Connections to Chemistry Concepts Chemistry Concept Connection to Chemistry Curriculum Energy While discussing heat measurement as calories or Joules in a lesson on specific heat capacity, students apply this to the measurement of the energy contained in foods expressed as Calories. The discussion of the difference between calories (c) and food calories (C) in the article supports this lesson. Thermochemistry The chemical potential energy content of food expressed as the kilocalorie (C) being converted to the kinetic energy used in the body can be used as one example while studying the heat changes of chemical reactions. Biochemistry Metabolic reactions of energy transfer involve the biomolecules of proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. Metabolism converts excess digestible food from any source, including protein, into fat. Students can keep this in mind as they examine their diet, possibly in a unit on food chemistry. Protein synthesis Proteins are polymers of long chains of amino acids. The illustration “How Your Body Uses Amino Acids as Building Blocks” in this article can help students visualize the primary, secondary, and tertiary structure of proteins while studying these biomolecules. Essential amino acids Not all plant proteins contain the same amino acids. From the list of essential amino acids in the article, students learn about the specific amino acids that must come from their diet. This is useful during a unit on food chemistry or protein synthesis. Teaching Strategies and Tools
Graphic Organizer (p. 9): The Graphic Organizer is provided to help students locate and analyze information from the article. Student understanding will be enhanced when they explore and evaluate the information themselves, with input from the teacher, if students are struggling. Encourage students to use their own words and avoid copying entire sentences from the article. The use of bullets helps them do this. If you use the aforementioned organizers to evaluate student performance, you may want to develop a grading rubric such as the one below. Score Description Evidence 4 Excellent Complete; details provided; demonstrates deep understanding. 3 Good Complete; few details provided; demonstrates some understanding. 2 Fair Incomplete; few details provided; some misconceptions evident. 1 Poor Very incomplete; no details provided; many misconceptions evident. 0 Not acceptable So incomplete that no judgment can be made about student understanding Student Reading Comprehension Questions (p. 10-11): The Student Reading Comprehension Questions are designed to encourage students to read the article (and graphics) for comprehension and attention to detail, to provide the teacher with a mechanism for assessing how well students understand the article and/or whether they have read the assignment, and, possibly, to help direct follow-up, in-class discussion, or additional, deeper assignments. Some of the articles in this issue provide opportunities, references, and suggestions for students to do further research on their own about topics that interest them. To help students engage with the text, ask students which article engaged them most and why, or what questions they still have about the articles. The “Web Sites for Additional Information” section of the Teacher’s Guide provides sources for additional information that might help you answer these questions. Anticipation Guide Directions: Before reading the article, in the first column, write “A” or “D,” indicating your agreement or disagreement with each statement. As you read, compare your opinions with information from the article. In the space under each statement, cite information from the article that supports or refutes your original ideas.