Pencil-and-Paper Activity:
The Aspirin Label
This activity is where the students take what they have learned about aspirin and apply it in the real world. Here they will use their aspirin knowledge to become savvy consumers. The activity involves students reading a front and back label of an aspirin bottle. By reading the back label they will be able to verify or refute the claims made on the front label. It is hoped that reading the label of an aspirin bottle with a discerning eye will teach them to use the fine print on labels to make them wiser purchasers of any products, not just aspirin.
In addition to comparing the front and back labels of an imaginary bottle of aspirin, the activity also allows them to compare real aspirin labels to our fictitious one, giving them a "real world" look at aspirin labels.
Menu
- The
Front
The Back
Worksheet #1
Worksheet #2 (student version)
Worksheet #3 (student version)
Worksheet #4 (student version)
After completing this activity, the students can learn even more about wise consumer decision-making in the activity Compare the Painkillers.
Relevant National Science Education Standards
- Science as
Inquiry — The activity requires that the students use scientific-style
inquiry to test the claims made on the front label against those on the back
label as they would test a hypothesis against experimental data.
Science and Technology — The activity brings students face-to-face with the abilities and limits of over-the-counter pain relief technology.
Science in Personal and Social Perspectives — The activity is health-oriented, namely, it teaches the scientific knowledge and skills that students need to look after their own health when using OTC medications. The hazards involved with using aspirin should be apparent to the students when they conduct this activity.
History and Nature of Science — Because the investigation of the claims on the front label is analogous to a scientific investigation of a hypothesis, the activity reinforces understanding of scientific method and the nature of scientific knowledge.
Relevant New Jersey State Science Curriculum Standards
| 5.1 | The activity requires them to ask questions and draw conclusions concerning the validity of the claims made on the front label of the aspirin bottle, and concerning the decisions they as consumers will have to make. |
| 5.4 | This activity shows the students how to apply scientific principles to check the validity of the claims made on the front label of an aspirin bottle, and we hope the students will be able to use scientific principles to weigh claims by other marketers concerning technological products. |
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