Concept: Limiting Reactants Lab

Objectives: To give students a visual representation of stoichiometry. To introduce the concepts

of theoretical yield, excess reactant, and limiting reactant. Students will understand that changes
are quantified in chemical reactions.
Ohio Standards: Use stoichiometric calculations that involve conversions from the amount of
one substance in a chemical reaction to the amount of another substance. Use the coefficients of
the balanced equation to indicate the ratios of the substances involved in the reaction in terms of
both particles and moles. Perform a reaction in a lab and compare the experimental yield and
theoretical yield to calculate percent yield. Explain and apply the concept of limiting reagents.
Indiana Standards: Explain and apply the law of conservation of mass as it applies to chemical
processes. Balance chemical equations using the law of conservation of mass and use them to
describe chemical reactions. Given the mass of the sample, use the mole concept to determine
the number of moles, atoms, or molecules in samples of elements and compounds. Using the
balanced chemical equation, calculate the quantities of reactants needed and products made in a
chemical reaction that goes to completion.
NGSS Science and Engineering Practices: Asking questions and defining problems (how many
smores can be made). Planning and carrying out investigations (executing lab experiment).
Analyzing and interpreting data (using observations from lab). Using mathematics and
computational thinking (stoichiometry used in lab). Constructing explanations and designing
solutions (critical thinking questions). Engaging in argument from evidence (elaborate: openended question).
NGSS Crosscutting Concepts: Patterns (balanced equation and the way it is utilized for
stoichiometry problems). Cause and effect (limiting reactants and theoretical yields). Systems
and system models (elaborate: open-ended question involves identifying systems and changes).
Stability and change (systems represented by balanced equations have a limit).
Engage (10-15 minutes): The lab has a driving question of: How do we quantify changes in
systems? Before starting the lab, the teacher will facilitate a class discussion. This discussion will
introduce the driving question and main purpose of the lab to the students.
This is also used as a pre-assessment. It addresses the misconception of students only seeing a
mole as a number. In chemistry, the mole is a standard number of particles, 6.02x1023 molecules,
atoms, ions, etc. It is important to emphasize that 1 mole is equal to Avogadros constant,
6.02x1023. The mole is related to a specific number and can be used to count anything. The key
word is count.
The teacher may start with the question: What is a mole? The answer: a mole is a quantity that
allows us to count things that are too small to count by usual means. A mole also allows us to
convert between different types of measurements like molecules, grams, moles of another
substance, liters, etc. These answers should come from prior knowledge.
To get the students to uncover this concept, the teacher may ask: what other measurements or
units have we discovered in stoichiometry? How do we keep track of the amount of substance we

have (we measure/count)? How does a mole compare to other units (larger than grams, smaller
than molecules)? Come to the conclusion that moles allows us to convert between different types
of substances. Be sure to emphasize that we use these units to measure the amount/quantity of
substances; were dealing with numbers.
The teacher will then introduce the lab with the driving question.
Materials: Pen or pencil. 14 mini-marshmallows, 4 pieces of chocolate, 6 graham crackers, and
1 paper towel for each pair of students.
Explore (35-45 minutes): The teacher will transition from the engage to explore by stating that
the students are presented with a problem that needs to be solved. A smore is made from 4 minimarshmallows, 2 chocolate pieces, and 2 graham crackers. The problem we will be solving is
that everyone will get a certain amount of supplies and we need to determine how many smores
we can make. So, we are going to do an experiment on the formation, or reaction of a smore.
In this experiment, what do you think we will need to use (stoichiometry)? At the top of your lab,
there is a driving question: How do we quantify changes in systems? The teacher should instruct
the students to keep this question in mind while they are doing the lab. Ask the students: for this
experiment, what do you think is the system (smores)? What changes can we make to this
system (change number of reactants/ingredients/supplies)? How can we quantify that these
changes have occurred (using numbers/mole ratios/balanced equation/number of products)?
The students will then perform their labs in groups of two, at their lab stations.
Explain (10-15 minutes): After completing the lab, the students will individually answer a few
critical thinking questions. These questions are meant to connect their observations from the
lab experiment with the stoichiometry content. These questions will hit key concepts including:
using the balanced equation, theoretical yield, and limiting reactant. All these concepts were
used/introduced in the lab. Students may start to discuss the answers with their peers, which is
fine. The wording of the questions are meant to have the students think. Once most the students
are finished writing down their answers, the teacher will discuss the answers with the class. Have
the students voice their thoughts and answers. Be sure to have the students understand the key
concepts and how they observed this in the lab; using their observations from lab as evidence.
Elaborate: The students will be given a half-sheet assignment. It will have the driving question:
How do we quantify changes in systems, and the students will be asked to answer the question
using words and pictures. This task is meant for students to apply their new knowledge in a
different context. Student are still expected to use formal definitions of concepts, but are given
the opportunity to use their creativity in their explanation.
The driving question is meant to be open-ended. The teacher should emphasize that there is not
ONE right answer, but endless possibilities for the answer. To help the students get started, the
teacher should model a possible answer.
There are many parts of the question. To receive full credit, there should be a system, changes,
and a way to quantify the changes identified. A fair example would be a bicycle. If the system is
the bike, we can change it by adding on training wheels, ribbons, a bell, or even paint it a
different color. To quantify the change, we can say by adding two training wheels, there are now

