Acids
| National Curriculum links (Key Stage
3) |
Sc1
1a |
... the the interplay between empirical
questions, evidence and scientific explanations using historical
... examples |
|
Sc1
1c
|
... about the ways in which scientists
worked in the past, including the roles of experimentation, evidence
and creative thought in the development of scientific ideas |
Sc3
3d,e,f,g |
... acids and bases |
| National Curriculum links (Key Stage
4 double science) |
Sc1
1a |
... how scientific ideas are presented,
evaluated and disseminated |
Sc1
1b |
... how scientific controversies can
arise from different ways of interpreting empirical evidence ... |
Sc1
1c |
... ways in which scientific work may
be affected by the contexts in which it takes place and how these
contexts may affect whether or not these ideas are accepted |
Sc3
3k |
... different types of chemical reaction,
including neutralisation |
Resources
This material introduces (in very simple terms) three of the most famous
theories of acids and bases. The focus is on the people who came up
with the ideas.
Svante Arrhenius
gives a potted biography of Arrhenius and considers why his radical
ideas took so long to be accepted. It includes two amusing anecdotes
about him given by his last research student.
The Brønsted-Lowry
theory of acids looks at the development of the next model of acids
and bases and the speed with which it was taken up and accepted by the
scientific community. There are brief details about the life and work
of the two scientists who independently had the same idea.
Lewis acids presents
a brief history of Gilbert Lewis and the development of his model of
acids and bases, broadening the definition even further than Brønsted
and Lowry.
Activities
| Activity
1 |
|
- Students compare the differences between the ideas of Arrhenius
and those of Brønsted and Lowry and the way in which they were
received.
|
| Activity
2 |
|
- Students compare the three different models of acids and the
way in which they were developed.
|
| Activity
3 |
|
- Questions about Arrhenius's theory and writing an e-mail from
one of his examiners.
|
| Activity
4 |
|
- Students plan a report for a children's television programme
on the Nobel prize which was finally awarded to Arrhenius for
his work.
|
|
