Grade Level

/Subject
Context
Description

Reaction Energy Unit

Measuring the Calories in Food
Crosscutting Concepts Lesson Plan
Stephanie Dickerson
11th Grade Chemistry
The prior knowledge required for this lesson is an understanding of how to
calculate heat energy that is released from a reaction. This includes students
being able to identify the variables in the equation q = mcT. The students
will also need to understand how to conduct a calorimetry experiment. This
prior knowledge has been assessed through in class activities and the students
completed a calorimtery lab that looked at the heat produced by different
compounds. There were several demos completed in which the students had
to identify if a reaction was endothermic or exothermic and then they had to
calculate the heat energy that was absorbed or released by the reaction. The
students are still struggling with the concept of being able to identify m, c
and calculating the change in temperature. Due to this, the students will
practice in the pre lab questions as well as support will be provided for the
post lab questions. This lesson will build connections between the students
prior knowledge by having them complete an inquiry that has them determine
a temperature change and then apply their data to calculating heat energy.

Standards Met
SC.CHE.2.1.c
SC.9-12.SIA.1
SC.9-12.SIA.2
SC.9-12.SIA.3
SC.9-12.SIA.4
SC.9-12.SIA.5
In middle school, the differences between potential and kinetic energy and
the particle nature of thermal energy were introduced. For chemical systems,
potential energy is in the form of chemical energy and kinetic energy is in the
form of thermal energy. The total amount of chemical energy and/or thermal
energy in a system is impossible to measure. However, the energy change of
a system can be calculated from measurements (mass and change in
temperature) from calorimetry experiments in the laboratory. Conservation of
energy is an important component of calorimetry equations. Thermal energy
is the energy of a system due to the movement (translational, vibrational and
rotational) of its particles. The thermal energy of an object depends upon the
amount of matter present (mass), temperature and chemical composition.
Some materials require little energy to change their temperature and other
materials require a great deal to change their temperature by the same
amount. Specific heat is a measure of how much energy is needed to change

Reaction Energy Unit

Measuring the Calories in Food
Crosscutting Concepts Lesson Plan
Stephanie Dickerson
the temperature of a specific mass of material a specific amount. Specific
heat values can be used to calculate the thermal energy change, the
temperature (initial, final or change in) or mass of a material in calorimetry.
Water has a particularly high specific heat capacity, which is important in
regulating Earths temperature.
Concept
Addressed

The crosscutting concept being addressed by this lesson plan is energy and
matter. In this lesson the students are examining the transfer of energy
between their favorite snacks and the water that is heated inside the cans
during the experiments. Within the lab they will have to calculate the amount
of energy that was gained by the water meaning that is was released from the
snack. The cross cutting concept of energy and matter involves tracking the
energy flow in, out and within systems so the students can understand the
behavior of the system. By tracking the temperature change of the burning
snacks, the amount of snack that was burned and the mass of water used, the
students will successfully determine the energy content of multiple snack
foods. The big idea for this lesson plan is to allow students to complete a
scientific inquiry that defines the parameters used in calculating heat energy
and putting concepts theyve learned into practice through a hands on,
relatable investigation. The justification for this lesson is to have students
work with claorimeters in order to understand how scientist use calorimeters
to understand the energy transfer that occurs within a system. This
justification is related to the overarching concept of the Energy Unit because
the students are required to know that calorimetry experiments are used in
determining the energy change in a system per the standards.

Objectives

The students will be able to:

Academic
Language

Calculate heat energy (q) released by different snacks food

Calculate T of the water being heated by the burning of the snacks.
Calculate Cal/gram of the snack foods used in the lab
Conduct a calorimetry experiment that determines the energy content
of different snack foods
Identify the system and the surroundings of the calorimetry
experiment
Identify sources of error for the calorimetry system used in the
experiments
The essential vocabulary chosen for this lesson is:
Specific heat capacity- the amount of heat needed to raise the
temperature of a certain substance by 1C
calorie- the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of 1
gram of water by 1C
Nutritional Calorie- abbreviated Cal and is equivalent to a unit of
energy called a kilocalorie, or 1000 calories
Calorimetry- the measurement of the amount of heat energy
produced in a reaction
calorie content- the total amount of energy released by the digestion
and metabolism of a particular food

