.

How do art and science differ?

The questions that science asks are different than the questions art asks.

Science seeks to explain the universe and how we experience it.

Art seeks to express the universe and how we experience it.

One way to explain this difference is to note that science can be called “head knowledge” and art can be called “heart knowledge.” The focus is simply different. Scientists try to explain the universe. They probe the world with questions of what? why? how? and when? They look outside themselves for facts about the world they see and try to turn these facts into explanations that accurately describe the world they live in. Because the world is ordered, many of the explanations they derive are universal.

Artists, on the other hand, seek to express the universe. They look within themselves to find ways to express the feelings that being in the world create within themselves. Because feelings are universal and shared among all people, by looking within, the artist is able to express the universe in ways that connect to other people.

What will The Arts KOG teach?

The Arts KOG will give students some ideas for exploring both how art and science meet and where they diverge. The Arts KOG will look at ways art parallels science and encourage students to consider these parallels. It will also encourage students to see where art and science differ and explore these differences. Each chapter will introduce a connection to the science text and then allow the students to examine this connection with discussion questions or an activity.

Try it!

Here is the first chapter for The Arts KOG. Try it and see what you think.

kog-art-chem-1a-1-1.pdf

The Arts KOG for Chemistry Level I A is expected to be released March 2008 by Gravitas Publications, Inc.

History KOG

What is the History KOG?

Science has a rich and exciting history and the History KOG will help students explore this history.

How do scientific discoveries happen?

Who discovers them and why?

What sort of social atmosphere promotes scientific discoveries?

What, if anything, really hinders new scientific discoveries?

These are the kinds of questions students will explore as they learn about the rich and diverse history of scientific discoveries.

The history of science in textbooks?

The history of science tends to be a side topic in science textbooks. Most science textbooks give a brief synopsis of a few key players involved in a few key scientific discoveries in a small colored sidebar in the middle of the text wedged in between the equations and the graphics. These key players get noted and the student (if he or she was paying attention) may remember to connect a few of these players to the main scientific discoveries of study. They may know that Newton discovered the Law of Gravity, that Pasteur discovered vaccines, and that Einstein discovered the Theory of Relativity, but very little else is learned about the process of these discoveries-how long the discoveries took, if there was any controversy surrounding the new discovery, and if any other scientists were involved. A sidebar cannot capture the excitement and struggle inherent in scientific discoveries.

Also, in many science textbooks the process of scientific discovery is often viewed as a linear historical narrative, with one discovery building upon previous discoveries in a somewhat sequential fashion. This is only partly accurate. New discoveries are built upon previous discoveries and there is an overall cumulative effect in most fields. But the experiments and ideas that lead to those new discoveries are often not linear but instead tend to cluster as new scientific information competes with previous scientific information during the formation of the new discovery. Textbook time lines, if they exist at all, usually insert only those scientists that contributed to one aspect of the discovery process and often leave out the competing experimental ideas. This omission can leave students with a distorted view about how scientific discoveries are made. Scientific discovery does not proceed by a smooth and tranquil transition from one theory to the next but rather by significant disagreement between competing theories and sometimes vehement opposition between scientists. The history of science is rich with long and sometimes contentious battles between opposing schools of thought as scientist with different viewpoints sort out the various pieces of scientific information as they come to a conclusion about how the world around us operates. Also, it should be noted, that although many theories stay the course of time, old battles can re-emerge as new scientific information is collected.

What does the History KOG teach?

The History KOG will give students background information needed to set the stage for various scientific discoveries. It will introduce students to the scientists and their ideas during the course of different scientific discoveries. The History KOG will sometimes overlap the Philosophy KOG since experimental ideas often emerge as a result of philosophical discussions and debate. For example, a topic such as “molecular bonding” the History KOG introduces students to the scientists that were involved in developing our current understanding of molecular bonding. But the student also gets a glimpse of the philosophical ideas and competing theories that stimulated the current understanding of molecular bonding. At the end of the chapter, the students will be given an activity, or a set of discussion questions to think about the historical process they just learned. They will also be asked to create different time lines so they can get a graphical representation of the dates and names of the scientists involved.

