In this project, you start by picking two cars: your dream car and any other car. For each one, you calculate the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) that is produced using the equation for the combustion of octane, the miles per gallon (MPG) of each car, and an estimated driving amount of 15,000 miles per year.

First, you calculate and compare CO2 production against your 'dream car.' Then, you research the adverse effects of that much carbon dioxide getting released into the atmosphere.

This essentially helps students determine if their "dream car" is a wise choice for the environment.

For extra credit, students can research how many trees would need to be planted each year to offset the CO2 produced by the students’ dream cars.

My students begin this project at the beginning of our stoichiometry unit. They obviously have no idea how to do stoichiometry at this time, but they can research the MPG of their dream car and the car they want to compare it to. They can also research how many liters of carbon dioxide are used by a typical tree for one year.

This portion of the assignment interests them, so they eagerly jump into this research.

As the class proceeds for the next two to three weeks, students learn the math associated with stoichiometry, so that they understand how to convert from grams of one substance (like octane) to liters of another (like carbon dioxide). 

We practice and grade many problems, but when students believe that they understand the process, they break away from the class to work on the math for their independent projects. 

Some students catch on quickly and are working on their projects within a week, and some are a bit slower to understand the material, but everyone is excited about the work in the end.

By the end of the project, my biggest hope is that students are no longer intimidated by dimensional analysis and that they can do any conversion that they are asked to do. 

I also want them to understand that chemistry is not just a subject that they “have to learn” in high school, but instead is one that impacts their lives, and the world around them, on a regular basis.

When students see that something like stoichiometry is regularly used to understand how we are polluting our world—when they understand why that knowledge is useful—they take more ownership in their learning.

This small, math-based unit also leads us into gas laws, where I can emphasize more concepts, like tire pressure and its effect on gas mileage, so that all students understand how knowledge of chemistry supports careers of all kinds, from becoming an auto mechanic to a landscaper to an academic.

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