LESSON PLAN

LESSON PLAN

Name: Chad Springer

Title of lesson: Oil on water lesson

Length of lesson: 2 hours

Description of the class:

Name of course: Chemistry

Grade level: 10

Honors or regular: Regular

Source of the lesson:

http://falcon.tamucc.edu/~eduweb/AppliedConnections/HSScience/physcsci/oilrecovery.html,

http://falcon.tamucc.edu/~eduweb/AppliedConnections/HSScience/chemistry/oilspill.html

I. Overview

This lesson has the student perform multiple techniques for separating oil from water.

II. Performance or learner outcomes

- The student will list and describe methods used to separate oils and water that have become mixed. The student will evaluate the possible separation methods.

III. Resources, materials and supplies needed

1. Shallow container with an overflow outlet

2. An inexpensive container that works well is a plastic 1 quart milk container that has one side cut out

3. Short plastic strips to use as skimmer booms (Can be made from remains of sides that were cut out of plastic bottle

4. Plastic water or sports drink bottles with snap on/snap off flow valve to be used as budget separatory funnels

5. Graduated cylinder

6. Small cup or 100 ml beaker

7. Oil sample

8. Paper towel

9. ENVIRO-BOND 403 (5g per Student)

10. Sodium polyacrylate (50g)

11. Gloves

12. Goggles

13. Apron

IV. Supplementary materials, handouts.

Lab manual

Five-E Organization

Teacher Does Probing Questions Student Does

Engage:

Teacher goes over the procedure for the lab citing each step and the hazards of some of the chemicals.

What do you do if you spill some sodium polyacralyte?

Students listen to teacher and answer some procedural questions.

Explore:

The students perform their experiments in groups. The teacher goes from group to group asking about their observations and their decisions.

Which procedure do you find works the best? How do you know for sure that this is the correct yield? What are some of the problems using chemicals such as sodium polyacralyte in oil spill cleanup? How do you justify that this particular cleanup is the best, what criteria are you setting? Can you think of other criteria that could be used in real situations when cleaning up an oil spill?

Students perform the lab in groups. They use their results to choose which method is best.

Explain:

In this experiment you have used different techniques to separate oil from water. (the teacher has each group present what they decide is the best technique) The criteria presented in the manual used a %yield of oil recovery. You need to look at other factors such as cost, environmental hazards, and timeliness when making a key decision.

Each group states what criteria helped them to decide which cleanup is best.

What criteria, as a class, should we use during this project we are working on when we choose a cleanup method?

Students present their decisions to the rest of the groups and the teacher.

Extend / Elaborate:

Additional substances could be added to create a more complex starting mixture. For example, perfume or other scents could be added. Could the "smell" ever be removed?

Also, pepper could make a particulate, which could be filtered, from the aqueous layer, but would students have problems with separating pepper in the oil layer?

Evaluate:

Students will perform a pro and con assessment to discuss which cleanup methods are better or worse. They will also write a one page write-up on which technique their group had chosen and what criteria they used for determining its superiority.

Oil on Water Separation Lab Manual

NAME:____________________________________________________

Materials:

Per group- Shallow container with an overflow outlet. An inexpensive container that works well is a plastic 1-quart milk container that has one side cut out. (See Figure 1.) , Short plastic strips to use as skimmer booms (Can be made from remains of sides that were cut out of plastic bottle. Plastic water or sports drink bottles with snap on/snap off flow valve to be used as budget separatory funnels, graduated cylinder, small cup or 100 ml beaker, oil sample, paper towel, three 1000ml beakers, 1500ml seawater, large Zip-lock baggie (3), magnetic stir, ENVIRO-BOND 403 (5g per Student), any commercial motor oil (50ml), and sodium polyacrylate (50g). Gloves, goggles and apron.

Procedure:

Part I

1. Obtain a known amount of oil (. ______ ml. )

2. Mix the oil and water in your shallow container. Make sure it is well mixed.

3. Recover as much oil as you can and collect the recovered oil in one container. Use any method or combination of methods to recover the oil. Suggested methods:

a. Absorption: use paper towels to absorb the oil, then squeeze the oil out of the paper towels.

b. Allow the mixture to stand in a separatory funnel and separate by relative density.

c. Use shallow pan and plastic skimmers to push oil out the spout.

When you are convinced that you have recovered as much oil as you possibly can, measure the volume of oil recovered. Record the volume of oil you recovered in data.

Part II

Pour 500ml of seawater into one beaker.
Pour 10ml of oil into the same beaker.
Pour contents into large baggie and allow it to settle for one minute.
Tell students to try and pour out only the water, while leaving the oil in the bag. Measure the volume of the recovered oil using a graduated cylinder. Observe and record results.
Now, in a second beaker, have students place 50g of sodium polyacrylate and repeat step 3 and 4 above.
Next, in a third beaker, have students place 5g of ENVIRO-BOND 403 and repeat steps 3and 4 above.

Calculate the per cent recovery using the following formula:

volume of oil recovered

% recovery = --------------------------------- x 100

starting volume of oil