Grade level

/subject

Acids and Bases Unit

Household Acids and Bases
Stephanie Dickerson
th
11 Grade Chemistry

Context
description

The students need to have an understanding of solutions and that they can be acidic,
basic or neutral based on their composition. This prior knowledge has been
previously assessed with a quiz over solutions as well as the students completed a lab
that involved making solutions, performing dilutions and solving solution based
problems. Given that my students seemed to have trouble with the introductory
material gone over the previous day, I decided to give them homework to go home
and practice manipulating the equations associated with acids and bases. To reinforce
this I designed my bell work to feed off the homework to give my students the
confidence they needed to complete the lesson for the day. Therefore, the lesson was
designed to connect the information they had learned the day before to a real world
application to help reinforce the knowledge they were being given.

Standards met

Properties of acids and bases and the ranges of the pH scale were introduced in
middle school. In chemistry, the structural features of molecules are explored to
further understand acids and bases. Acids often result when hydrogen is covalently
bonded to an electronegative element and is easily dissociated from the rest of the
molecule to bind with water to form a hydronium ion (H3O+). The acidity of an
aqueous solution can be expressed as pH, where pH can be calculated from the
concentration of the hydronium ion. Bases are likely to dissociate in water to form a
hydroxide ion. Acids can react with bases to form a salt and water. Such
neutralization reactions can be studied quantitatively by performing titration
experiments. Detailed instruction about the equilibrium of acids and bases and the
concept of Brnsted-Lowry and Lewis acids and bases will not be assessed at this
level.
The overarching concept of this lesson is the comprehension of acids, bases, their
composition and manipulating acid base equations to solve for pH, pOH, hydronium
concentration and hydroxide concentration. This lesson addresses all of these in a
hands on manner and follows the introduction to the material given the day before.
The rationale for this lesson was to relate a chemistry topic to something students
encounter on a daily basis.
The students will be able to:
Identify the pH of a substance based on the color of pH paper
Calculate pOH from pH
Calculate [H3O+] from pH
Calculate [OH-] from pOH
Calculate pH from molarity
Identify substances as acidic, basic or neutral
pH- power of hydrogen, an index of basicity or acidity, related to hydronium
concentration
pOH- power of hydroxide, related to hydroxide concentration
Hydronium Ion- consists of a protonated water molecule and a component of all
aqueous acids, carries positive electric charge

Concept
addressed

Objectives

Academic
language

Learning
strategies

Materials
needed

Acids and Bases Unit

Household Acids and Bases
Stephanie Dickerson
Hydroxide- consists of oxygen and hydrogen covalently bonded to each other,
carries negative electric charge
Logarithm- quantity representing the power to which a fixed number must be
raised resulting in an answer, necessary to solve pH problems
Molarity- the concentration of a solution, mol/L
Acidic- a solution with a higher hydronium concentration than hydroxide
concentration, between the range of 0<x<7
Basic- a solution with a higher hydroxide concentration than hydronium
concentration, between the range of 7<x<14
Neutral- a solution that has equal concentrations of hydronium and hydroxide, on
the pH scale this solution is a 7.

These language demands were supported by the material covered the day before and
a handout that the students took guided notes on.
Direct Instruction- this strategy will be used at the beginning of class with the
bell work, at the beginning of the lab to explain the instructions and after the lab
to clarify the requirements of the post lab
Small Group Instruction- this strategy will be used as I move from group to
group to check the progress of the individual groups
Cooperative learning- the group work component of the lesson was the actual lab
itself
Discourse
o Dialogic- this will the first method used to bring students back to topic if
I think they have strayed too far
o Univocal- if the dialogic method does not work, then univocal discourse
will be need to give students a push in the right direction.
Individual Work- the bellwork will be individual as well as if the students do not
finish the post lab questions, they will complete it at home individually
Real Life Connection- the substances being used are items that the students see
around their own households or items that they ingest
1. 32 fl oz. Dranio
2. 32 fl oz. Ammonia
3. 32 fl. oz. Bleach
4. 24 fl. oz. Vinegar
5. 15 fl. oz. Orange Juice
6. 20 fl. oz. Sprite
7. 16 fl. oz. Water
8. 16 fl. oz. Milk
9. 48 labeled 6 oz small cups (6 of each substance)
10. 6 rolls pH paper
11. 12 Pieces of Paper Towel (2 per group)
12. Safety Goggles (class set)
13. 30 Copies Household Acids and Bases Lab
Pre-Class Setup: The following steps need to be completed prior to lab
1. Label the 48 cups with the substances the students will be testing. (6
cups for each substance)

