1. Lesson 1 - Detecting Odors

Umit Aslan, Umit Aslan, Royi Lachmy, Umit Aslan
Chemistry
60 min
Introductory High School Chemistry
v1
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Overview

In this activity, students discuss odors and why things can be smelled from a distance. The teacher releases an odor from two sources in the room. Students record when they detect the odor as well as the strength of the odor over time. After observing a “play back” visualization of the detections patterns recorded by all the people in the room, students analyze the data using a computational model. Students share prior knowledge and ideas about particles and molecules that they believe are relevant and might help account for the observed phenomenon. The teacher then demos the next model the students will use. The students take interactive notes about the capabilities of the gas particle “sandbox” model and choose a research topic/question (of their design) to investigate related to gas particle interactions.

Underlying Pages

Standards

Computational Thinking in STEM
  •   Computational Problem Solving Practices
    • Developing Modular Computational Solutions
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