Science projects and investigations are useful opportunities for students to engage in scientific inquiry. Depending on the learning objectives, teachers could design such learning experiences to deepen conceptual understanding, develop different aspects of the practices of science, as well as scientific values, ethics and attitudes.
Teachers could draw inspiration from phenomena around us. In this post, one possible activity could involve students investigating exothermic and endothermic reactions.
A chemical heat pack could be prepared by using baking soda and vinegar. The crystallization of the sodium acetate is an exothermic process, and thus the name "hot ice". Dissolving the crystals in small amounts of water absorbs the heat, as the process is endothermic.
Students could prepare their own heat pack and/or cold pack, and investigate the enthalpy changes of solution and crystallization. They could compare the enthalpy changes with theoretical values and ask questions, e.g. "should the magnitude of the enthalpy changes be the same?"
Read more at:
https://www.thoughtco.com/cold-pack-from-hot-ice-3976113
https://www.thoughtco.com/hot-ice-or-sodium-acetate-607822
Image source:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:CNX_Chem_11_03_handwarmer.jpg
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