Investigative study in chemistry

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Investigative study in chemistry
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Investigative Study (IS)

• Conducted in groups of 3 to 5 students
• Provide students with opportunities to design and
  conduct an investigation with a view to solving
  an authentic problem
• Students will learn about scientific processes
  and how these processes work to generate new
  information

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Aims of investigative study

• Students can
• apply their knowledge and understanding of
  chemistry
• develop and apply various practical skills
• develop skills such as creativity, critical
  thinking, communication, problem-solving
• develop understanding on nature of science

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Before conducting IS, students should be guided
on

• How to work together in a group to develop an
  investigation plan and solve a problem
• How to define a researchable topic
• How to search for relevant information from
  various sources
• How to write an investigation plan
• How to write a laboratory report or make a poster
  for presentation

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• For learning and teaching
• Topic XVI in NSS Chemistry curriculum
• For assessment

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Implementation timetable of SBA
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Investigative study (20 hours)

• Design and conduct a first-hand investigation

1. Design
2. Process
3. Report
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Using the Allocated Lesson Time (20 hrs)
Double period (2 x 40 mins 1.3 hr) 2.67 hrs
/week 7.5 weeks
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Using post-examination school days
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Implementation schedule
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Try-out Making Your Own Acid-Base Indicator

• Tasks
• Extract coloured pigments from plant materials
• Use the extract as acid-base indicator and find
  the concentration of alkali in oven cleaner

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(No Transcript)
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Finding information and planning
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Extraction of coloured pigments
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Choosing suitable indicators
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Choosing suitable indicators
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Find the concentration of alkali in oven cleaner
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Try-out Chemical cells

• Task
• 1. Make a chemical cell from household chemicals
  and materials
• 2. Test the performance of the chemical cell

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This chemical cell consists of 9 pairs of metal
couples. Its voltage is between 2 2.5V.
Coin Cell made by aluminium foil and coins.
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More examples

• Salt content of snack

• Gravimetric method
• Titrimetric methods
• Volhard method back titration of Ag with KSCN
  using Fe2 as indicator
• Mohr method titration with Ag using K2CrO4 as
  indicator

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Self-heating food/drink container
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Getting copper from its ore

• To extract copper metal from a given ore sample
• To isolate product
• To calculate extraction efficiency
• To calculate cost of the method

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Appropriateness of the Topic

• Does the activity address something worth
  learning?
• Is the topic socially relevant, interesting or
  motivating?
• Is the cognitive demand appropriate?
• Do students have the required prior knowledge and
  adequate skills?
• Are resources such as journal articles, reference
  books, chemicals and apparatus available?
• Is the time available sufficient for the
  activity?
• Are there any safety concerns?
• Can laboratory technicians and others help in its
  implementation?

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Your concerns

• 10 groups, 10 different projects
• Scale of investigation
• Laboratory safety
• Clash with investigation of other science
  subjects such as Physics
• Collaboration with lab tech and other teachers