Students visualize and interact with concepts already learned, specifically algebraic equations and solving for unknown variables. Discrepancies are correlated to differences in the chemical structure and composition of the fats. They analyze plots of their collected data to compare melting points of the oil samples to look for trends. Students heat the samples, and use the robot to determine when samples are melted. This activity uses the fact that fats are opaque when solid and translucent when liquid to determine the melting point of each sample upon being heated. Because of their different chemical structures, these fats exhibit different physical properties, such as melting point and color. Provided with several samples of commonly used fats with different chemical properties (olive oil, vegetable oil, shortening, animal fat and butter), student groups build and use simple LEGO MINDSTORMS(TM) NXT robots with temperature and light sensors to determine the melting points of the fat samples. Students learn that fats found in the foods we eat are not all the same they discover that physical properties of materials are related to their chemical structures.
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