Learning
Strategies

Materials
Needed

Safety Needs
and Instruction

Reaction Energy Unit

Measuring the Calories in Food
Crosscutting Concepts Lesson Plan
Stephanie Dickerson
Direct Instruction- this strategy will be used seldom in this lesson. The
only direct instruction that will be given is when I am out lining
important procedural steps and at the end of the lesson to given students
instructions for completing the post lab questions.
Small Group Instruction- as the students are working in their groups to
determine the temperature changes of the water in their aluminum cans
after each snack is burned, I will go from group to group to make
suggestions for changes to their systems for more accurate results.
Cooperative learning- the students will work in groups of four to
complete the lab and obtain the necessary data to calculate the energy
content of their snacks. The students will also complete the post lab
questions within their groups.
Real Life Application- the students will be conducting this calorimetry
experiments to determine how much energy they actually receive from
the foods that they eat on a regular basis.
1. 25 copies of Measuring Calories Lab
2. 25 Safety goggles (class set)
3. 4 Balance
4. 6 Aluminum cans
5. 6 Small Aluminum pans
6. 6 Corks
7. 6 Paperclips
8. 6 Ring stands
9. 6 Graduated cylinder, 50 mL
10. 6 Packs of matches
11. 6 Stirring rod
12. Snack foods brought by students
13. 6 Temperature sensors
14. 6 Lab Quests
15. 250 mL of Tap water
Students will need to wear safety goggles for the duration of the lab and will
need to handle the hot water samples and aluminum cans very carefully.
Pre-class Prep: All materials needed to conduct the lab will need to be
pulled prior to class
1. 6 Ring Stands
2. 6 Rings
3. 6 Corks
4. 6 Paper clips
5. Aluminum cans
6. Matches
7. Beaker for measuring water
8. 6 Stirring rods
9. 6 Lab Quests
10. 6 Temperature sensors
Engagement/Introduction/Hook (10 minutes): The students read an article
titled The Big Reveal: Whats Behind Nutrition Labels and answered
several questions about the process by which the calorie content of foods is
determined in the class prior to this one. The students received the basis of

Instructional
Outline

Reaction Energy Unit

Measuring the Calories in Food
Crosscutting Concepts Lesson Plan
Stephanie Dickerson
their background knowledge from this article and from a short 6-minute
video. The students will read the background information for this lab where
they will learn about calories, Nutritional Calories, and energy content. The
background reading will also give them a review of the equation used to
calculate energy (q = mcT). After reading the background information the
students will answer the pre-lab questions.
Transition 1 (5 minutes): Distribute paper towel to each student. Have the
students retrieve the snacks they brought from their backpacks. Instruct them
to take a few pieces of what they brought and place it on the paper towel. Tell
them that the remainder of their food needs to be placed back in their
backpacks so it is not contaminated by anything in the lab.
Segment 1 (25 minutes): Have the students read the procedure silently
before going over a few key steps they need to make sure they complete
accurately. Highlight these few points:

New tap water needs to be measured each time a trial is conducted

(50 mL). Students cannot reuse the water that was heated from the
previous snack.
When weighing the initial mass, this includes the small aluminum
pan, cork, paperclip and the snack for that trial.
When weighing the final mass, this includes the small aluminum pan,
cork, paperclip and the remainder of the snack
The initial temperature of the water needs to be measured and
recorded for each trial
The final temperature of the water needs to be measured and
recorded for each trial.
Do not leave the temperature sensor in the can while your snack is
burning.
Do not throw any burnt snacks in the trash. Place them in the bin that
has been placed inside the fume hood.

Transition 2 (5 minutes): Have the students return their materials to the prep
station and clean their workstation.
Segment 2 (5 minutes): Students will begin to work on their post lab
questions for the remainder of class. Any questions that are not completed
will be worked on during Block day on Wednesday and Thursday.
Closure (3 minutes): Remind students that the post lab is not homework and
there will be time given on Block Day (Wednesday or Thursday) to complete
it in class. Also remind students that they should be preparing for their energy
test that will be on Friday (3/25).
Modifications

The modifications made for this lesson is that the post lab questions will be
completed in class due to the amount of mathematical calculations the
students will have to complete. Several students have already demonstrated
difficult with using the heat equation in previous lessons. By having a walk
through in class, this will reduce the amount of confusion amongst the

Reaction Energy Unit

Measuring the Calories in Food
Crosscutting Concepts Lesson Plan
Stephanie Dickerson
students had they completed the post lab on their own.
Assessments of
Learning

Formative Assessments: The formative assessments will be conducted after

the pre-lab questions a and b. I will walk through the work with the students
by asking them questions about their process to calculate heat in calories and
Cal/g for the candy bar. Formative assessment will also be conducted during
the lab as students are making their observations and recording their data.
Summative Assessments: The lab will receive an over all grade for the data,
pre-lab and post-lab questions.