Gas Laws and how they relate to

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Gas Laws and how they relate to Scuba Diving
Sheila Christel Sheilaruns_at_AOL. COM
Cranston West High School, Cranston RI
Steve Rubenstein Rubest_at_centennialsd.org
William Tennent High School, Warminster, PA
To be used as a practical introduction to the gas
laws.
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Introduction

• These units will cover topics related to Gay
  Lussac Law,
• Boyles Law and Charles Law.

• They will enhance these traditional units through
  molecular
• Simulations.

• Students will have the opportunity to observe
  molecules in
• Motion as opposed to conceptualizing this
  movement.
• This simulation applies the practical application
  of scuba diving
• To stimulate student interest in the topic.

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Intended Audience
This unit is intended for students enrolled in
College Prep Chemistry or higher. This unit will
satisfy many State Standards 1.Apply concepts
of models as a method to predict and understand
science and technology. 2. Assess and apply
patterns in science and technology. 3. Analyze
scale as a way of relating concepts and ideas to
one another by some measure. 4. Analyze and
use the technological design process to solve
problems. 5. Apply concepts about the structure
and properties of matter. 6. Apply and analyze
energy sources and conversions and their
relationship to heat and temperature. 7.
Apply the principles of motion and force.
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• While the unit will take additional time, the
  visualization of
• Molecular interactions, the real life
  application, and the inquiry
• Approach all justify the use of extra time.
• Adoption of this unit will provide a clear basis
  for understanding
• For all students.
• This unit will enhance what is presently done in
  the classroom and
• Is meant to be hands on though, can be adapted
  for use as an
• Instructional tool using a projector.
• This unit is intended to peak student interest
  and curiosity leading to
• a better appreciation of nature.

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Adjustment/Adaptation
This introduction could readily be used to
introduce the topic higher level students both
they an higher level students will respond to the
relevant and interesting nature of the material.
If a single computer with linkage to a large
format projection Device is available, the
simulations could be used. The Students would
be able to obtain the data from a single
Presentation. Independent research using the
web would Distributing hard copies of the
articles alternative Assignments would need to
be found for the group Extension research
projects using VMDL.
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Placement in the Curriculum
This unit fits very nicely into the larger
curriculum of the science Program. It seeks to
have students understand nature in a Fundamental
way through the interaction of atoms and
molecules. Simulations will explain, at the
molecular level, what occurs in Wet labs. This
simulation is not meant to replace wet
labs. Students should have prior knowledge of
matter, elements, compounds, phases of matter
and metric units. Since this unit is meant to
introduce gas laws, prior experiences should not
be needed to use this simulation successfully.
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Time
This introduction could be accomplished in
approximately Days depending on the schedule
followed in you school. Several of the suggested
projects could be eliminated to save Time if that
were desired.
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Resources

• High School Text
• http//www.howstuffworks.com/question101.htm
• http//www.pilkguns.com/scuba.htm
• http//www.space.gc.ca/csa_sectors/human_presence/
  
• astronauts/overview/looking/neemo/youth/gases/nit
  ro
• _abs/default.asp
• http//gaia.fc.peachnet.edu/tutor/Basics-of-KMT.ht
  ml

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Electronic Equipment

• 200 Mega hertz processor
• 32 migabites or more is preferrable
• PC or Mac computer(s)
• 1 computer with projector and large screen for
  instructional
• use only or,
• 1 computer for every 2-4 students.

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Goals and Objectives

• Students will be able to draw and explain the
  difference
• between the molecules of a solid, a liquid
  and a gas.
• Students will be able to draw the difference
  between, a gas
• dissolved in liquid, at depth, in the ocean vs
  upon ascent at
• lower pressure and relate this to biological
  processes during
• scuba diving.
• 3. Students will be able to verbally and in
  written form, describe
• the interactions between pressure,
  temperature and volume of
• a gas.

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Goals and Objectives
4. Students will demonstrate how a gas comes out
of solution when pressure is reduced using a
soda bottle. 5. Students will demonstrate a
method of collecting air through water
displacement to measure the amount of air in one
breath and use a formula to calculate the
working capacity of their lungs. 6. Students
will demonstrate their increased knowledge of
scuba diving and its dangers through reading
supplementary materials and reporting on
their findings. 7. Students will demonstrate
their ability to simulate molecular motions
and interactions through the use of the VMDL
program and use it to make predictions about
macroscopic events.
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Assessment Embedded assessments Students will
answer a variety of questions as they proceed
through the unit. Questions range from
description and drawings of observations to
hypothesis formation to data analysis.
Alternatively, more formal lab write Up could be
required for some sections. Printed versions of
the questions will facilitate their
responses. Homework Homework will include
reading and responding to Questions from their
texts, writing up some portions of the lab Work
and written responses to supplementary articles
that they will Obtain from the internet.
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Extensions of Learning Students will be
demonstrate their understanding of the effects of
the solubility principles for gasses by
developing programs to illustrate this using
alternative VMDL programs or by manipulating data
within the program we have suggested. Formal
Assesment As this unit is intended as an
introduction to the gas laws, formal Testing on
the concepts would probably be delayed until the
unit is Completed. Brief quizzes should test
student knowledge of the unit objectives. Brief
research projects from net sources are suggested
in the project.