POE LESSON PLAN

Name: Shirley, Corinne, Julia

Subject: Chemistry
Topic: pH
Grade: 8th Grade
Date: November 5, 2015
Duration: 30 minutes
Virginia Standards of Learning (SOLs):
PS.2: The student will investigate and understand the nature of matter. Key concepts include elements,
compounds, mixtures, acids, bases, and salts.
OBJECTIVES:
The student will know
The pH of water
The purpose and use of indicators to measure the pH of a sample
Different substances have different pH
The student will understand
Indicators are tools for qualitatively identifying the pH of a substance through color changes.
The student will be able to
Use a natural indicator (red cabbage juice) to qualitatively determine the pH of a sample
(Analyzing)
Create a pH scale aligned with the color changes of the red cabbage juice (Creating)
MATERIALS / RESOURCES:
Red Cabbage Juice Materials (Prepare before class at home)
Directions in JCE lesson plan supporting information
Red cabbage
Water
Large pot
Stove/hot plate
Strainer/sieve
Blender (optional)
Class Materials:
Test tubes
Beakers
NaOH (aq), 1.0M
NaHCO3 (ie. baking soda)
HCl (aq), 1.0M solution
CH3COOH (aq), 1.0 M (ie. vinegar)
Distilled water
White paper towels OR some kind of absorbent, pH neutral, white paper (ie. watercolor paper)
Droppers
Printed worksheets for each student
PowerPoint presentation (projector screen, laptop, HDMI cable)
SAFETY
The instructor will provide all students with a handout of lab safety protocol. The teacher will
review each bullet point with the students. The students will complete an oral quiz as a class.
The instructor will check for accuracy and orally review the incorrect answers. The students who
do not receive 100% will retake the quiz before the lab.
Quiz contents:
Glassware: Beakers and test tubes are made of glass and will shatter if dropped. In the case
of breakages, students will alert the instructor and vacate the area to avoid injury. The

instructor will properly dispose of the broken glass using a dustpan and wet paper towel.
The broken glass will be thrown away in the glass/sharps disposal container.
Spills: In case of spills, students will alert the instructor and vacate the area to avoid injury.
Water spills: The instructor will mop up the spill.
Chemical spills: The instructor will neutralize and dispose NaOH or HCl in the
chemical waste container (aka the sink since we will be most likely handling low
molarity NaOH/HCl).
HCl and NaOH: These chemicals should not be ingested, inhaled, squirted in the eye, or
rubbed on the skin. In the case of:
Ingestion: call poison control
Contact w/ eye: use eye-wash station
Contact w/ skin: flush with water at the sink or safety shower
Inhalation: depending on the severity, call poison control
All tripping hazards (backpacks, dangling cords, etc) must be removed from the lab area.
Students must be wearing appropriate lab attire
Long hair tied back
No loose clothing
Long pants
Close-toed shoes
Lab coat
Safety goggles
Students will act professionally and courteously to each other. This means no running, pushing,
yelling, or any other act of violence or aggression.
Since we will be preparing the cabbage juice before class, students will not be handling hot plates
or Bunsen burners.

PROCEDURES:
Introduction
Hook: Show video of baking soda/vinegar volcano experiment
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmRSQQuaJNk
Scripting: A few years ago in elementary school, we performed a baking soda/vinegar
experiment and created a volcano. We briefly touched upon the notion of neutralization
reactions. As eighth graders, we will revisit this experiment and think about the pH (=acidity) of
these reagents. Vinegar is also known as acetic acid, and baking soda is known as sodium
bicarbonate. Which reagent is an acid, and which reagent is a base? How can we qualitatively
determine the pH of a sample? Today we will be testing the pH of baking soda, vinegar, and two
other substances, NaOH and HCl!
Predict Phase
Students will be presented with the following solutions: acetic acid, baking soda, sodium
hydroxide, and hydrochloric acid. They will be asked to predict whether each of these solutions is
acidic, neutral, or basic.
Students will make all predictions prior to entering the laboratory, and we will discuss their ideas
prior to experimentation.
Students will be asked to explain their reasoning for their predictions. All hypotheses will be given
equal respect as teacher will not give insight into the correct prediction.
Observe Phase
Students will be given a solution of cabbage juice. (This will be created by the teacher prior to the
class.) They will also have access to distilled water, acetic acid, hydrochloric acid, sodium
hydroxide, and baking soda.
Students will devise their own procedure to check the pH of each substance, An example of an
acceptable procedure is as follows:

Students will first create litmus paper, using the red cabbage juice. They will have access to
paper towels and/or watercolor paper to create their pH paper.
Students will drop a small sample of substance on the litmus paper.
Observe the color change, and record change on the provided table
Repeat for each substance. For the solid baking soda, students will have to create a
solution. Distilled water can be used to create this solution.
Guiding questions:
What do the different colors indicate? Do some substances create a stronger/more
noticeable color change?
How do baking soda and vinegar, two common cooking essentials, compare? How does
this relate to the volcano experiment we observed at the beginning of class?
Could you develop a scale to predict the pH of additional substances? Could you use this
method to test other substances at home?

