LEGO® Chemical Reactions

The LEGO Chemical Reactions lesson introduces students to molecules, atoms, chemical notation, and chemical compounds (or reinforces these concepts) through an engaging hands-on wet lab, and LEGO models of atoms.

This lesson is offered as a 2.5 hour field trip lesson at the MIT Edgerton Center. Click the link to sign up for a field trip.

For educators wishing to teach this lesson in their own classroom or after-school program, we provide the following materials:

• Teacher’s Guide (includes list of materials, a lesson description, and suggestions for classroom use: three to four 45-minute classroom lessons.)
• Student worksheets – color
• Student worksheets – black and white
• Student worksheets – Answer Key
• Color laminated LEGO Layout Mat and Atom Key (print with no scaling and flip on short edge if using a duplex printer)
• Color laminated LEGO Reactants and Products

(documents updated January 2010)

Note: The LEGO bricks can be used for our Photosynthesis lessons as well.

This lesson is appropriate for children ages 11 and up.

This lesson meets the following items of the Massachusetts State Frameworks for grades 6-8, Physical Sciences Strand: Elements, Compounds & Mixtures):

5. Recognize that there are more than 100 elements that combine in a multitude of ways to produce compounds that make up all of the living and nonliving things that we encounter.

6. Differentiate between an atom (the smallest unit of an element that maintains the characteristics of that element) and a molecule (the smallest unit of a compound that maintains the characteristics of that compound).

8. Differentiate between mixtures and pure substances.

7. Give basic examples of elements and compounds.

10. Differentiate between physical changes and chemical changes.

You can also use the LEGO Chemistry activity to supplement other subjects that students may have studied. Some additional topics include:

• Conservation of matter: as the students complete the LEGO portion of the activity, they will see that every atom of the reactants is used to create the final products

• Exothermic vs. endothermic reactions, or conservation of energy: the reaction of these chemicals is a surprisingly exothermic one.

The LEGO Chemistry lesson can serve many purposes in your curriculum:

• •An exciting introduction to a chemistry unit
• •A review when beginning a unit which uses previous knowledge of Chemistry
• •An enrichment lesson after the students have an initial understanding of molecules and chemical reactions
• •A culminating lesson after students have completed a Chemistry unit.

Lesson Overview:

LEGO® Chemistry starts with students doing a wet lab in a bag. The lab is from the GEMS guide “Chemical Reactions”, which uses some fairly common materials for some very uncommon reactions. Students work through combinations of all or some of the materials to determine which were responsible for particular reactions. We go over proper lab procedure for a chemistry experiment, although not lab writeup.

We next go over some vocabulary pertinent to chemistry, and chemical reactions. It is at this time that we explain that each LEGO® brick represents one atom, and that different color LEGO® bricks represent different elements.

We discuss molecules, mixtures and compounds. Students practice writing chemical formulas (although not equations). Finally, using the LEGO® bricks, students will model the original chemical reaction from the wet lab, and can see how the atoms recombined to make new molecules.