four wheels. Therefore, the ratio of bike to wheel changes from 1:2 to 1:4. The same could be
said for the other possible changes. We need to be able to keep track of the changes, so we need
to quantify or count or measure them. So for changing the paint color, we could say that there is
still one color for the bike or more, if you feel like adding more. Another example could be a
pizza. Possible changes include: shape of pizza, slice shape, number of slices, toppings, etc.
The students may have time to complete this task in class, otherwise it should be completed as
homework. The teacher should collect and grade the assignment the next day. This gives the
teacher the chance to give feedback to the student work. This is a good way to check that
students are on the right track and are understanding the concepts and able to apply it outside the
chemistry classroom. After teacher feedback is given, students should be given the opportunity to
improve and elaborate on their answers.
Once the process is complete, the teacher should facilitate a class discussion about the task. The
teacher should explain the purpose for the task, since its more abstract and different from a
worksheet. In this task, students are drawing conclusions/making claims and are supporting those
conclusions with evidence. The evidence would be the ratios or other ways they quantified their
changes to the system. Emphasize that chemistry isnt just for school; it affects everyday life. Its
there even though we dont realize it.
Accommodations: Students in need will most likely do well on the lab because it is done in
partners. Accommodations will be needed most for the critical thinking questions and the openended question task. The teacher may individually help these students. Help them work through
the critical thinking questions and refer back to the lab. For the elaborate, the teacher may list
key concepts on the half sheet. That way the student knows what to focus on. These students may
need more examples and also to check their answers with the teacher before moving onto the
next step.
Reflection: Overall, I think this lesson went well. Beginning the lab, the students struggled with
considering 1 smore to be 1 mole of a smore. Some students complained that it wasnt real
chemistry. Throughout the entire lesson, I had to remind the students of the connection between
school chemistry and real world chemistry. I think this was different from what the students were
used to. When we would do abstract things, the students would say okay, were going to take a
break from school now. Then when wed tie the chemistry content to these abstract things, the
students would complain and say okay, now were back to school Its just sad that students
think they only do worksheets and answer questions in school. In my own classroom, I hope to
incorporate more activities that can utilize real world application. I think this would make school
more beneficial and the more activities my students like this one, the easier it will be to ask them
to think this way.
My favorite part of the lesson was the elaborate open-ended question. The responses I received
from the students were remarkable. Its amazing to see how creative the students can be when
they are given the chance of freedom. Although, it was difficult to have the students understand
the purpose of this task. Most of them saw it as something fun or busy work. I had to remind
them many times that this is a time to use their creativity and apply their chemistry knowledge to
something outside the chemistry classroom. Most students used food in their explanation, but
there were some that used other classes or people as examples.

Rationale: I chose to do this lesson because I think its a good way for the students visualize
stoichiometry using everyday items. Its also an engaging lab and is different from what the
students usually do in class. This activity reinforced the law of conservation of mass. Students
were able to create a balanced equation for the lab and were able to use mole ratios and do
stoichiometric calculations throughout the lab. They could also do conversions between the
ingredients (reactants) and the making of smores (product) and see the relationship between
reactants and products.
This lesson also introduced new vocabulary including: limiting reactant, theoretical yield, and
excess reactant. I think this activity made learning these new words easier because the students
had a visual in front of them and could make the connection of these words to what they were
doing in lab. From this activity, the students were able to practice more stoichiometry and had
the opportunity of applying their knowledge to a non-traditional lesson. The students gain
concrete examples for each vocabulary word. That way they can easily think of the smores
example if they have trouble defining the terms. The students will later do more practice with the
terms and it will be conceptual practice. Therefore I think it was good idea to start with a lab to
introduce these terms because the students will always have something to refer back to.