KS3 ~ Year 7 ~ Indicators & pH

This lesson is designed for the Activate KS3 Science Course, specifically Year 7 C4 ’Acids & Alkalis’.

For more lessons designed for KS3 and KS4 please visit my shop at: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resources/shop/SWiftScience.

This lesson starts with a question for students to consider, two ideas are presented to them - one student suggests that we could taste the unknown contents of two beakers to determine if it’s an acid/alkali whereas the other students suggests this is dangerous and we should use a chemical indicator instead. Students should discuss their ideas about who is right and feedback to a class discussion. This leads into an introduction to chemical indicators such as litmus paper and universal indicator.

Students will now watch a video on the use of litmus paper, whilst watching the video students will need to fill in the blanks on the table provided. This work can then be self-assessed using the mark scheme provided. Next, students will summarise what they have learned so far by completing a fill-in-the-blank task, this also can be marked and corrected using the answers provided on the PowerPoint.

The next activity requires students to read a piece of information on indicators & pH, using this information students will need to answer a set of questions. This task can be marked using the mark scheme provided on the PowerPoint.

Students can now complete an investigation, using universal indicator to determine the pH and acidity/alkalinity of different substances. Students can use the practical sheet to conduct this practical, recording their results in an appropriate table.

The final task is a literacy check, students will need to link groups of words together in a sentence to summarise what they have learned this lesson.

The plenary task requires students to write a Whatsapp message telling them what they have learned in the lesson.

All resources are included at the end of the presentation. Thanks for looking, if you have any questions please let me know in the comments section and any feedback would be appreciated :)