MAKING SENSE OF THE MATERIAL WORLD: LEVEL 7

ACHIEVEMENT OBJECTIVES

Students can

investigate and explain the characteristic chemical and physical properties of one group of commonly used substances, e.g., fertilisers, foods, perfumes, fuels, cosmetics, organic polymers;

investigate and relate the physical and chemical properties of a family of substances to their use in industry, e.g., fertilisers, fuels, organic polymers;

research chemical processes involved in the manufacture of a common substance, e.g., petrochemicals, metals, ammonia, fertilisers, cosmetics;

investigate chemical effects of human activity on the environment, e.g., lead pollution, water pollution, agricultural fertilisers.

Note: Students will be extending their ideas about kinds of reactions and chemical principles at this level.

Students could be learning by:

analysing the sulphite content of preserved foods and reporting on its function, to investigate chemical processes in a common product;
researching why certain chemicals are used in the manufacture of cosmetics;
extracting oil from roses, orange skins, or cloves, using steam distillation;
testing for the presence of simple ions, such as sulphate, nitrate, iron, and copper in common fertilisers;
visiting a local paint factory to discover the common properties and chemical composition of paints;
investigating the evaporation rate of a range of perfumes by measuring changes in mass with time;
investigating reversible reactions, such as the hydration and dehydration of copper sulphate;
designing a working breathalyser which detects alcohol;
drawing a flow diagram of the chemical processes involved in the refining of iron;
considering the effect of changing temperature and pressure on dynamic equilibria when studying industrial processes, such as the production of ammonia;
debating a relevant issue, e.g., asbestosis or fluoride in water, to become aware of the effects of some chemicals on our bodies;
carrying out a fractional distillation of crude oil and analysing the products;
visiting a local chemical industrial plant;
accessing a library data base to find out information about petrochemicals;
carrying out quantitative analysis of lead in a soil sample;
analysing soil samples from various locations for anions from fertilisers.

ASSESSMENT EXAMPLES

Teachers and students could assess the students':

understanding of the basic structure of a polymer, when the students construct a model of polythene;
understanding of the link between a type of chemical and its use, when the students match, from two scrambled lists, the name of a chemical substance to its use in a chemical product;
ability to perform simple qualitative tests, when the students analyse a fertiliser for the presence of ions, such as sulphates, chlorides, nitrates, or ammonium;
research and communication skills, when the students present a short seminar on the commercial production of a shampoo;
ability to understand the chemical processes involved in an industrial process, when the students present a written report of their investigation into the production of a named metal;
ability to identify a possible effect of human activity on the environment, when the students attempt to establish the presence of phosphates in a local stream;
qualitative analysis techniques, when the students analyse the oxygen levels in a school swimming pool;
ability to interpret given data, when they analyse data on temperature and oxygen levels of a river over time.