Activity: Biodiesel

Summary
In this activity, students will perform three different tests using the concepts of biodiesel. They will perform a titration to test the effects of used cooking oil, a cloud point test to analyze which type of oil will withstand extreme temperatures, and synthesis to create their own biodiesel.
Engineering Connection
Many engineers work together to create alternative energies, such as biodiesel. Bioengineers alter the genetic make-up of the plants themselves to make them more effective as raw materials for the facility. Mechanical engineers design the machines that harvest the plants and transform them into usable oils. Plants can be used in other ways besides biofuel production, too. Civil engineers may use plants to act as purifying agents in biological water treatment processes and other processes to reduce pollution. Meanwhile, some environmental engineers are developing ways to seed the ocean with algae to reduce CO2 in the air, and therefore help fight global warming. These are just a few ways that engineers use plants in professional applications to build technologies that make our lives more comfortable.
Contents
1.  Learning Objectives
2.  Materials
3.  Introduction/Motivation
4.  Procedure
5.  Attachments
6.  Assessment
7.  References
Grade Level: 6-8 / Group Size: 2
Time Required: 90 minutes
Keywords: biodiesel, renewable energy, corn for fuel

Related Curriculum:

·  Renewable and Sustainable Energy

Educational Standards:

o  1. demonstrate meanings for whole numbers, and commonlyused fractions and decimals (for example, 1/3, 3/4, 0.5, 0.75), and represent equivalent forms of the same number through the use of physical models, drawings, calculators, and computers; (Grades 0 - 4) [2005]

o  2. interpret data using the concepts of largest, smallest, most often, and middle; (Grades 0 - 4) [2005]

o  1. know, use, describe, and estimate measures of length, perimeter, capacity, weight, time, and temperature; (Grades 0 - 4) [2005]

·  Oregon Science

R  Design, construct, and test a possible solution to a defined problem using appropriate tools and materials. Evaluate proposed engineering design solutions to the defined problem. (6-8)

R  Describe examples of how engineers have created inventions that address human needs and aspirations. (6)

R  Organize and display relevant data, construct an evidence-based explanation of the results of an investigation, and communicate the conclusions. (6-8)

R  Compare and contrast the characteristic properties of forms of energy. (6)

R  Define a problem that addresses a need and identify constraints that may be related to possible solutions. (7-8)

R  Explain how new scientific knowledge can be used to develop new technologies and how new technologies can be used to generate new scientific knowledge. (7)

R  Describe and evaluate the environmental and societal effects of obtaining, using, and managing waste of renewable and non-renewable resources. (7)

R  Evaluate natural processes and human activities that affect global environmental change and suggest and evaluate possible solutions to problems. (7)

R  Explain how energy is transferred, transformed, and conserved. (8)

R  Explain how creating a new technology requires considering societal goals, costs, priorities, and trade-offs. (8)

Bottom of Form

Understand concepts related to time of day: morning, afternoon, evening, day, night (Grade: K) [2002]

·  Represent data using concrete objects and pictographs (Grade: 1) [2002]

·  Demonstrate an understanding of time and use of time relationships (e.g., how many minutes in an hour, days in a week, months in a year) (Grade: 2) [2002]

·  Select an appropriate tool and standard unit to measure length, weight, and capacity(volume) of objects larger than the unit tools (e.g., rulers, measuring cups, balances) (Grade: 2) [2002]

·  Interpret the concepts of a problem-solving task and translate them into mathematics (Grade: 2) [2002]

·  Represent and interpret data using tally charts and pictographs (Grade: 2) [2002]

·  Interpret the concepts of a problem-solving task and translate them into mathematics (Grade: 3) [2002]

·  Select the most appropriate tool and metric unit to measure length, time, weight, and volume (Grade: 3) [2002]

·  Select the most appropriate tool and U.S. customary unit to measure length, perimeter, weight, and volume (Grade: 4) [2002]

·  Demonstrate the meaning of fractions as part of a unit whole or as parts of a collection or set (Grade: 4) [2002]

·  Interpret the concepts of a problem-solving task and translate them into mathematics (Grade: 4) [2002]

·  Model, recognize, and generate equivalent forms of commonly used fractions, decimals, and percents (Grade: 5) [2002]

·  Interpret the concepts of a problem-solving task and translate them into mathematics (Grade: 5) [2002]

·  Determine the meaning of a remainder expressed as a whole number, fraction, or decimal in a problem situation involving division (Grade: 5) [2002]

·  Carry out unit conversions in the US customary system as a result of calculations involving measurements of length, perimeter, volume, and weight (e.g., 6 1/2" + 3 3/4" + 6 1/2" = 16 3/4" or 1 ft 4 3/4") (Grade: 6) [2002]