In this way the student gains a better understanding of the historical events that lead to scientific discoveries. Not only will they have a more balanced view of the history of science, but they will better retain the scientific concepts they are learning.

Take a test run

Try Chapter 1 of the History KOG and let me know what you think.

kog-h-chem-1a-1-1.pdf

The History KOG for Chemistry Level I A is expected to be released March 2008 by Gravitas Publications, Inc.

Language KOG

What is the Language KOG?

As with any discipline, there is a “language” for science. Because scientists often speak their own language it can be difficult for someone not familiar with the words and terms scientists use to understand what scientists mean. Even within science, different scientific disciplines tend to use a different “language.”

I remember when I was a new postdoc in the field of molecular biology. I had spent all of my prevoius training around chemists and physicists and I felt I had a pretty good handle on the scientific language. But then I joined a molecular biology lab and recognized that I was without the proper “language” to communicate to these folks. I was lost and confused for much of the first year.

For example, the following is an exerpt taken from a paper in a field that I was somewhat familiar with before leaving academia:

Here, we investigated the regulation of TFs expressed in a tissue-enriched manner in Arabidopsis roots. For 61 TFs, we created GFP reporter constructs driven by each TF’s upstream noncoding sequence (including the 5′UTR) fused to the GFP reporter gene alone or together with the TF’s coding sequence. We compared the visually detectable GFP patterns with endogenous mRNA expression patterns, as defined by a genome-wide microarray root expression map.

What? Did anyone get that? Don’t worry, I don’t think many people (including scientitists outside this field) would have understood much of what was being communicated. There are words and phrases like “regulation” “tissue-enriched” and “endogenous” that may be unfamiliar to someone outside this paraticular area of science. In addition, there are several acronyms – such as TF, GFP, 5′UTR, and mRNA, that act almost like a “secret code” and anyone unfamiliar with this “code” would not understand what was being said. This kind of terminology makes almost all scientific information inaccessible to people outside of the scientific discipline itself and this creates a dependency upon “experts” that I think is not necessary.

In simplier language the scientists from the above exerpt are looking at transcription factor genes (TFs) [DNA sequences that code for proteins called transcription factors] and they want to know how the genes are turned “on” and “off” – i.e. regulated. To tell when TFs genes are turned “on” or remain “off” (”reporter”) they used green fluroescent protein (GFP) genes (”constructs”). If the gene turns “on” they’ll see a green dot [visually detectable GFP pattern], and if the gene does not turn “on” they won’t.

So in the Language KOG I hope to remove some the mystery surrounding scientific language so that when a student reads a scientific work the language won’t confuse, bemuddle, or otherwise intimidate them out of having any interest in the subject they are reading. Learning to read scientific literature would be valuable for everyone – especially if the person happens to be a journalist or politician who may need to have a better grasp of what the scientific literature is actually reporting.

How does the Language KOG work?

The Language KOG will take one scientific term from each chapter and using a sequence of learning steps, the students will learn the Latin or Greek word root for the word and other words that share this word root. This will give the students a well-rounded understanding of the scientific term.

1. First the student will look at five other words that all share a common root and doing a little detective work, try to figure out the letters that make up the word root.

2. Next they will learn what the root means and from there try to guess the meanings of all six words. Once they have tried to guess the meanings, they will turn the page and look at the actual definitions for each word. They will also see any other Latin or Greek word roots, endings, or prefixes that may be in the other words.

3. Then they will play a mix and match game and test themselves on whether or not they have mastered all the definitions.

4. Finally, they will write a paragraph using all six of the words they have been introduced to.

Give it a try

This is the first chapter for the Language KOG for Chemistry Level I

kog-lang-chem-1a-1-1.pdf

The Language KOG comes as a workbook. It is currently available for Level I Chemistry, Level I Biology, and Level I Physics. It will also be sold as a part of the KOGs module for Level I Chemistry coming in March 2008.

