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Physical Science Students Introduced to Chemistry Lab

October 12, 2011

Mrs. Hinn's eighth grade physical science students were introduced to the science lab experience through a lesson entitled “It's Just a Phase.” The purpose of the lab was to investigate the solid-liquid phase changes for an “unknown” organic solid. Students measured temperature versus time as the liquefied substance cooled into a solid and then measured again as the solid was reheated into a liquid. They graphed the data to develop heating and cooling curves and then used that data to identify the melting point of the solid. Students were then given the melting point of three different “known” substances. Using their melting point data; the students were then be able to determine the identity of their “unknown” substance.