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OpenSciEd Chemistry + Earth & Space Unit 5: Energy from Chemical & Nuclear Reactions Student Edition
Author(s): NATIONAL CENTER FOR
Edition: 1
Copyright: 2024
Pages: 128
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OpenSciEd High School addresses all high school NGSS standards. This comprehensive science curriculum empowers students to question, design, investigate, and solve the world around them.
- Phenomenon Based - Centered around exploring phenomena or solving problems
- Driven by Student Questions - Storyline based on students’ questions and ideas
- Grounded in Evidence - Incremental building and revision of ideas based on evidence
- Collaborative - class and teacher figure out ideas together
- Equitable - Builds a classroom culture that values ideas and learning of all
The OpenSciEd model uses a storyline approach, introducing phenomena that anchors storylines developing disciplinary core ideas, concepts, and science/engineering practices. Students are encouraged to dive deep into key points and solve problems through five activities.
C.5 Energy from Chemical & Nuclear Reactions: How can chemistry help us evaluate fuels and transportation options to benefit the Earth and our communities?
How can chemistry help us evaluate fuels and transportation options to benefit the Earth and our communities? This unit is designed to help students figure out ways to address climate change, first introduced in the first unit of the course. Students engage with information about different fuels used for transportation. They figure out what is happening in combustion reactions in gasoline, diesel, and biofuel engines, but are unsure where the energy is actually coming from. These use magnet marbles and simulations to figure it out and eventually quantify how much energy is released. They shift their focus toward engineering considerations and consider fuel options that are not carbon-based: electric vehicles, hydrogen, and uranium. They conclude the unit by evaluating a variety of fuels and other transportation solutions for a specific transportation goal. In doing so they develop nuanced arguments for a mix of transportation options to help address environmental, safety, and other concerns.
Student Procedures
Lesson 1: What different fuels have we used, and do we currently use, for transportation?
Lesson 2: What is happening to the fuels inside the engine to make the vehicle move?
Lesson 3: How can diesel engines be working so differently from gasoline engines?
Lesson 4: Why do we need to put energy into the system to start the reaction?
Lesson 5: How and why is energy released when we burn carbon-based fuels?
Lesson 6: How does the amount of energy we put into the reaction system compare to the energy we get out?
Lesson 7: How can fuels release different amounts of energy when they all have bonds breaking and forming?
Lesson 8: How does our understanding of carbon-based fuels inform our decision-making?
Lesson 9: Where is the energy coming from (and what are some trade-offs) when we use batteries to power vehicles?
Lesson 10: How can we use hydrogen as a fuel and what are the impacts?
Lesson 11: Where is the energy coming from when we use uranium as a fuel?
Lesson 12: How can our knowledge of fuel trade-offs support our evaluation of future rocket fuels?
Lesson 13: Why do we use some fuels rather than others?
Lesson 14: How do we decide on the best transportation options for our future?
Lesson 15: How can we make transportation decisions to benefit our communities and Earth?
References
Diesel Engine Operation
Energy Graphs
Electronegativities and Bonds
Bond Energy Cards
Bond Energies
Hot-Cold Pack Instructions
Comparing Different Batteries
Measuring Voltage Procedure
Electrolyte Current Data
Ion Concentrations
Hydrogen Fuel Cells
Atmosphere Gas Data
Submarine Nuclear Reactors
Space Launch Impact
Rocket Comparisons
Transportation Options
Readings
Nuclear Force 121
NATIONAL CENTER FOR
OpenSciEd® was launched to improve the supply of and address the demand for high-quality, open-source, full course science instructional materials. The goals of OpenSciEd are to ensure any science teacher, anywhere, can access and download freely available, high quality, locally adaptable materials. Though the goal of providing full course materials is still a couple of years away, OpenSciEd is releasing six-week units of instruction as they are completed and externally evaluated as quality by Achieve’s Science Peer Review Panel. OpenSciEd classroom materials are an open education resource and therefore free to download, copy, use, and/or modify. You can download the instructional materials free of charge at Access Materials page on the OpenSciEd website. In an effort to lower barriers for all educators to use OpenSciEd, Kendall Hunt and OpenSciEd have partnered to sell high quality printed books, professional learning and lab kits.