Depth and Complexity in Chemistry

Language of the Discipline

Integrate vocabulary into student communication as meaningfully as possible.

eg.

What tools might you need for an experiment involving measuring the boiling point of an unknown liquid?

Describe what happens to the particles in a piece of hail, as it first falls, lands on a hot sidewalk, and disappears.

Details

What clues can you notice from the source text/picture/experiment that provide useful information?

eg.

How do you know the reaction was a double-displacement reaction?

Patterns

What comparisons or contrasts can you find? What can you predict?

eg.

What do ionic compounds all have in common?

Given that HCl, HBr, and HI are named hydrochloric acid, hydrobromic acid, and hydroiodic acid respectively, what would be the name for HF?

Unanswered Questions

What questions remain unanswered given current information?

eg.

Given each major contribution to atomic theory – Dalton, Thomson, Rutherford, Bohr, and Schrodinger, what questions might scientists still have about the atom?

Rules

What structure/order underlies this subject?

eg.

Given all these data whether or not a compound dissolves in water, what rules can be made to decide if a substance is soluble?

Trends

Identify patterns over time, and identify causes and effects.

eg.

Given the starting amounts of these two compounds and their reaction equation, which of the two compounds will run out first?

Ethics

What controversies exist in this topic?

eg.

There are six compounds known as greenhouse gases. How do they work? Despite knowing the damage they cause, what processes produce them, and what barriers to eliminating them exist?

Big Ideas

Draw conclusions, create a thesis statement.

eg.

Ionic compounds are bonded by ___________________________________ while covalent compounds are bonded by _________________________________.

Across the Disciplines

Relate the topic to other disciplines.

eg.

Discussions of pH and logarithms as a concept. Take the opportunity to pull them away from the calculator so they can see what logarithms actually do.

Changes Over Time

How does our understanding change over time? What causes these changes?

eg.

Atomic Theory was developed over the last couple hundred years. Five major discoveries shaped our understanding of the parts of an atom and how they work. Compare and contrast each era of understanding, and point out the specific discovery that drove change at each point in time.

Different Perspectives

How would others see the situation differently?

Not sure how to do this with Chemistry besides doing CER and fostering group discussion.