Teacher name: Shobana Reddy Unit name: Chemical Reactions

Grade: 7th grade Lesson name: Exothermic Reactions

Subject: Science & Endothermic Reactions

1. Anticipatory Set (focus): This refers to a short activity that draws the students' attention
before the lesson begins. This can be a handout, an example problem, or a simple question.

(Students are working in table groups for this class and are given one disposable hand
warmer per table group. Students are asked to shake the hand warmer and tear the cover.
The hand warmer should start getting warm. Students should be able to observe the hand
warmer getting warmer progressively)

Camping in the mountains or sitting in the bleachers during a football game when it’s cold
outside can be brutal. Many people use hand warmers to keep their fingers warm and toasty.
What causes the increase in temperature in the hand warmer? And how often do you see this
phenomenon occurring naturally around you?

2. Purpose (objective): The purpose outlines the objective of that day's lesson. Here the teacher
emphasizes how students will benefit from the session and how they will go about learning
from it.

Three measurable outcomes of the lesson are written below. These objectives will be
assessed by the teacher either during class discussion or as a written assessment by
students. Both methods will be used by the teacher to guide instruction during this lesson and
lessons following this one in this unit.

a. Students will be able to define exothermic and endothermic reactions by identifying the
change in temperature in the chemical reaction.
b. Students will be able analyze experimental data and explain whether an observed
chemical reaction is an exothermic or an endothermic reaction.
c. Students will be able to build on their knowledge of exothermic and endothermic reactions
to identify these chemical reactions in nature and in their everyday lives by connecting the
lesson to naturally occurring processes around them using temperature changes as a
scale.

3. Standards Addressed: (Next Generation Science Standards)

Performance Expectations:
MS-PS1-2: Analyze and interpret data on the properties of the substances before and after
the substances interact to determine if a chemical reaction has occurred.
Science and Engineering Practice(s) (SEP): 
Analyze and interpret data to determine similarities and differences in findings.

Disciplinary Core Idea(s) (DCI): 

PS1.B: Chemical Reactions – Energy is either absorbed or released during chemical
reactions.

Cross Cutting Concepts (CCC):

Energy and Matter – Energy changes at the atomic and molecular levels can be explained by
chemical change and change in temperature.

4. Input: Input refers to the vocabulary, skills and other concepts the teacher intends to
incorporate in the session. It basically summarizes what students need to know in order to
successfully master the lesson.

Teacher Actions – Student Actions –

 Introduction of Phenomenon
 The teacher asks the students to  Students get into role-playing –
imagine themselves either on a imagining either as campers or
camping trip or watching a spectators at a game in February.
football game in February.
 They are asked to shake and
 Students open the pack and feel the
then open the hand warmer to
hand warmer starting to get warm.
observe what happens and
discuss among themselves.

 Teacher-Student Discussion of
phenomenon  Students should be discussing about
 After giving the students a couple of what makes the hand warmer go
minutes to discuss the phenomenon warm.
amongst themselves, the teacher  Students should be able to think and
asks students to come up with come up with reasons based on
reasons why. information they already know from
previous lessons in the unit.
 Students should be able to tell that
there is some sort of a chemical
reaction happening, because of
which there is heat coming out from
the hand warmer.

 Teacher asks students to predict if a  Students make predictions about

chemical reaction can cause the decrease in temperature during a
temperature of the mixture to chemical reaction.
decrease or get colder.
  Teacher tells students that today’s
lesson is going to explore
temperature changes in chemical
reactions.

5. Materials/ Resources Needed: Materials needed for lesson.

 Science notebook/ journal

 Handouts for Annotated drawings (for formative assessment)
 Pen/ pencil/ color pencils/ markers
 Safety goggles (for safety while doing experiments)
 Thermometer (for measuring temperature)
 Cups
 Popsicle sticks
 Dropper
 Chemicals in cups (water, vinegar, baking soda, calcium chloride, baking soda
solution)
 Disposable hand warmer
 Alka Seltzer tablets (for teacher demonstration only)

6. Modeling (show): It's no secret that most students are only able to master a new lesson if the
teacher has taken the time to show how it's done. Simply walk through a problem without
student participation, allowing them to learn how it’s done.

