NYSTCE Chemistry case studies
NYSTCE Chemistry · Put your knowledge to work in context.
The NYSTCE Chemistry Content Specialty Test is one of the New York State Teacher Certification Examinations, the assessment program New York uses for educator certification. Candidates for chemistry teaching positions in New York schools take it as part of the certification pathway, and it is also relevant to teachers adding a chemistry extension to an existing certificate. The NYSTCE Chemistry case studies are 5 cases and about 2,934 words.
1Copper Recovery Lab: Limiting Reactant or Wet Product?
R is piloting a microscale copper-recovery lab for a 10th-grade chemistry class. Each pair receives 2.00 g of copper(II) sulfate pentahydrate, CuSO4·5H2O, and a 0.50 g iron nail.
620 words, about 3 min2Acetic Acid Titration: What Should the pH Be at Half-Equivalence?
During a unit on acids and bases, a teacher asks students to predict the pH at three points in the titration of 50.0 mL of 0.100 M acetic acid (Ka = 1.8 × 10−5) with 0.100 M NaOH: after 0 mL, 25.0 mL, and 50.0 mL of base. One student predicts that the pH at 25.0 mL will be 7.00 because “half of the acid has been neutralized, so the solution is neutral.” Another student predicts that the pH at 50.0 mL will also be 7.00 because “all acid and base have reacted.” The teacher wants to use the predictions to diagnose whether students are applying equilibrium and hydrolysis ideas or only recalling the strong acid–strong base pattern.
606 words, about 3 min3Galvanic Cell Voltage: Ideal versus Real
Students build galvanic cells using 0.10 M solutions and metal electrodes. One group constructs Cu(s) Cu2+(aq) Ag+(aq) Ag(s) and measures 0.46 V with a voltmeter, close to the standard value.
534 words, about 3 min4Hydrogen Pop Test: Approving a Lab with Limited Safety Controls
L plans a 45-minute lab for 32 students in a room with eight stations. Each station will add a 3.0 cm strip of magnesium ribbon to 10 mL of 6.0 M HCl in a 50 mL graduated cylinder, collect hydrogen in a balloon, and then bring the balloon near a Bunsen burner for a “pop” test.
628 words, about 3 min5Coffee-Cup Calorimetry: Why Is the Enthalpy Too Small?
Students dissolve 5.00 g of ammonium nitrate, NH4NO3, in 50.0 mL of water in a coffee-cup calorimeter. They record an initial temperature of 22.4 °C and, after stirring, a final temperature of 16.8 °C.
546 words, about 3 min