Green chemistry outreach to Salem, Massachusetts public schools

CHED 152

Christine E. MacTaylor, christine.mactaylor@salemstate.edu, Lorrie Comeford, lorrie.comeford@salemstate.edu, and Deborah Mason-McCaffrey, dmasonmccaffre@salemstate.edu. Department of Chemistry and Physics, Salem State College, 352 Lafayette Street, Salem, MA 01970
We worked with fifth grade students from the Horace Mann Laboratory School in Salem, Massachusetts. The students made biodiesel from various types of vegetable oil. They tested the biodiesel in a bomb calorimeter and/or a diesel engine. These activities were part of a presentation about renewable energy resources. This outreach supports the state learning standards for physical science in grades 3 to 5 which call for students to identify forms of energy and recognize that energy can cause motion.