Sample Lesson Plan: Electrolytes

Objectives:

 Students will be able to define a solution as a mixture in which one substance is dissolved in
another.
 Describe a salt solution and a sugar solution at the molecular level.
 Describe what happens to electrical conductivity as the concentration of salt and sugar increase
in a solution.
 Distinguish between types of solutions such as electrolytes and non-electrolytes (10-E)

Materials and Equipment

Pre-lab: SPARKvue on the teacher computer with an LCD projector (so the entire class can see),metal pie
plate, paper plate, light-bulb conductivity tester, distilled water, 2 bottles of water that are different
brands, bottle of sports drink (ideally with the word electrolyte on it).

Lab: Each group will need the following:

PASCO equipment Labware Consumables

SPARK SLS (updated) 250-mL Beaker Spoonful of sugar (sucrose)
Conductivity sensor Wash bottle filled with distilled water Spoonful of salt (NaCl)
Waste container Distilled water - 300 mL
Spoon

Class Activities:

5 min Normal teacher warm-up

10 min Pre-lab discussion (pre-lab from electrolytes and non-electrolytes lab in the PASCO
Chemistry through Inquiry manual)
Goal – introduce the idea of electrical conductivity and help students what is being
measured, review the terms solute, solvent, and solution.

5 min Students work in groups to answer pre-lab questions.

25 min Students perform the lab (Solutions: Electrolytes and Non-Electrolytes) and answer the
data analysis questions

5 min Class discussion to summarize the findings.

Vocabulary:

Solution, solute, solvent, electrical conductivity, electrolyte, non-electrolyte

Follow-up Lesson:

 Explore dilute and concentrated solutions and different units to quantify these such as molarity.
 Explore saturated, unsaturated, and super-saturated solutions.
 Investigate factors that affect rate of dissolution such as temperature, agitation, and surface area
(students could design their own lab and use SPARK to test their predictions).
 Discuss the rule “like dissolves like” and explore this at the molecular level.
 Have the students draw molecular level diagrams of what they think is happening as substances
dissolve.
 Discuss the importance of water (aqueous solutions) in relation to chemical reactions occurring
in our bodies.
 Transition into acid and base chemistry.