KOGS-4-KIDS™

Over the next several weeks, I will be starting a new blog series called KOGS-4-KIDS™. KOGS-4-KIDS™ is a new cross-curricular module that I have been working on for several years. It’s been on the back burner, but is now ready for production.

What is KOGS-4-KIDS™ ?

KOGS-4-KIDS™ is the first fully integrated interdisciplinary curriculum for science. As you may already know, Real Science-4-Kids is a core curricular approach to science education that introduces the four foundational subjects (chemistry, biology, physics, and earth and space) to elementary and mid-school students. Real Science-4-Kids focuses on teaching students “essential” scientific information that will provide a solid foundation for future learning.

KOGS-4-KIDS™ takes the core material presented in the RS4K series and provides the context for deeper understanding of the scientific facts. KOGS-4-KIDS™ is a workbook set that introduces the student to the cognitive connections between disciplines. As many of you know the Level I Chemistry, Biology, and Physics each have a language KOG currently available. The language KOG was released last year as a pilot project. In the language KOG, each science discipline (chemistry, biology, or physics) is connected to the language of science.

I plan to release the first KOGS-4-KIDS™ module in March 2008. This module will be for Chemistry Level I and will contain the current RS4K Chemistry Level I Textbook, the student workbook and teacher’s manual plus six KOGS workbooks that connect Level I Chemistry to….1) Language, 2) History, 3) Philosophy, 4) Technology, 5) The Arts, and 6) Critical Thinking.

Over the next few weeks I will be posting additional information about each cross-curricular subject in the Real Science Chemistry Level I KOGS-4-KIDS™ module.

Errata Files

Below are the errata files and I will be posting them under each category as I get them.  They will be in PDF format so when you click on the one you want/need and the page opens in Adobe Reader simply save it onto your local hard drive.  Please make a comment if there are any issues getting these files.

Thank you

Pre-Level Chemistry

Level I Chemistry

Level II Chemistry

Posted files September 2007

• chemistry-level-II-teachers-manual-chp-5.pdf
• chemistry-level-II-chapter-3-pg-71-corrected.pdf
• chemistry-level-II-chapter-3-pg-72.pdf
• chemistry-level-II-chapter-4-pg-94.pdf

Posted files October 2007

• chemistry-level-II-chapter-4-pg-22-teachers-manual.pdf
• chemistry-level-II-chapter-3-pg-70.pdf
• chemistry-level-II-chapter-4-pg-92.pdf

Biology

Physics

TESTS

All,

A thousand apologies for the delay, but here are some tests/quiz’s & answer keys.  If you see any errors please do not hesitate to notify me.  NOTE: we have some in PDF, or Word and only a few in both formats.  Please click on the title to retrieve the file:

Pre-Level Chemistry

Word format

1. chemistry pre-level ch 1-5, test updated 09182007.doc
2. chemistry pre-level ch 1-5, ans key.doc
3. chemistry pre-level ch 6-10, test.doc
4. chemistry pre-level ch 6-10, ans key.doc

PDF format

5. chemistry pre-level ch1-5, test.pdf
6. chemistry pre-level ch6-10, test.pdf

Level 1 Chemistry

PDF format

1. chemistry level 1 ch1-5 midterm I, test.pdf
2. chemistry level 1 ch 1-5 midterm I, ans key.pdf
3. chemistry level 1 ch6-10 midterm II, test.pdf
4. chemistry level 1 ch6-10 midterm II, ans key.pdf

Level 2 Chemistry

Word format

1. chemistry level 2 ch1-5 midterm I, test.doc
2. chemistry level 2 ch1-5 midterm I, answer key.doc
3. chemistry level 2 ch6-10 midterm II, test.doc
4. chemistry level 2 ch6-10 midterm II, answer key.doc

PDF Format

5. chemistry level 2 ch1-5 midterm I, test.pdf
6. chemistry level 2 ch1-5 midterm I, answer key.pdf

