Lesson Plan: Valentine’s Day Chemistry FOR THE TEACHER
Submitted by Marie Thomas Springville High School Springville, Utah
Summary In this lesson, students learn about the chemistry of love. They see chemical structures of compounds involved in the biological process of love and learn about some of the chemical changes associated with love. Grade Level High or middle school Objectives By the end of this lesson, students should be able to Understand some of the chemistry involved with love Chemistry Topics This lesson supports students’ understanding of Chemical changes Time Teacher Preparation: 15 minutes Lesson: 65 minutes (all four parts, each part’s estimate is listed below) Materials PowerPoint Safety No specific safety considerations need to be observed during this lesson.
Teacher Notes I find that students love learning about the changes going on in their body when love is involved. They often share this information with their friends and family. Some information included for the PowerPoint may be too mature for your students. The information is intended for the teacher’s background, and it’s up to them what they want to share with their students. All sources are provided, so teachers can cater the lesson to what they are comfortable sharing with their students.
FOR THE STUDENT Lesson Show the Valentine PowerPoint (30 minutes) Talk about Valentine gifts (15 minutes) Relationship demos (10 minutes) Valentine minute-to-win-it (10 minutes) Information for PowerPoint
From: “How Love Works,” “The Chemistry of Love,” “The Science of Love,” “Chocolate: The Love Drug … And Why It’s Good for You”
Love happens in three stages, and each stage involves different chemicals in the body. Lust testosterone, estrogen Attraction phenylethylamine, epinephrine, dopamine, serotonin, pheromones Attachment oxytocin, vasopressin, endorphins Attraction Phenylethylamine (PEA) (C8H11N) It is an organic compound that plays the role of a neurotransmitter in the central nervous system of humans and other mammals. This endogenous chemical is naturally present in the brain and helps focus, reduce stress, and regulate mood. It has the ability to release noradrenaline, a stimulant hormone, which gives a boost to your heart rate, blood pressure, and blood flow. Low levels of this compound have been connected with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder , along with certain types of depression. Abnormally high levels of this chemical have been observed in schizophrenic patients. The giddiness and feeling of high that one experiences during intimate moments is due to the increased concentration of this compound in the brain. It is also present in high levels in chocolate. Therefore, many a time, chocolate is referred to as a comfort food. PEA present in it gives the feeling of happiness and increases confidence levels. Epinephrine (C9H13NO3) The initial stages of falling for someone activate your stress response, increasing your blood levels of adrenalin and cortisol. This has the charming effect that when you unexpectedly bump into your new love, you start to sweat, your heart races, and your mouth goes dry. Epinephrine is also known as adrenaline. Dopamine (C8H11NO2) In addition to releasing oxytocin, hugs also stimulate brains to release dopamine, the pleasure hormone. Dopamine sensors are the areas that many stimulating drugs such as cocaine and methamphetamine target. Helen Fisher asked newly love struck couples to have their brains examined and discovered they have high levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine. This chemical stimulates desire and reward by triggering an intense rush of pleasure. It has the same effect on the brain as taking cocaine. Fisher suggests “couples often show the signs of surging dopamine: increased energy, less need for sleep or food, focused attention, and exquisite delight in smallest details of this novel relationship.” Serotonin (C10H12N2O) One of love's most important chemicals that may explain why when you’re falling in love, your new lover keeps popping into your thoughts. A landmark experiment in Pisa, Italy, showed that early love (the attraction phase) really changes the way you think. Dr .Donatella Marazziti, a psychiatrist at the University of Pisa, gathered 20 couples who had been madly in love for less than six months. She wanted to see if the brain mechanisms that cause you to constantly think about your lover were related to the brain mechanisms of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). By analyzing blood samples from the lovers, Dr. Marazitti discovered that serotonin levels of new lovers were equivalent to the low serotonin levels of OCD patients. Pheromones These are chemicals that are excreted by the body and are known to induce various reactions in other beings who are at the receiving end. There are various kinds of pheromones, but sex pheromones are the ones important in this context. They are dubbed as the silent signals that
