Amy Hunt

ELD 376

November 23, 2014

Science Lesson 3

Project Descriptions
Students are diving into a new unit on mixtures and solutions, which is
the chemistry part of the science curriculum. We will conduct a series of lab
experiments, which will expand the students knowledge on the different types
of mixtures and solutions we can create. The class will be broken up into 5
groups, with 4 to 5 students in each group. Students will be working with salt,
water, citric acid, during each of these experiments. Each experience itself
shouldnt take more than 30-40 minutes; therefore the experiments should be
wrapped up within two or three weeks because we only see a science lab
period once a week. Each observation after the four experiments will be
recorded into their science notebooks.
Objectives:
o Students will be able to make saturated solutions with other chemicals.
o Students will be able to compare crystals of several chemicals through
multiple days of observation.
o Students will be able to dissolve two materials into one solution.
o Students will be able to dissolve a material into 50 ml of water.
In the observation section, students will record definitions of saturated,
unsaturated, mixture, and solution. Students will also record the amount of
each solution it takes to dissolve in 50 ml of water. Lastly, students will be
draw and write down the different observations they see with the crystals.

Amy Hunt
ELD 376

November 23, 2014

Science Lesson 3

Student Handout

Name: ________________________
Class: ________________________
Teacher: __________________________
Date: ________________________

Amy Hunt
ELD 376

November 23, 2014

Science Lesson 3

Dear Class,
Since we have been working with different types of science all year long,
such as physics and biology, its time to dive into the world of chemistry! We
will be conducting several experiments in order to reach saturated solutions! If
you dont know what that means at this time, youll definitely understand it by
the end of this unit! We will be working primarily with water, salt, citric acid,
and crystals. There will be directions included in this packet, which will be due
at the end of our unit on November 26, 2014. Directions will be provided, and
all observations should be recorded in your science notebooks as well!
Good luck and enjoy saturating solutions!
Sincerely,
Miss Hunt
Directions:
Materials Needed:
-Science Notebooks
-5 Plastic Cups/ 1 bottle
-1 Funnel
-2 Filter papers
-1 Spoon, 5ml
-1 Container liter

-Syringe 50 ml
-Balance
-Mass Set
-Salt
-Citric Acid
-Epsom Salts

Guiding Questions:
1.
2.
3.
4.

What is a solution? A solute?

What is a saturated solution?
Can some materials saturate quicker than others?
How can we saturate a solution into 50 ml of water?

Amy Hunt
ELD 376

November 23, 2014

Science Lesson 3

For Experiments 1-3: Salt Saturation, Citric Acid Saturation, and Mystery
Solution
1. First, lets grab the materials that you will need for this experiment.
Each student will collect the above materials that will be necessary to
complete the first three experiments. Also bring your science notebooks
for each lab.
a. For the first experiment only grab salt.
b. For the second experiment only grab citric acid.
c. For the third experiment only grab Epsom salts, which will be the
mystery solution
2. Next, each group will see how many spoons of each material is necessary
to dissolve into 50 ml of water.
3. Take the liter container and fill it with water. Then take the syringe
and fill it all the way up, and pour it into one cup and label it water.
4. Use the syringe a second time and fill it with 50ml of water and place it
in the bottle. This bottle will be used to saturate the material in.
5. Then, take one spoon of the material and pour it into the bottle. Shake
until it dissolves.
6. Continue adding spoonfuls of the material until you can no longer
dissolve the material anymore (meaning that there are remains of the
material at the bottom of the bottle after shaken). Remember to count
the number of spoonfuls you have and record it in your science
notebooks!
7. Once you cant dissolve the solution anymore, take the filter paper and
funnel and pour the contents of the bottle into the funnel, which
dispenses into an empty cup underneath. (This will leave the excess
material behind). Answer the questions below in your journal:
a. What happened to the material when you put it in the water?
b. Where is the material now?
8. Now you will weigh the cup of water with the cup of the solution using
the balance. One cup will be heavier than the other, therefore you will
need to use the mass sets and add weight to the water cup until they are
even.
9. Add up the mass set blocks and that is the number of grams of the
material it takes to dissolve in 50 ml of water! Record this number in
your science notebooks.

Amy Hunt
ELD 376

November 23, 2014

Science Lesson 3

10. Lastly, take some of the solution you created and pour it into an
evaporating disk so that it covers the bottom of the disk. Then place it
next to the windowsill. Do this for each of the three materials and
record observations each day of what you see happening inside the dish.
11. Over the next two-three weeks while we complete these three
experiments we will also be observing each of the new disks that we
make for salt, Epsom salts, and citric acid to see what types of crystals
they make. Record the following questions into your notebook:
a. Which of the three chemicals we tested is most soluble in water?
b. Which is least soluble?
Experiment 4: Observing the crystals
Everyday we will write down observations, as well as draw pictures of the
different crystals that we created (Epsom salts, Citric Acid, and Salt) in our
science notebooks!
At the end of two weeks we will come to conclusions about the different
crystals. Do the crystals of materials have different patterns and shapes?
You will be graded on how accurately you answer the questions within the
packet, your observations of the crystals over the two weeks, and how well you
can use the vocabulary mentioned throughout the unit.

Amy Hunt
ELD 376

November 23, 2014

Science Lesson 3
Chemical Data Sheet for Mystery Solution Lab (#3)

Challenge: Can you identify the mystery chemical?

Here is a table of properties for five chemicals:
Chemical Name

Appearance

Amount needed to
Saturate 50ml of water

Sodium Chloride

Small white grains

14 grams

Baking Soda

Small white grains

3 grams

Epsom Salts

Small white grains

48 grams

Alum

Small white grains

6 grams

Citric Acid

Small white grains

60 grams

Record your observations about the mystery chemical.

Amy Hunt
ELD 376

November 23, 2014

Science Lesson 3

Resources:
For further information on mixtures and solutions here are a list of websites to
explore!
The handout above is taken from FOSS textbook for full option science system.
This website is a quick and easy website that students can read and
understand. There are multiple definitions included in this page, such as
mixture, solution, and evaporation. There are also pictures included, which
makes this website easy for students because if they dont understand the
definition they can look at the picture as a clue or guide. There are also
examples of how to separate mixtures and solutions. This website is a good
beginning website, when youre just starting the unit, because students can
read this on their own and have some understanding of what theyll be working
on in class.
This is a really great interactive website! This can be used with the
Smartboard, where students can come up to the board and play this interactive
game. It would be a really great website to use in the elementary level,
because kids would find enjoyment picking objects from a junkyard and its
right on their level. Once youve gone over the difference between mixtures
and solutions, this game is a perfect refresher. Students have to drag and drop
one the object in the junkyard. Then they have to click if they think it is a
mixture or a solution when mixed with water, and then you dunk the object in
the water and it tells you if youre right or wrong. There are 14 objects in the
junkyard that students can choose from. The item that you pick gets analyzed,
and it tells you how the content that the object is made of. I highly
recommend using it in the classroom!