Description
In our hands-on Purification of Caffeine lab project, students engage in learning various purification techniques while extracting and refining caffeine from readily available over-the-counter tablets. Key methods explored include crystallization, sublimation, and deposition. Traditional chemistry education often demonstrates sublimation using naphthalene, a compound found in mothball products used for clothing storage. However, heating naphthalene for sublimation in educational settings poses health risks due to its carcinogenic properties. In our project, we prioritize safety through principles of green chemistry, opting to use caffeine instead of naphthalene. This substitution allows students to safely observe sublimation processes while gaining insights into phase changes and their roles in purification techniques. Additionally, students will explore concepts such as solubility, crystallization, and less familiar phase changes like deposition. This comprehensive approach not only enhances practical laboratory skills but also reinforces understanding of sustainable and safe chemical practices in educational settings.
State Standards
HS-PS1-11(MA) – Design strategies to identify and separate the components of a mixture based on relevant chemical and physical properties.
Supports Available to Students
Tier 1 (Supports provided to ALL students)
- Positive classroom norms
- Evidence based, standards aligned academic curriculum and instruction
- Varied and differentiated instruction and learning opportunities
- Prelab check in
Tier 2 (Supports provided to targeted SMALLER groups of students)
- Academic skills small group instruction
- Targeted social emotional or behavioral skills small group instruction
- Student self-assessment and feedback
Tier 3 (Intensive supports provided to SMALL groups or INDIVIDUAL students)
- Highly individualized intervention and support based on students with the greatest needs
- Weekly extra help sessions offered outside of class
- Weekly or biweekly wrap-around check-ins with students’ advisors, support staff, and/or families
Skills-learned
- Safely practice multiple chemistry separation techniques
- Extract a chemical from a mixture through solubility and crystallization
- Purify a chemical through sublimation and deposition phase changes
About Raks Derival
Ms. Derival (she/they) is a second-generation Cambodian woman, daughter of refugee immigrants, and mother of two Cambodian-Haitian sons. She graduated from Suffolk University with a degree in biochemistry and forensic science and worked in forensic toxicology and green chemistry labs before joining Innovation Academy Charter School. Ms. Derival teaches chemistry, green chemistry, forensic science, and science and social justice classes through anti-racist and culturally relevant lenses. She is also passionate about healing the world through kindness and science, creating positive energy in social justice movements, and empowering others to remember that they are always, and in all ways, more extraordinary than they think they are.