HOW LARGE IS A MOLE OF M&M'S

LOUISIANA CURRICULUM FRAMEWORK CONTENT STRAND: CHEMISTRY

GRADE LEVEL: 11

OBJECTIVES:

THE STUDENTS WILL 1. DETERMINE THE VOLUME OF A MOLE OF M&M'S.

2. USE DIMENSIONAL ANALYSIS TO CONVERT LITERS TO CUBIC FEET

3. DETERMINE THE VOLUME OF THEIR HIGH SCHOOL BUILDINGS

4. DETERMINE IF A MOLE OF M&M'S WILL FILL THEIR HIGH SCHOOL



TEACHER INFORMATION:

TIME FRAME: 2-3 DAYS



MATERIALS: LITER BEAKER (CLEAN)

2-3 EXTRA LARGE BAGS OF M&M'S OR

HAVE STUDENTS BRING IN 1 SMALL BAG EACH

TOWEL

TAPE MEASURES

SCIENTIFIC CALCULATOR (OPTIONAL)



STUDENT GROUPING: 3 PER GROUP



CURRICULUM INTEGRATION: DIMENSIONAL ANALYSIS

CALCULATION OF VOLUME

TABLES

BENCHMARKS: PS-E-A2, PS-H-A1, PS-H-A2, SI-H-A3, M.1, M.3, AND M.4



POSSIBLE OBSTACLES TO STUDENT LEARNING

LACK OF MATH SKILLS: SCIENTIFIC NOTATION AND METRIC CONVERSIONS

OPPORTUNITIES FOR ASSESSMENT

PERFORMANCE OF PROCEDURE (PARTICIPATION)

LAB REPORT WITH TABLES AND CALCULATIONS

STUDENT PREDICTION AND CONCLUSION



BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

SHOW EXAMPLES OF DIMENSIONAL ANALYSIS (FACTOR LABEL METHOD)

PROBLEM SOLVING AND GIVE THEM EXAMPLES AS PRACTICE.

ex. 101,376 in converted to miles

101,376 in * 1 foot * 1 mile = 1.6 miles

12 inches 5280 feet

ex. 78 m/s to mi./h

78.00 meters * 60 seconds * 60 minutes * 100 cm. * 1 in. *

second 1 minute 1 hour 1 m. 2.54 cm

1 ft. * 1 mile = 174.5 mi/h

12 in. 5280 ft



HAVE STUDENTS CALCULATE THE VOLUME OF SMALL OBJECTS WITH RECTANGULAR

AND CUBIC SHAPES.



HAVE STUDENTS WORK METRIC CONVERSIONS WITH CUBIC DIMENSIONS.

PROCEDURE:

DAY 1 POUR M&M'S INTO A CLEAN LITER BEAKER.

POUR THEM OUT ONTO A CLEAN TOWEL AND HAVE STUDENTS COUNT THEM.

THE STUDENTS MAY EAT THEM AFTER AN ACCURATE COUNT IS TAKEN.

THE STUDENTS SHOULD CALCULATE THE NUMBER OF M&M'S PER CUBIC FOOT.

x m&m's * 1 liter * 1mL * (2.54cm) 3 * (12 in.) 3 = x m&m's

1 liter 1000mL. 1 cm3 1 in3 1 ft3 ft3



THE STUDENTS SHOULD CALCULATE THE NUMBER OF CUBIC FEET OF M&M'S PER

MOLE.

6.02 x 1023 m&m'S * 1 ft3 = 6.02 x 1023 ft3

mole x M&M'S mole

DAY 2 EACH GROUP SHOULD HAVE A MEASURING TAPE, PAPER, AND PEN TO RECORD

THE DIMENSIONS OF THE BUILDINGS OF YOUR CAMPUS. THE STUDENTS SHOULD

BE ASSIGNED TO MEASURE PARTICULAR SITES AND GIVEN A TIME LIMIT TO

COMPLETE THE TASK.

THE STUDENTS SHOULD CALCULATE THE VOLUME OF EACH BUILDING AND

COLLECT THE DATA FROM THE OTHER GROUPS.

THE STUDENTS SHOULD USE THE CALCULATIONS FROM THE PREVIOUS DAY TO

SOLVE AND SEE IF A MOLE OF M&M'S CAN FILL UP YOUR SCHOOL.

DAY 3 OPTIONAL

STUDENTS MAY NEED TIME TO FINISH CALCULATIONS AND COMPLETE A LAB

REPORT. THE LAB REPORT SHOULD HAVE A PURPOSE, PROCEDURE, TABLES OF

ALL THE DATA COLLECTED, AND A PAGE SHOWING ALL THE

CALCULATIONS. THERE SHOULD BE A CONCLUSION FROM EACH STUDENT

WITH AN OPINION OF WHAT THEY LEARNED.



ENGAGEMENT:

TELL STUDENTS THAT THEY CAN EAT THE CANDY AFTER THE EXPERIMENT.

HAVE STUDENTS PREDICT HOW MUCH OF THE SCHOOL WILL BE FILLED BY A MOLE OF M&M'S.