Teacher Actions:

 The teacher reminds the students about the information covered in earlier topics in the
unit – “Atoms of a molecule in the reactants rearrange themselves in a chemical
reaction to make the product molecules. It takes energy to break the bonds of the
reactant molecules and it takes energy to make the bonds of the product molecules.
The difference in the energy required by the reactants and the products causes the
temperature change in the chemical reactions.”

 “Here’s an animation of combustion of methane, an example for exothermic reaction”.

 “Combustion is an exothermic reaction. Let’s look at the combustion of methane, the

main component of natural gas. Burning 1 molecule of methane (CH4) in the presence
of oxygen releases 1 molecule of carbon dioxide (CO2) and 2 molecules of water (H2O).
More energy is released when the bonds in the products are formed than is used to
break the bonds of the reactants. This is shown by the larger energy arrows coming
out of the products and smaller energy arrows going into the reactants. Since more
energy was released than was used, the reaction gets warmer and is exothermic.
 “Now let’s look at a different reaction” The teacher puts an Alka Seltzer tablet into a
cup of water. As the reaction proceeds, there is effervescence seen and the
thermometer in the cup indicates that the temperature is dropping. The teacher passes
the cup to the student for them to observe the drop the temperature.

 The teacher explains that citric acid and sodium bicarbonate in the Alka Seltzer tablet
react when added to water to produce sodium citrate, carbon dioxide and water. The
gas CO2 is indicated by the bubbles. More energy is absorbed to break the bonds of
citric acid and sodium bicarbonate than is released when the bonds of the products,
sodium acetate, carbon dioxide and water, are formed. Since more energy is absorbed
than released, the reaction gets colder and is endothermic.

 The chemical equation is as follows

H3C6H5O7 + 3 NaHCO3 → Na3C6H5O7 + 3 CO2(g) + 3 H2O

 Teacher shows animated videos of exothermic and endothermic reactions and goes
over the reactions again to solidify concepts.

7. Guided Practice: Here, the teacher leads the students through the steps necessary to perform
the skill emphasized using what is called the tripodal approach or see/hear/do. Show the
students how to successfully work through problems as they attempt to do it themselves.

Teacher Actions: Student Actions:

 Instructions and experiment  Students are given instructions for the

The teacher gives out instructions to experiments that they need to work on in
students about experiments that table groups.
students will perform as a table group.
Each table group will be given 2 sets of  Question for the experiment – does the
materials that they will have to mix, temperature increase or decrease in the
measure and record the temperature chemical reaction with different sets of
and their observations in their science reactants?
journal. Observations should include
their inference if the temperature Experimental Procedure:
increased, decreased or stayed the  Place a thermometer in the vinegar in
same. cup A1. Read the thermometer and
record the temperature in your journal.
 The teacher will go around and monitor  While the thermometer is in the cup, add
students as they work on their all the baking soda (cup A2) into the cup
experiments, offering assistance when (A1) and stir with the popsicle stick.
needed and asking probing questions  Watch the thermometer to observe any
about the reactions to stimulate thinking. change in temperature. Record the
temperature after it has stopped
changing.
 Repeat the same procedure for cups B1
(Baking soda solution) & B2 (Calcium
chloride).
 8. Check Understanding: Be sure your students understand the lesson. Ask students if they
understand and answer their questions, then adjust the lesson pace accordingly.

Teacher Actions:

 Teacher - Student Discussion of the experiment and results

Teacher asks - “Does the temperature increase, decrease or stay the same in the
chemical reactions”

 The teacher reminds the students, “When the temperature of a chemical reaction
decreases, the reaction is called an endothermic reaction. ‘Endo’ means ‘inside’ and
‘thermic’ means it has something to do with heat or energy. So, when it is an
endothermic reaction, more energy is absorbed to make the reaction happen than is
released by the reaction. This causes the reaction mixture to get colder. Conversely,
when the temperature of a chemical reaction increases, the reaction is called an
exothermic reaction. ‘Exo means ‘outside’ and so, when it is an exothermic reaction,
more energy goes out or is released than going in. This causes the reaction mixture to
get warmer.