·  Interpret the concepts of a problem-solving task and translate them into mathematics (Grade: 6) [2002]

·  Judge whether sets of objects have less than, more than or the same number as a reference set (Grade: K) [2002]

·  Sort and classify objects to show different attributes that can be measured in different ways (e.g., length, weight, size) (Grade: K) [2002]

·  Compare the time of occurrence of two events using the terms before or after (Grade: K) [2002]

·  Collect and Display Data (Grade: K) [2002]

·  Know that print is spoken words written down and has meaning. (Grade: K) [2003]

·  Understand that the sequence of letters in a written word represents the sequence of sounds (phonemes) in a spoken word (alphabetic principle). (Grade: K) [2003]

·  Write some consonant-vowel-consonant words such as man, cat, and run (demonstrating the alphabetic principle). (Grade: K) [2003]

·  Write (unconventionally) to express own meaning. (Grade: K) [2003]

·  Write (unconventionally) brief stories that use drawings to support meaning and that label objects and places. (Grade: K) [2003]

·  Look at listeners most of the time. (Grade: K) [2003]

·  Identify and name days of the week and months of the year and interpret calendar information (e.g., tomorrow, yesterday, how many Tuesdays are in November) (Grade: 1) [2002]

·  Answer simple questions related to data displayed in pictographs, including which result occurred the most or least often (Grade: 1) [2002]

·  Sort and classify objects according to their attributes and organize data about the objects into categories (Grade: 1) [2002]

·  Understand the meaning of equals and use the = symbol (Grade: 1) [2002]

·  Tell time to the nearest hour using analog and digital clocks (Grade: 1) [2002]

·  Represent situations using models of addition and subtraction (e.g., putting together or adding on, taking away, finding the difference, comparing) (Grade: 1) [2002]

·  Pose questions and gather data about themselves and their surroundings (Grade: 1) [2002]

·  Read or demonstrate progress toward reading at an independent and instructional reading level appropriate to grade level. (Grade: 1) [2003]

·  Demonstrate listening comprehension of more complex text through discussions. (Grade: 1) [2003]

·  Demonstrate listening comprehension of more complex literary text through discussions. (Grade: 1) [2003]

·  Retell the main events of the story describing the beginning, the middle, and the end. (Grade: 1) [2003]

·  Develop an idea with an identifiable beginning, middle and end. (Grade: 1) [2003]

·  Formulate questions that can be addressed with data and collect, organize, and display relevant data to answer them (Grades 1 - 10) [2002]

·  Collect and Display Data (Grades 1 - 10) [2002]

·  Read, write, order, model, and compare whole numbers less than 100 (Grade: 2) [2002]

·  Determine the capacity(volume) of an object by counting and filling (e.g., determining how many small containers fit in a larger container, how many scoops of beans in a can?) (Grade: 2) [2002]

·  Understand a fraction represents subdivisions of a whole into equal parts (Grade: 2) [2002]

·  Create new shapes using combinations of known shapes (e.g., two congruent right triangles to form a rectangle) (Grade: 2) [2002]

·  Develop inferences about the likelihood of the occurrence of an event based on data collected from activities which have outcomes that depend on chance (e.g., tossing a two-colored counter, using a spinner) (Grade: 2) [2002]

·  Describe, name, and interpret relative positions in space and apply ideas about relative position to maps (Grade: 2) [2002]

·  Tell time to the nearest half hour using analog and digital clocks (Grade: 2) [2002]

·  Produce identifiable evidence of a second look at the concepts/strategies/calculations to defend a solution (Grade: 2) [2002]

·  Determine the weight of an object using a balance scale (Grade: 2) [2002]

·  Measure length using multiple copies of units of the same size(such as paper clips) laid end to end (Grade: 2) [2002]

·  Demonstrate the zero property for addition and subtraction (Grade: 2) [2002]

·  Describe, name, and interpret direction and distance in navigating space and apply ideas about direction and distance to maps and routes (Grade: 2) [2002]

·  Understand various meanings of addition and subtraction of whole numbers and the relationship between the operations (Grade: 2) [2002]

·  Estimate length in standard and nonstandard units (Grade: 2) [2002]

·  Model and sketch triangles, rectangles, squares, circles, ovals, parallelograms, rhombi, and trapezoids (Grade: 2) [2002]

·  Read or demonstrate progress toward reading at an independent and instructional reading level appropriate to grade level. (Grade: 2) [2003]

