Chemistry 11, Unit 2, Lessons 1-2

These lesson plans are meant to accompany my Teachers Pay Teacher product on The Mole unit of Chemistry 11, but can be useful to any chemistry teachers looking for ideas for their classes. Remember that this content is specifically geared towards the Canadian (BC) curriculum! 

The Mole unit covers: 
- Safety and basic chemistry glassware
- Dimensional Analysis
- Significant Figures
- Introduction to the mole (Avogadro's number)
- Calculation of molar mass
- Multi-step problems involving the mole (application of dimensional analysis)
- Molar volume (gas at STP) calculations
- Concentration calculations

A few notes: 
- All lessons are planned based off 80 minute blocks
- I use fill-in-the-blank notes for these lessons, so the student copies of the notes are Word/Google doc pages that need to be filled in, while the teacher notes are PPT/Google slides that have all the answers and are animated to fill in as you click through.
- You will need to find your own accompanying assignments for these lessons (noted in the plans). I would like to create my own in the future, but I don't have any in my store currently. 

Lesson 1

Prep: gather glassware in advance to pass around the class (beaker, erlenmeyer, graduated cylinder, volumetric flask, pipette, buret, test tube, watch glass, scoopula, glass rod, scale)

1. Introduce the topic of safety. Ask students what they remember from safety in the science lab from other years and discuss for a few minutes (5-10 mins). 
   
   
2. Hand out lesson 1 of the student notes (2 mins)
   
   
3. Go through the accompanying Google slide notes. When you get to the slide on basic safety equipment, have the class get up and walk around the room with you to see each of the pieces listed. (15 min)
   
   
4. Continue through the notes. When you get to the slide on SDS, stop here and have students look over an actual SDS to see what kind of information is on it. You can download any SDS you want, but here is a FLINN Scientific one for benzoic acid. (20 mins)
   
   
5. Continue through notes and pass glassware around the class as you go through each piece in the slides (15 mins)
   
   
6. Have students sign a safety contract agreeing that they will follow appropriate rules when in a chemistry lab. You can create your own or use the FLINN Scientific Student Safety Contract. Students must read over it thoroughly - this can be done individually or together with the class. I suggest you also send a copy home to parents to read over. (15 mins)
   
   
7. Wrap up class by having students share out one new thing they learned about safety. (5 mins)
   
   

Supplementary video: Crash Course Chemistry: Safety (10 mins)

If students miss this class, you must ensure that they have gone through the notes and the safety contract before proceeding to the lab in lesson 2. 

Note: After this initial lesson on safety, having your students complete a course on WHMIS could be a useful way to help reinforce their knowledge and also give them something to have on their resume. There are WHMIS programs you can have either students or the school pay for (usually like 10-20$ per person), or you can use this free version (it's a little janky but it works). I've had a class do the free version before and it takes one 80-minute block for them to complete. I have them screenshot the certificate at the end and either email it to me or put it on Google Classroom as proof of completion. 

Lesson 2

Prep: Prepare two solutions for students to calculate the density of. I usually do one that is just water and then the other one I dissolve a bunch of sugar or salt into it to make the density different. You can also add food dye to one to make them look different. You can use any chemicals you want, but using basic stuff that's safer works just as well. Label each solution as "unknown solution 1" and "unknown solution 2". You should also set up pipettes, burettes, scales, and beakers at a station for students to use. 

1. Hand out the Density Lab and have students read through it. This can be done individually or as a class. Explain to the class that they should always have a good idea of what they will be doing before they start a lab (including what they will be doing and which chemicals/safety measures will be involved). (20 mins)
   
   
2. Have students put on appropriate PPE (5 mins)
   
   
3. Demonstrate the lab techniques described in the lab (washing of a pipette and burette) to the class (5-10 mins)
   
   
4. Give students the rest of the class to complete this lab. They should refer to the instructions in the density lab for each step of this lab before asking the teacher for support. (45 mins)
   
   
5. Give a 5-10 minute warning to students before the bell goes. Students need time to wash all glassware and clean up their station prior to leaving. If multiple groups are running out of time, you can give additional time in the following block, but everything should still be cleaned up before they leave the lab for the day. Students may need some time the following class in order to complete the calculation part of the lab. As this is the first lab of the year, I do not make them do a full report for this one. 
   
   
6. Collect lab worksheets as students complete them

If students miss this lab, you can either have them come in during lunchtime to complete it. The point of this lab is to practice using glassware in the laboratory, so it's not something that can be made up outside of the classroom.