 Teacher uses equity sticks to call on students to explain their observation, inference
and explanation for the inference based on what was explained about endothermic and
exothermic reaction.
(Teacher scaffolds students thinking when students give their explanations)

Teacher Actions: Student Actions:

 The teacher puts up the image for the
reactions and asks for volunteers to  Student volunteer should be able to
explain the reaction in terms of energy explain that the temperature goes up in
absorption and release and if this is an this reaction, so this is an exothermic
endothermic or exothermic reaction reaction. More energy is released in an
based on the results of their experiment. exothermic reaction. So bigger energy
arrows should be drawn coming out for
CaCO3, NaCl, H2O and CO2 to show
 “Take the reaction of the baking soda more energy is released when bonds in
solution and calcium chloride.” the products are formed. Less energy is
used to break the bonds, so smaller
energy arrows going in for CaCl2 and
NaHCO3.

 Student volunteer should be able to

 “Take the reaction of acetic acid (5% explain that the temperature decreases
solution of acetic acid is vinegar) and in this reaction, so this is an endothermic
sodium bicarbonate.” reaction. More energy is absorbed in an
endothermic reaction. So bigger energy
 arrows should be drawn going into
acetic acid (C2H4O2) and sodium
bicarbonate (NaHCO3) to show that
more energy is absorbed when bonds
are broken. Less energy is released
when bonds are formed, so smaller
energy arrows coming out of sodium
acetate (NaC2H3O2), water (H2O) and
carbon dioxide (CO2).

 Teacher Actions
Teacher asks students to create Annotated drawings of the chemical reactions they
observed in their experiments during class, as a group.

 Student Actions
Students will work on experiments in table groups during class and create Annotated
drawings (students will draw a chemical reaction indicating the transfer of heat energy
during the reaction for each of the chemical reactions that they worked on) demonstrating
their experiments and observations, as a group, at the end of class. This will encourage
thinking and help solidify the concepts learned in class that day. Students will also develop
visual communication skills since this assessment is of a graphic nature. These drawings
can be revisited later to revise students’ thinking as more exploration is done on the topic.
The Annotated drawings will serve as a formative assessment for the teacher to
demonstrate student understanding of the lesson.

9. Closure: Wrap up the lesson. Ask the students to recap what you have taught them, telling or
showing you what they have learned.

Teacher Actions: Student Actions:

 Teacher reminds students about the  Students should be able to explain that
hand warmer that they got at the the chemical reaction that occurs in the
beginning of the class and asks students hand warmer gives out heat and so is an
to explain the chemical reaction based exothermic reaction.
on what they learned about exothermic
and endothermic reactions.

 Teacher scaffolds students’ explanation

about the exothermic chemical reaction
in the hand warmer by asking probing
questions
- What does the hand warmer contain?
(the hand warmer contain iron powder
and a salt)
- When does the chemical reaction
 occur? (when the cover is removed, and
the pouch is exposed to the air)
- What happens then? (when the pouch
is exposed to oxygen, oxidation of iron
occurs which is an exothermic reaction,
and gives out the heat in the process).

10. Independent Practice: Allow the students to practice completing lessons on their own and aid
when necessary. Be sure all students understand the lessons of the day, including any
homework assignments.

Teacher Actions: Student Actions:

 Teacher asks students to think of  Students brainstorm on what

exothermic and endothermic reactions endothermic and exothermic reactions
that they may have observed in nature are observed in nature and where do
and in their everyday lives; and leads they see them in their everyday lives.
students into a discussion until the end (examples – photosynthesis by plants,
of class. Students are also asked to evaporation of water or sweat from the skin,
think about it more and come prepared burning of a candle flame, boiling water, etc.)
to discuss it more during next class.