mammals send out to each other with the help of smell and other olfactory means. These signals are believed to be signs for them to find and identify an appropriate sexual partner. They are known to change the behavior of the opposite sex and sometimes even trigger sexual excitement in them. Although there is no evidence of them being present in humans, various studies have proved that smell plays a vital role in human mating and selection of a partner. Attachment Oxytocin (C43H66N12O12S2) When we hug someone, oxytocin is released into our bodies by our pituitary gland, lowering both our heart rates and our cortisol levels. Cortisol is the hormone responsible for stress, high blood pressure, and heart disease. Oxytocin is the hormone that is also responsible for us being here today. It is released during childbirth, making our mothers forget about all of the excruciating pain they endured birthing us and making them want to still love and spend time with us. Diane Witt, an assistant professor of psychology, has showed that if you block the natural release of oxytocin in sheep and rats, they reject their own young. Conversely, injecting oxytocin into female rats who’ve never had sex, caused them to fawn over another female’s young, nuzzling the pups and protecting them as if they were their own Endorphins These are the body's natural painkillers and also play a key role in long-term relationships. They produce a general sense of well-being, including feeling soothed, peaceful, and secure. Like dopamine and norepinephrine, endorphins are released during sex; they are also released during physical contact, exercise, and other activities. According to Michel Odent of London's Primal Health Research Center, endorphins induce a "drug-like dependency." So back to the question about chocolate being a comfort food … Chocolate Chocolate gets right to the heart of sexual pleasure by increasing the brain’s level of serotonin, the feel-good brain chemical. Serotonin plays a major role in positive mood, emotional health, proper sleep, and balanced appetite, contributing to numerous behavioral and physiological functions. Decreased serotonin is a well-known factor in cases of depression. Increased brain serotonin promoted by chocolate increases sexual excitation, desire, and responsiveness. Women have more serotonin in their systems than men and appear to be more sensitive to chocolate. Chocolate provides a mood boost to women during PMS and menstruation, when serotonin levels are often down. Probably the most influential love compound in chocolate is PEA. This chemical, which occurs in chocolate in small quantities, stimulates the nervous system and triggers the release of pleasurable opium-like compounds endorphins. PEA also potentiates the activity of dopamine, a neurochemical directly associated with sexual arousal and pleasure. PEA acts as a potent antidepressant in both genders and rises during periods of romance. The giddy, restless feelings that occur when we are in love are because of PEA to an extent, as it is significantly increased in the brain at that time and when we achieve orgasm. Some scientists dismiss this notion, claiming that the PEA in chocolate is metabolized too quickly to produce a significant mood-altering effect, but others disagree. Why else would chocolate be so inextricably intertwined with love and romance? Activities for students to demonstrate the love chemistry oxytocin – allow students to give friends hugs if the friend agrees pheromones – allow students to try on some cologne or perfume with pheromones adrenaline – who thinks they are in love? Have students test with “love meter” (a hand boiler)
PEA – give them each a piece of dark chocolate because it has PEA Valentine gifts Love Apples – In olden days, women would put a peeled apple under their armpit and allow it to soak up pheromones. When a loved one went to war, the women gave the apple to the man so they could smell them. Synthetic diamonds – Companies can make diamonds out of breath or ashes of loved ones. Flowers – Buy white flowers. Spray them with phenolphthalein (don’t tell students). Show them the flowers, and share with them that you really want pink flowers. Spray with a basic solution (ex: 6 M ammonia), and they turn pink. Relationship demos Potassium permanganate demo – blind date – slow to start and then sparks fly Gun cotton – quick fling and then it’s over Thionin (demo from Flinn Scientific) – sometimes people are different around the one they date and their everyday friends Minute-to-win-it Stack candy hearts – Put 15-20 in each bag and have students get in groups of twos. Measure the height in cm for each group. They can eat the hearts after. Juju hearts – I draw four names from each class for this activity. I have lids to party pail ice cream that have a nice blue circle ring. Students bite of the tips of the hearts and make a circle and see who gets the furthest around in one minute. Marshmallow toss – One partner has a plastic cup and the other stands on the other side of the room and tries to throw marshmallows into the cup.