Instructional
outline

Acids and Bases Unit

Household Acids and Bases
Stephanie Dickerson
2. Organize the cups into 8 groups by the substance
3. Place the bottle of the substance behind each group to display for the
students
4. Place the 6 rolls of pH paper on the table with the cups
5. Place class set of safety goggles on table
6. The morning of the lab, pour enough of each substance in the
appropriate cups. (2-3oz)
Engagement/Introduction/Hook (5 min): The bellwork assignment at the
beginning of the lesson will be the introduction. The lab handouts will be distributed
as the students walk in and verbal instructions will be given for them to begin on the
bellwork. Once everyone is seated, I will tell them they have 5 minutes to complete
the problems.
Instructional sequence:
Segment 1 (10 min): Once the time has passed, I will ask volunteers to come
to the board, copy the work they completed and explain the process they
used to get the answer. (look for key words such as hydronium, hydroxide,
pH, pOH. If words are not used, ask prompting questions such as What
concentration did you use to calculate pH?) After each question, I will ask if
there are any questions to make sure students understand the examples.
Transition 1 (5 min): Ask students to read the instructions for the lab
silently. Verbally explain what will be doing for the day and go over class
behavior expectations. Explain 2 people will come and get materials for each
table.
Segment 2 (20 min): Once instruction is finished, have the 2 students come
to the materials table and retrieve one of each of the eight samples. Make
sure the students take enough safety goggles for each person in the group and
a roll of pH paper. (closely monitor that students are wearing their goggles
since we are working with bleach and ammonia). As the students are
completing the lab, move from group to group to check on the progression of
the lab.
Questions: What pH reading did you get for (substance)? Is this what you
expected? Do you think this substance is basic or acidic? What does this
mean about the hydronium and hydroxide concentration?
If groups seem to be off task, linger for longer moments of time to make sure
your students know you are watching them and are aware they are off task.
Transition 2 (5 min): As students begin to wind down and complete the lab,
instruct the two members of the group who did not retrieve the materials for
the lab to return the samples, goggles and pH paper to the materials table and
make sure their area is clean. Instruct the rest of the class to begin reading
the post lab questions.

Acids and Bases Unit

Household Acids and Bases
Stephanie Dickerson

Modifications

Assessments of
learning

Analyzing
teaching

Segment 3 (10 min): Before class is over with, go over the results of the lab
to make sure everyone has accurate data. (the pH of each substance). Ask for
volunteers to give the classification of each substance (acidic, basic or
neutral). Have students work individually on the calculations for each of the
substances.
Closure: Instruct the class to complete the remainder of the lab for homework to turn
in the following class period.
For this lesson, the only necessary modification was the proper disposal of the
chemicals being used. Students were using ammonia and bleach and these two
substances should not be poured down the sink together in nonventilated areas. Other
than this, no other modifications are needed.
Formative assessments: this will not be given until the very end of the unit when all
necessary material has been covered. The worksheet could be considered a type of
formative assessment as well because the students receive a grade for completing it
Summative assessments: this will take place at the beginning of the lesson with the
bellwork. I will have a volunteer student come to the board and display their work
for the class and explain how they got the answer. Students will have the opportunity
to ask questions and have any confusing concepts clarified. This will also take place
as I walk around the classroom and ask students questions pertaining to the
information they are gathering.
Successes- the lab itself did seem to interest the students. It related to something they
know and wasnt too difficult for them to complete. I think I did a good job with time
management and no part of the lesson felt rushed. My students had plenty of time to
ask questions and worked pretty efficiently. After talking to my placement advisor,
she said I did a very good job with my wait time during the bellwork review.
Weaknesses- classroom management. I tried my best to actively move around the
classroom and touch each group, to not stay in one spot for too long and try to keep
everyone on task. I would leave one group after I made sure they were on task and
two seconds after I walk away, they would be off task again. My supervisor even
made a comment about one student being off task after I checked on him. You really
do have to have eyes in the back of your head to see and stay on top of everything
that is going wrong in your class. I, personally, felt that the students were just out of
control. This could be because of how my peers and I acted when I was in grade
school, so I have a high expectation of appropriate school behaviors and the level of
respect that should be given to the classroom and teacher. We came in class, sat
down, and were quiet and did our work. I think their behavior can be attributed to my
mentors lack of discipline and the fact that they do what they can get away with.
Our management styles definitely differ and its been an issue for the duration of my
placement. Everyone got finished with the lab, but I dont think things ran as
efficiently as they could have.
Improvement- Next time, I would definitely assign group roles like my initial
instincts told me. I think this would have reduced the chaos in the classroom and

Acids and Bases Unit

Household Acids and Bases
Stephanie Dickerson
urged everyone to participate. I mentioned it in an above question that I should have
also scrambled the groups around rearranging students in to less social groups. The
final change I would make is to have four checkpoints throughout the course of the
lab. For each checkpoint, I would ask a different student in the group to answer my
question. This would be a good way to make sure everyone is participating in the lab.
If the student cannot answer my question, they will get points deducted from a
participation grade that I would have associated with the lab.