Explain Phase
The lesson objectives will be included on the top of the lab worksheets.
In the lab worksheet, students will collect data, analyze data, and make conclusions.
Students will report their findings in the following table:
Sample

Sample Color

Color of litmus paper

before adding sample

Color of litmus paper after

adding sample

eg. NaOH

clear

purplish blue

yellow

Students will analyze their data by creating a pH scale using a pre-made template provided by the
instructor:

Using the completed pH scale, students will formally qualitatively identify baking soda, vinegar,
hydrochloric acid, and sodium hydroxide as an acid or a base.
Once students have completed the lab worksheet, we will reconvene as a class and discuss key
concepts, data, and explanations.
Techniques the teacher will use to help students connect their exploration to the concept under
examination:
Questioning: The instructor will circulate around the classroom, provide assistance as
needed, and ask guiding questions to help students complete the lab
Modeling: For struggling learners, the instructor will model laboratory techniques as a
demonstration and explain processes through think alouds.
Higher order thinking questions which teachers will use to solicit student explanations and help
them to justify their explanations:
See lab worksheet.
Supplemental example questions:
In art, we know that yellow + blue=green, red + yellow=orange, blue +
red=purple, etc., but in this lab, the color changes do not necessarily follow this
trend. Why?

Why is measuring and monitoring pH important in life?

Key terms/concepts that will be introduced and how will they connect to students observations:
Concepts: change and balance
Humans affect the balance of acids and bases in the environment
Indicators change color in response to the acidity or basicity of the sample
Litmus paper
A analytical tool used to qualitatively identify the pH of a sample through a change
in color
Acids turn red/pink, bases turn green/yellow, and neutral substances remain blue/purple on
the cabbage juice litmus paper.
Scientific explanations/concepts are summarized in three PowerPoint slides.

Assessment
Teachers will perform ongoing informal formative assessment during experimentation. Students
will be asked questions about what theyre observing and also about their conclusions from these
findings.
The laboratory worksheet will be evaluated for completion, quality, and accuracy.
This worksheet will be aligned with the learning objectives by directly questioning what
the student knows, understands, and is able to do. These questions will be fact based (ex:
What is the pH of water?), skill based (ex: filling in the qualitative pH scale), and promote
higher-level thinking (ex: What do indicators indicate?).
The effectiveness of the homemade litmus paper will be reviewed. Did the student create litmus
paper that changes color according to the pH of the sample?
ACCOMMODATIONS:
The procedures should reflect a variety of instructional strategies to meet the needs of diverse learners (e.g.
English Language learners, special needs, academically at risk, culturally diverse, etc.).

A few additional factors are highlighted to challenge high achieving learners. These students will
mix acidic and basic substances and examine the color change of litmus paper after administering
the mixture. These students will also consider the effect of dilution on the color change of litmus
paper.
To accommodate the struggling learners, the teacher will offer additional guidance in the
development of the experimental procedure. To ensure that students are able to support each
other, the teacher will create mixed ability groups.
ELL learners will be given a list of key vocabulary words and if possible, translated text in their
native language. They will also receive additional support from the teacher during
experimentation.

RESOURCES/REFERENCES:
Lech, J, & Dounin, V. (2011). JCE Classroom Activity #110: Artistic Anthocyanins and Acid-Base
Chemistry. Journal of Chemical Education, 88: 1684-1686.
Features and levels of Inquiry
Features of Inquiry included:
Students are given guiding questions: How can we use natural indicators like cabbage juice to
qualitatively determine the pH of a substance? What are the characteristics of acids, bases, and
neutral substances?
Students are asked to collect and analyze their data regarding the pH of the four
substances.
Next, they are asked to compare their findings with results in peer reviewed research
journals.

Students are asked to communicate their findings during an end of class

discussion. Additionally, students turn in their worksheets at the end of class. This
qualifies as written communication of their conclusions.
Because several of the five essential features of inquiry are absent in this lesson, it is only
partial inquiry.
Level of Inquiry: the guiding questions are given to the students; however, they are tasked with
creating their own procedure and reaching conclusions on their own. Therefore, this lesson
qualifies as guided inquiry.