·  Demonstrate listening comprehension of more complex text through discussions. (Grade: 2) [2003]

·  Reread sentences when meaning is not clear. (Grade: 2) [2003]

·  Use knowledge of individual words in unknown compound words to predict their meaning (daydream). (Grade: 2) [2003]

·  Know the meaning of simple prefixes (word parts added at the beginning of words such as un-) and suffixes (word parts added at the end of words such as -ful). (Grade: 2) [2003]

·  Determine meanings of words by using a dictionary or glossary. (Grade: 2) [2003]

·  Interpret information from diagrams, charts, and graphs. (Grade: 2) [2003]

·  Demonstrate listening comprehension of more complex literary text through discussions. (Grade: 2) [2003]

·  Represent all sounds in a word when spelling independently. (Grade: 2) [2003]

·  Represent and interpret data using tally charts, pictographs, and bar graphs, including identifying the mode and range (Grade: 3) [2002]

·  Determine measurements of length to the nearest centimeter and nearest meter (Grade: 3) [2002]

·  Order, model, compare, and identify commonly used fractions (halves, thirds, fourths, eighths, tenths) using concrete models and visual representations (Grade: 3) [2002]

·  Produce identifiable evidence of a second look at the concepts/strategies/calculations to defend a solution (Grade: 3) [2002]

·  Determine measurements of weight to the nearest gram and kilograms (Grade: 3) [2002]

·  Describe temperature changes and concepts as they occur in daily situations (Grade: 3) [2002]

·  Determine the mode and range of a set of data (Grade: 3) [2002]

·  Read, write, order, model, and compare whole numbers less than one thousand (Grade: 3) [2002]

·  Represent situations using models of multiplication and division(e.g., repeated addition, equal groups of objects, arrays, repeated subtraction, equal grouping, sharing equally) (Grade: 3) [2002]

·  Determine elapsed time for given activities using representations of analog and digital clocks (Grade: 3) [2002]

·  Read or demonstrate progress toward reading at an independent and instructional reading level appropriate to grade level. (Grade: 3) [2003]

·  Demonstrate listening comprehension of more complex text through discussions. (Grade: 3) [2003]

·  Determine the meanings of words using knowledge of antonyms, synonyms, homophones, and homographs. (Grade: 3) [2003]

·  Use sentence and word context to find the meaning of unknown words. (Grade: 3) [2003]

·  Use a dictionary or glossary to learn the meaning and other features of unknown words. (Grade: 3) [2003]

·  Demonstrate comprehension by identifying answers to questions about the text. (Grade: 3) [2003]

·  Demonstrate listening comprehension of more complex literary text through discussions. (Grade: 3) [2003]

·  Use a scoring guide to review, evaluate, and revise writing for meaning and clarity. (Grade: 3) [2003]

·  Provide a beginning, middle, and end, including concrete details that develop a central idea. (Grade: 3) [2003]

·  Produce identifiable evidence of a second look at the concepts/strategies/calculations to defend a solution (Grade: 4) [2002]

·  Determine perimeter and area of rectangles given lengths of sides (Grade: 4) [2002]

·  Determine measurements of weight to the nearest ounce and pound (Grade: 4) [2002]

·  Read, write, order, model, and compare whole numbers to one million, common fractions, and decimals to hundredths (Grade: 4) [2002]

·  Estimate the weight of objects in ounces and pounds (Grade: 4) [2002]

·  Determine elapsed time requiring unit conversions (e.g., weeks to months, minutes to hours) (Grade: 4) [2002]

·  Determine measurements of length and perimeter to the nearest inch and nearest foot (Grade: 4) [2002]

·  Read temperature measurements of thermometers with Fahrenheit and Celsius units and recognize reasonable ranges of temperatures for different events (e.g., cold or hot day) (Grade: 4) [2002]

·  Determine the median for a set of data and understand what each statistic does and does not indicate about the data (Grade: 4) [2002]

·  Determine factors of whole numbers to 100 using models such as arrays (Grade: 4) [2002]

·  Represent and interpret data collected from probability experiments and simulations using tallies, charts, pictograms, and bar graphs, including determining probabilities of single events (Grade: 4) [2002]

·  Use properties of quadrilaterals to determine the lengths of their sides and perimeters (Grade: 4) [2002]

·  Determine the meaning of whole number remainders in a problem situation (Grade: 4) [2002]

·  Understand that the probability of an event can be represented by a number from 0 (impossible) to 1 (certain) (Grade: 4) [2002]

·  Add and subtract commonly used fractions with like denominators (halves, thirds, fourths, eighths, tenths) and decimals to hundredths (Grade: 4) [2002]