Systems and Scale | Activity 5.4

Target Student Performance

Students explain how matter moves and changes and how energy changes when other organic fuels burn, including (a) wood burning in a fireplace, (b) propane burning in a gas grill, and (c) octane burning in an internal combustion engine.

Resources Provided

Recurring Resources

Three Questions Handout (Color Version) (1 per student)
Three Questions Handout (BW Version) (1 per student)
Questions, Connections, Questions Student Reading Strategy
Learning Tracking Tool for Systems and Scale (1 per student)
Assessing the Learning Tracking Tool for Systems and Scale
(Optional) Big Idea Probe: Fill 'Er Up
(Optional) Assessing the Big Idea Probe: Fill 'Er Up

Setup

Print enough copies of the three of 5.4 Other Organic Materials Readings and 5.4 Explaining Combustion Worksheets for each student to have one reading and the corresponding worksheet. In this activity, your students may use the Three Questions Explanation Checklist on the back of the Three Questions Handout. Be sure to have this available to students, and see the notes in the Modifications at the end of the Activity for ideas about how to use it. Prepare a computer and projector to display the PPT.

Directions

1. Use the instructional model to show students where they are in the course of the unit.

Show slide 2 of the 5.4 Other Examples of Combustion PPT.

2. Have students read through the numbered questions on the Three Questions poster.

Display slide 3 and 4 of the 5.4 Other Examples of Combustion PPT. Students will need the Three Questions 11x17 Poster (or Handout) questions to help guide their explanations for the organic materials.

3. Have students complete the reading and corresponding explanation worksheet for one other organic materials.

Display slide 5 of the 5.4 Other Examples of Combustion PPT.

Give each student a copy of one of the 5.4 Other Organic Materials Readings. About 1/3 of the students should read about each organic material.
students read using the Questions, Connections, Questions Student Reading Strategy for a discussion of tools and classroom strategies to support sensemaking of readings. See the Questions, Connections, Questions Reading Strategy Educator Resource document for information about how to engage students with this strategy.
Have students complete the 5.4 Explaining Combustion Worksheet for the organic materials they read about.

Modifications: Students can work in pairs or groups with those who have the same organic material.

4. Have students who focused on the same organic material form a group.

In their groups, have students discuss their answers and come to consensus about their explanations and answers to the questions.

Students can use the Three Questions Explanation Checklist on the back of the Three Questions Handout to check that their explanation includes each of the parts (matter movement, matter change, energy change, and matter movement) and answers the prompt in a cohesive way.

5. Have students share their explanations for their organic material.

Decide how to have students share the explanation for their organic material.

Students who focused on the same organic material can present to the whole class. They could make a poster to share.
Students can form groups of three with students who focused on each of three organic materials.

6. Have students discuss the similarities and differences between the organic materials.

Display slide 6-7 of the 5.4 Other Examples of Combustion PPT.

Show the animations on slide 7 and 8 for the combustion of propane and octane (note: there is not an animation for cellulose).
Have a class discussion about the similarities and differences between the combustion of octane, propane, and cellulose. Students should recognize that the chemical change is similar in each cases and that the rules about atoms and energy always apply.

7. Have students write a class explanation for how organic materials burn.

Display slide 8 of the 5.4 Other Examples of Combustion PPT.

Have students construct a class explanation for what happens when organic materials burn.
Make sure students address the key numbered questions of the Three Questions 11x17 Poster in their organic materials explanations. Additionally, have students include how combustion is alike for all organic materials and is possibly different for other organic materials.
Students can use the checklist on the back of the Three Questions Handout to check that the class explanation includes each of the parts (matter movement, matter change, energy change, and matter movement) and answers the prompt in a cohesive way.

8. Have a discussion to complete the Learning Tracking Tool for this activity.

Show slide 9 of the 5.4 Other Examples of Combustion PPT.

Have students take out their Learning Tracking Tool for Systems and Scale.
Have students write the activity name, "Explaining Other Examples" and their role “Explainer” in the first column.
Have a class discussion about what students did during the activity. When you come to consensus as a class, have students record the answer in the second column of the tool.
Have a class discussion about what students figured out during the activity that will help them in answering the unit driving question. When you come to consensus as a class, have students record the answer in the third column of the tool.
Have a class discussion about what students are wondering now that will help them move towards answering the unit driving question. Have students record the questions in the fourth column of the tool.
Have students review their Learning Tracking Tool to reflect on what they figured out across the unit.
Example Learning Tracking Tool

Activity Chunk

What Did We Do?

What Did We Figure Out?

What Are We Asking Now?

Explaining Other Examples

Explainer

Apply what was figured out about ethanol burning to explain other examples of organic materials burning.

The chemical change of combustion is similar for all organic materials. The organic material combines with oxygen to produce carbon dioxide and water. The chemical energy in the organic material is transformed into heat and light energy.

Why is combustion of organic materials important in the world?

9. (Optional) Have students complete the Big Idea Probe: Fill 'Er Up for the final time.

If you decided to use the Big Idea Probe: Fill 'Er Up, have students complete it and share their ideas again. Have students discuss how their ideas have changed throughout the unit. See Assessing the Big Idea Probe: Fill 'Er Up for suggestions about how to use the Big Idea Probe.

Students explore the role of combustion in their home or school and the sources of electricity in their state, and they design an infographic to inform their community of the useful role of combustion and its environmental impact.

Guiding Question

What role does natural gas combustion play in our community and what are its environmental impacts?

Combustion in our Community Activity

Activity 1: Gathering Information
Activity 2: Designing an Infographic

Differentiation

Modifications

Have students select which fuel they would like to complete in step 4.

The checklist on the back of the Three Questions Handout can be used to scaffold students’ explanations in many ways.

Students refer to the checklist as they are constructing their explanations.
Students use the checklist as they are sharing and revising their explanations with a partner.
Students use the checklist to critique and revise their final explanations.
Students use the checklist to create and/or evaluate a whole-class consensus explanation.

We recommend using this checklist with a gradual release. As students improve in their ability to write their own explanations, they may rely on the checklist less.

Tips

Emphasize the similarities among the explanations of all organic materials burning. There are different fuel molecules, but the same kinds of atoms, bonds, reactions, and forms of energy. The same rules and patterns apply to all examples of burning organic materials.

Extending the Learning

Have students read the articles and/or watch the videos listed in the Digging Deeper section of the 5.4 Other Organic Materials Readings.

Have students construct a model that shows the combustion of other materials with the molecular models and use those models to write balanced chemical equations. Have students explain combustion of other organic materials that they choose. They can find structural formulas for many organic materials on the Internet.