Students learn to distinguish organic from inorganic materials and practice explanations of combustion for other organic materials. They also take the unit posttest.
Guiding Question
What is the difference between materials that burn and materials that don’t burn?
Activities in this Lesson
Note: Activity 5.2 is optional depending on your knowledge of your students and learning goals. If your students can already explain what happens to matter and energy when methane burns at an atomic-molecular scale, you may want to skip these portions of activities. See the Systems and Scale Unit Read Me file for more information to consider when making this choice.
- (Optional) Activity 5.1: Molecular Models for Methane Burning (40 min)
- (Optional) Activity 5.2: Explaining Methane Burning (40 min)
- Activity 5.3: Preparing for Future Units: Organic vs. Inorganic (40 min)
- Activity 5.4: Explaining Other Examples of Combustion (50 min)
- Activity 5.5: Systems and Scale Unit Posttest (40 min)
Unit Map