INSTRUCTIONAL SOFTWARE

Name: Amber Gallimore

Software Title: PhET Interactive Simulations/ Gas Properties
URL: https://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulation/legacy/gas-properties
Function(s) of Instructional Software (check all that apply):
Drill and Practice

Tutorial

Simulation

Instructional Game

e-books/e-references

Features of the Software (check all that apply):

Assessment Monitoring/Reporting (Keeps track of student data and/or generates reports for
the teacher)
Allows teacher to create customized lessons for students
Multi-user or
collaborative functions with others in class
Multi-user or collaborative functions with others
beyond local class
Accessible to students beyond the school day
Accessible via mobile
devices
Multiple languages
Safety, security, and/or privacy features
Strengths of the Software: Interactive simulation uses real life items, such as, a box with little
man, pressure gage, thermometer, and air pump, and allows students to see all three levels of
chemistry at one time: the symbolic level, macroscopic level, and sub-microscopic levels.
Suggestions for Improvement: Would like software to develop questions that pop up as students
are working to check for understanding.
Standards Addressed:
SC5. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about the Kinetic Molecular Theory to model
atomic and molecular motion in chemical and physical processes.
c. Develop and use models to quantitatively, conceptually, and graphically represent the
relationships between pressure, volume, temperature, and number of moles of a gas.
Grade Level/Content Area(s): 10th grade, High School/ General Chemistry
Blooms Level of Critical Thinking Required (check all that apply)
Remembering

Understanding

Applying

Analyzing

Evaluating

Creating

Description of how to implement in the class:

The overall lesson is identified as at least a LoTi level 3. Arguments can be made for a level of 4.
Students will begin the class period by doing a warm-up. Individually, students will write down
everything they know about pressure, volume, temperature, and moles of gas in a closed system in
a KWL chart. After five minutes, the instructor will call on three-four students to share what they
wrote down. Those students will be asked to write down their information in the KNOW column
of the KWL chart on the Smart Board. Next, students as a class will watch a short YouTube video of
a person popping a lid off of a water bottle. Students will be asked to make observations from the
video and then write down what they want to know about pressure, volume, temperature, and
moles of gas in a closed system in the WANT column on their papers. A few different students
will come up and write what they have in their WANT columns on the Smart Board.
The exploration activity will require students to have access to iPads or computers with Adobe
Flash Player. Students will use a PhET Interactive Simulation on Gas Properties. Students will be
asked to work with a partner of their choice to come up with an explanation for why the lid popped
off the water bottle in the opening, real-life video. Students will assume a scientist role when they
research and then will take on the role as science lecturers when they present. Students will have
1

INSTRUCTIONAL SOFTWARE
freedom in how they do this with the only following requirements: 1. They must utilize the
simulation to aid in their research and complete a brief quiz to be handed in for a formative grade,
before they work on the presentation. They have to have their quiz grade, before they begin on
presentations. Quizzes will be completed in pairs. This quiz will help teacher to see where my
students are in their understanding. Using the quizzes, the instructor will determine which groups
need One-On-One attention and facilitation in their research.
2. Students must produce a short presentation for the class, explaining the relationship between
pressure, volume, temperature, and moles of gas in a closed system. The students must reference
what happened in the simulation when any of the above variables was changed. They must also
explain what happened at the atomic level in the real-life video of the water bottle lid popping off
in the opening video. Students must apply their knowledge to explain other real-world situations,
such as, (filling of a balloon, popping of a tire, diffusion of perfume/air fresheners, etc.)
3. Students must also show the relationships using pictures at the macro and sub-microscopic
levels (similar to simulation and water bottle) and symbolic levels (graph and math).
This lesson could take up to three class periods. The exploration activity consists of students selfpacing themselves in a partner learning activity. While students work on this, the instructor will
walk around the room helping when needed, and after the quizzes are graded, the instructor will
spend the most time with the groups with the lowest scores and will be guided in their research,
using a guided worksheet to aid them in their presentation and research. Groups with scores B+ or
higher will not get the guided worksheet. After the groups present their presentations, they will
receive a rubric with their score. This will be a counted as a formative grade. These scores will help
to inform the Explain aspect of the lesson where the students takes notes and engage in a teacherled lesson. After the lesson, the teacher and students will discuss any misconceptions that may
have been present in the presentations or address questions the students have. After the
discussion, the students will take a quiz over the relationships between pressure, volume,
temperature, and moles of gas in a closed system. The quiz will be a formative grade. Scores will be
analyzed for if the lesson objectives were met or not. The class average would need to be B- or
higher to meet instructors expectations. As a closer to the lesson, students will complete their
KWL chart, filling in the Learned column. Students can replace their pre-quiz score in the
gradebook with their post quiz score, if it is higher. *An enrichment activity for those students, who
finish with their presentations early and need to be pushed to higher levels, will have an activity to
complete. In short, the activity will consist of them making predictions, a hypothesis, and designing
an experiment to investigate the problem assigned using what they learned in the lesson. Students
will use all levels of Blooms Taxonomy in this activity.