Level 1 Biology

Word format

1. biology level 1 ch 1-5 midterm I, test.doc
2. biology level 1 ch 1-5 midterm I, ans key.doc
3. biology level 1 ch 6-10 midterm II, test.doc
4. biology level 1 ch 6-10 midterm II, ans key.doc

Level 1 Physics

Word format

1. physics level 1 ch 1-5 midterm I, test.doc
2. physics level 1 ch 1-5 midterm I, ans key.doc
3. physics level 1 ch 6-10 midterm II, test.doc
4. physics level 1 ch 6-10 midterm II, ans key.doc

MORE TO COME

Pre-Level I Biology Release Date

Pre-Level I Biology is finished! I am just awaiting a few printing quotes and finalizing a few details, but Pre-Level I Biology is ready.

We will try to get the website updated for pre-orders or orders by August25th. Depending on when I can get the books back from the printers, the set will be available by the end of August or the early part of September.

Thank you all for your support!

Rebecca Keller

Essential Science: Earth and Space

What is earth and space?

Earth and space is exactly what it says – the earth, and the planets, and the sun, and all of the other objects that are found in space. The subject of earth and space is one of the main subjects taught to elementary children. There is a plethora of good children’s books about the earth and our solar system. There are also many thousands of good references on the internet for learning more about our earth and the space surrounding our earth. My approach to earth and space is not significantly different than what is already being presented in other text books. The approach followed in many textbooks “fits” with the approach I have already followed with the other subjects; chemistry, biology, and physics. However, one difference may be in how I approach a very “sticky” subject as it comes to studying the earth and space.

Sticky subject- How old is the universe?

When talking about the earth and space, the question “How old is the universe?” comes up and with good reason -it is a valid scientific question. A problem arises because there is no good way to answer this question without upsetting someone. The age of the universe is a controversial issue because different groups look at the scientific data for how “old” the universe appears to be and interpret those data differently. Scientists are human and as such have biases – biases that are often unknown even to themselves. But the fact is, there are scientific data that argue for an old earth and universe, and there are scientific data that argue for a young earth and universe. I have seen both sets of data and personally, I lean in favor of one interpretation. However, because the curriculum I am producing is dedicated to presenting the practice of science my answer is:

Critically evaluate all of the data. Take a careful look at all of those data that support an old earth and take a careful look at those data that support a young earth and then draw your own conclusion about the age of the universe.

Will RS4K elementary and mid-school books give a specific age for the universe?

No. I will not be addressing the age of the universe in any of the three levels for RS4K. In my opinion, the scientific data that supports an old universe and the scientific data that supports a young universe are complicated and cannot be easily explained to elementary or mid-school kids. So the age of the universe is a level of complexity that I am not willing to introduce into the RS4K elementary and mid-school series. Many text books on both sides of this debate give the age of the universe simply as a factoid for a child to memorize without ever really discussing the science behind their argument. I do not want to give kids factoids to memorize and because the science is complicated, I am not going to address the age of the earth or universe.  What the RS4K elementary and mid-school books will introduce is what we know – today, about the present. What is the earth? What is it made of? How many planets in the solar system? What happened to Pluto? What is a sun? etc.

I am planning a high-school series and in that series I will discuss the topic of “age,” but I plan to introduce only the science that supports both interpretations and leave it to the reader to draw their own conclusions.

Core Categories-4-Earth and Space

The first core category-4-earth and space is earth. This core category addresses questions such as; What is the earth made of? What is the structure of the earth? What are volcanoes? What are earthquakes? etc.

The second core category -4- earth and space is the solar system. Moving out from the earth the second core category will look at aspects of our solar system. What are the other planets? What happened to Pluto? What is the sun? How far away are all the planets and sun from each other? etc.

The third core category-4-earth and space is galaxies. Once students have looked at the earth and our solar system, they will look outside the solar system to other solar systems within our galaxy and other galaxies. Questions such as; What is a galaxy? What kind of galaxy is the Milky Way? What is an elliptical galaxy? How is that different or the same as a spiral galaxy? etc.

The fourth core category-4-earth and space is the universe. Now that students have studied the earth, the solar system, our galaxy and other galaxies, what else is in the universe? What are pulsars? What are black holes? What are nebula? What other interesting features does our universe have? etc.

