Refilling a car engine with antifreeze
Antifreeze (Conservation of Mass)
Grades 9-12
It is important to top your car off with various fluids and chemicals so that it can function properly and safely. Antifreeze (also known as engine coolant) is one of these chemical fluids that are essential for cars, especially during cold weather. In this lesson, we will explore the purpose of antifreeze and how it reacts with water to help your car.
Teacher's Guide and Related Standards
Students will explain the importance of antifreeze for cars and how antifreeze reacts with water, resulting in a chemical reaction in which mass and matter (atoms) are conserved.
- What makes antifreeze and other car fluids hazardous?
- What is the purpose or function of antifreeze?
- What happens when you mix antifreeze and water together in your car?
Motorweek Clip
- Why is it important to wear gloves when handling antifreeze and other vital car fluids?
- What are some of the safety, storage, and handling of chemical recommendations the mechanic addresses in the video?
Vocabulary
Supplemental Enrichment Activities
Antifreeze and Water Ratio Graph
Have students analyze the graph. Inform them that “ethylene glycol (%)” refers to the percentage of antifreeze mixed with water when topped off in a car. Have students use mathematics to interpret the results and implications of this graph. Students should be able to come up with the following:
- The function of antifreeze is to lower the freezing point of water in cars.
- The best antifreeze/water ratio that is most effective is 60% antifreeze and 40% water.
in Ecosystems
Antifreeze Properties
Ethylene glycol is the most common ingredient in automotive antifreeze. For years, it was used in deadly poisonings. What made this household chemical so dangerous? And why is it no longer a viable poison?
Students will learn about this from watching the video.
As students watch the video, have them list the various chemical and physical properties of antifreeze (ethylene glycol) that are mentioned.
Antifreeze and Water Chemical Reaction
View the chemical equation of antifreeze and water. Have students complete a journal entry addressing the following questions:
- Is mass conserved in this chemical reaction? Why or why not?
- Is matter (atoms) conserved in this chemical reaction? Why or why not?