Design an experiment to prove a law.
Learners in Grade 12 Chemistry were asked to design their own experiment to prove a gas law (a law describing the behaviour of gases under fixed pressure, volume, amount of gas, and temperature conditions). They worked in groups of three to design experiments using only household items. They spent the first class determining each other’s understanding of chemistry and learning about each other’s strengths and challenges with both chemistry content and collaboration. They also made a plan to determine how they would work together, deciding how they would prepare for each class, and the goals they would set for each day.
As part of the assignment, they had to come to consensus about which household item they would use to experiment with pressure and volume and then establish how changing the temperature changed pressure and/or volume. This process took some trial and error as they had to test and adapt each element to determine if their process worked consistently. Once they settled on which variables (pressure, volume, temperature) they would try to change, they conducted their experiment multiple times, collected data, tinkered with their design to make it more reliable, and then created instructions for their experiment for the rest of the class.
To prepare for their presentation, each group had to consider their audience’s understanding and determine which mode and form would be effective for the context. The learners presented their findings in the form of a video lesson posted to the class YouTube channel that included a demonstration of the experiment, and a reflection of the process they went through to produce their ideas. Their reflection on the process included the obstacles they overcame, what worked for them, where they were challenged working together, and what they had learned about themselves as collaborators. Once all the videos were posted, the class reviewed all the experiments. As learners watched the different demonstrations, they documented the various methods and processes used. As individuals, each learner chose the demonstration they believed best illustrated the gas law and explained why they thought it was the most effective in illustrating the law.