Summary

The core categories-4-earth and space that will be presented in the RS4K series are earth, our solar system, galaxies, and the universe. The age of the earth and universe will not be addressed in the elementary and mid-school series. In the high school series the scientific evidence that supports an old earth and universe will be presented alongside the scientific evidence that supports a young earth and universe and the reader will be encouraged to critically evaluate all the data and draw their own conclusions.

Essential Science: Physics

What is physics?

Physics can be the most intimidating subject for many students because when many people think about physics they think “hard math!” Also, it can be difficult to sort the broad field of physics into useful categories since physics now covers everything from light waves to Newtonian mechanics to Schrodinger’s equation.

My first experience with physics was in 8th grade. Physics was taught as the last section of a “general science” class I was taking and I remember only one physics lesson. This lesson involved going outside to do a physics experiment with marbles. I had no idea what we were doing or why we were doing it and since it was taught at the end of the spring semester the weather in NM was already hot and uncomfortable and I couldn’t wait to get back inside. I got an “A” on whatever project we were doing (I was good at rolling marbles) but I had almost no idea what was going on. I did take more physics in college and finally learned what the marble rolling was all about but I remember thinking that physics was very confusing and since I didn’t have the vocabulary or conceptual background to really understand what my teacher was trying to explain, it was boring and hard.

Physics comes from the Greek word physis which means “nature, natural, or growth.” Historically, physics was part of the “study of nature” and got its formal start with Aristotle. But it wasn’t until the 16th and 17th centuries that what we today call “physics” became a discipline distinct from biology, chemistry, and astronomy. Today modern physics is concerned mainly with understanding the “laws of matter and energy” that make up the natural world.

The broad category of physics can be divided in a number of ways and not everyone has the same idea about how to manage the subjects that we call physics. I am currently in a “debate” with my husband as to how to divide physics into categories. It’s true, he is more of physicist than I am and he has his own opinions that differ from mine which makes for lively dinner conversations (really). But I have to stick with what makes the most sense to me. Before I share with you the core categories-4-physics, let me explain a little more about where I get these ideas.

I was trained as a chemist and as a chemist, I think chemistry is foundational to all science and the most important subject to study. So in my mind physics is part of chemistry. But not to a physicist. To a physicist, chemistry is part of physics and physics is the most important subject to study. I hope you can see where there might be an interesting “discussion” between chemists and physicists if you put the two together at a dinner party.

I, along with most scientists, would agree that nature is composed of matter and energy. But I would argue that chemistry is mostly concerned with matter and physics is largely concerned with energy (and to some extent you can’t have energy without matter which is why chemistry is foundational to physics.) Anyway, the two disciplines do blend because really, much of understanding nature comes through investigating not just matter and energy but how both matter and energy interact with one another. There are in fact sub-disciplines of both chemistry and physics which focus on this blend. You can study physical chemistry as a chemist or chemical physics as a physicist but both sub-disciplines deal with both matter and energy.

So, in summary I will say that chemistry deals mainly with matter and physics (in my mind) deals mainly with energy, the laws of energy, and how matter and energy interact. And so this is how I will establish the core categories -4- physics.

Core Categories-4-Physics

Just as the first core category-4- chemistry was matter, the first core category-4-physics is energy. This category includes everything that has to do with defining energy. What is energy? What is force? What is work? How are energy, force, and work related?

The second core category-4-physics is energy and motion. What is speed? What is velocity? What is linear motion? What is relativity?

The third core category-4-physics is types of energy. What is mechanical energy? What is chemical energy? What is electrical energy?

And the final core category-4-physics is interactions of energy and matter. What is heat? What is the conservation of energy? How is energy transformed from one kind to another.

Summary

These may not be the easiest categories to separate and in fact there is much overlap between them. But if the four core categories-4-physics o of energy, energy and motion, types of energy, and the interactions of energy and matter are all presented, the student has covered the material needed for a solid foundation in physics.