Module 2: Chemistry Core Ideas

What is this in this module?

Overview

Three-dimensional learning (3DL) originated from a consensus report from the National Research Council entitled A Framework for K-12 Science Education (the Framework). Based on the best available research on student learning in the sciences, the Framework put forth a vision for science education in which curricula would be restructured as scaffolded progressions for each of the three dimensions: disciplinary core ideas (fundamental concepts that underpin a discipline), scientific and engineering practices (what scientists do with their knowledge), and crosscutting concepts (tools or lenses used disciplines for making sense of phenomena).

The Chemistry Core Ideas are explanatory and generative concepts fundamental to chemistry which underlie the topics that are typically taught in a general chemistry class. A team of chemists at MSU identified what they viewed as the four core ideas of chemistry at the undergraduate level (items 1-4 below). We are adding a 5th Core Idea of the “Particulate nature of matter”. This Core Idea is foundational to understanding chemical reactions in terms of collisions between particles and rearrangements of atoms into new molecules. It underlies the conceptual basis of the Law of Conservation of Mass, the properties of gasses, Collision Theory and much more. The particulate nature of matter is a fundamental component of the disciplinary Core Ideas articulated in the Next Generation Science Standards. Our next module will focus on the science practices

Scientific Practices Chemistry Core Ideas Crosscutting Concepts
  1. Asking questions
  2. Developing and using models
  3. Planning investigations
  4. Analyzing and interpreting data
  5. Using mathematics and computational thinking
  6. Constructing explanations and engaging in argument from evidence
  7. Evaluating information
  1. Electrostatic and bonding interactions
  2. Atomic/molecular structure and properties
  3. Energy: Macroscopic, atomic/molecular, quantum mechanical
  4. Change and stability in chemical systems
  5. Particulate nature of matter
  1. Patterns
  2. Cause and effect: Mechanism and explanation
  3. Scale
  4. Proportion and quantity
  5. Systems and system models
  6. Energy and matter: Flows, cycles and conservation
  7. Structure and function
  8. Stability and change

Video Summary of Chemistry Core Ideas

The video provides a short overview of 3D learning. It is focused on K-12, but it is still highly relevant

For this project, we will be analyzing videos to see if they have the potential to engage the viewer in one or more of the Core Ideas and/or Science Practice. This training module focuses on helping to identify the presence of Core Ideas. A subsequent module will address Science Practices. The Core Ideas are fundamental concepts in chemistry that span beyond single chapters of a textbook. Instead,  they are the kinds of ideas that undergird each of those typical textbook concepts.

Chemistry Core Ideas
  1. Electrostatic and bonding interactions
  2. Atomic/molecular structure and properties
  3. Energy: Macroscopic, atomic/molecular, quantum mechanical
  4. Change and stability in chemical systems
  5. Particulate nature of matter

Because Core Ideas have relevance to most every topic, it is possible for an experienced chemist to see how most core ideas would be relevant to any video. However, to be categorized as having a Core Idea present in a video, the idea should be fundamental to the  way that the concept is presented and explained.

There are 5 Core Ideas that we will be considering in this work. You can find a deeper description of each of the Core Ideas here. Because you will be exploring specific topics, the faculty mentors will help to outline the ways that they would anticipate the core ideas most likely appearing in a given video (see example below).

Chemistry Core Ideas
  1. Electrostatic and bonding interactions
  2. Atomic/molecular structure and properties
  3. Energy: Macroscopic, atomic/molecular, quantum mechanical
  4. Change and stability in chemical systems
  5. Particulate nature of matter

Chemistry Core Ideas: Le Chatelier's Principle

We anticipate 3 Core Ideas you will most likely encounter for LCP videos (roughly in the order that you will most frequently encounter them). Before coding these videos, you would be provided with a description of how each Core Idea underlies the topic:

Core Idea Elements
Change and Stability in Chemical Systems Energy Particulate Nature of Matter
change: "Stressing" an equilibrium system (changing concentrations or temperature) causes changes in relative rates of the forward and reverse reactions.

Return to Stability: The system "shift to offset the stress" as an equilibrium system returns to a state where the forward and reverse reactions are equal.

Must have both parts 		Changing the temperature causes a shift
in an equilibrium by altering the number
of collisions that are “successful” in
overcoming the activation energy barrier
for the reaction. Due to the differences in
the activation energy barriers for the
forward and reverse reactions, the two processes will be differentially impacted leading to change in the relative concentrations of the reactants and products. 		Stresses on the system will alter
the rates of the forward and
reverse reactions by changing the number of collisions or the number of successful collisions.
Change and Stability; Particulate Nature of Matter

This video hits both Change and Stability and the Particulate Nature of Matter. Try of identify when in the video and how they are addressed.

Both Change and Stability and the Particulate Nature of Matter: 1:20 – 1:45

This video hits the Energy core idea. Try to identify when in the video and how it is addressed.

After you are done, click to see the answers,

From about 12:00-12:30, the video addresses that the change in temperature will change the rates of forward and reverse reaction disparately. This will then result in one of the two directions being favored and create a new equilibrium. This hits the core idea of Energy.

The video also came close to hitting the particulate nature of matter when it mentioned the fact that changing temperature would impact the number of collisions (around 11:30), but they didn’t quite link it enough to really make the connection to equilibrium to be clear to the viewer.

Chemistry Core Ideas: Practice (Le Chatelier's principle)

Would you categorize this video as having the Energy core idea? If so, try to identify when in the video and how it is addressed.

After you are done, click to see the answers,

No. This video does talk about the fact that K changes with temperature and describes the direction of shift, but does not address it it terms of number of successful collisions or activation energy differences.

Do you think that the following video addresses any of the core ideas?

If so, which core idea and when in the video is it addressed?

Starting about 2:20, this addresses the core idea of Change and Stability.

He addresses that the change in volume will increase the relative rates of the forward and reverse reactions and that this will result in the forward reaction being faster. Eventually this will re-level out and reach a new equilibrium.

Did you notice?

Was there anything that stood out to you about this video that seemed important to note?

You might consider rewatching the video.

Scientific inaccuracies

We will address this later in the training, but it is good to be aware of scientific inaccuracies. They are typically not obvious, so you should feel really good if you caught one of them. In this video, there were two mistakes.

The first video below is cued to the first, and the second is cued to the second. Watch to see if you can pick up on what is wrong.

Error 1: Decreasing volume of a system does not increase the concentration of aqueous solution. (Decreasing volume of solution would.)

Error 2: The direction with more particles will be the one that spikes more.