NAME: __________________________

Project Spec-Sheet
GRASPS
Goal: Design a testing process that would determine an unknown substance.
Role: You are an engineer working for the DOW Chemical Company. You have been asked to work with a
chemist to design a testing process for any new compounds the company has created.
Audience: You need to convince the CEOs at DOW that you have created a failsafe test for these new
compounds.
Situation: Your challenge is to take a completely unknown substance (no visual, no information), and
develop a process to determine the substances identity. You will need to consider if multiple tests are
necessary. Other engineers are also working on this for the company; therefore, this is a time-sensitive
project. The process must be completely developed before any tests can be conducted. In addition, you
must remain conscious of your material usage.
Product, Performance, and Purpose: You need to develop a series of laboratory
tests/experiments/trials/instructions, so that we can identify unknown substances. You need to create a
graph that shows the temperatures at which the substance shifts through phase change (if any). The
instructions need to be detailed enough that any scientist could use them to test the state of matter at
room temperature and for phase change. You must use your instructions to test an unknown substance.
Once the testing process has been completed, you must write a lab report that summarizes your
testing/experiments/trialsand draws conclusions.
Standards and Criteria for Success: Your product must include the following:
Instructions that determine:
- Phase state at room temperature
- A follow-up test on determining temperature at one phase change
- A prediction graph to display temperatures of phase change
- A graph reflecting the data collected during the experiment
- A final lab report that records results and observations, reflects on the process, and
draws conclusions the conservation of mass, density, and particle speed
- Based on your data, you need to name the substance