Part 1 - History Behind the holiday. Watch the video and answer the questions. 

  1. Why is Valentine's Day so popular?
  2. What pagan holiday is Valentine's Day taken from?
  3. Who was St. Valentine and why was he beheaded? 

Part 2 - Valantine's Day Chemistry - Refer to the graphic below. 

  1. What elements are found in all of the chemicals in the graphic?
  2. What are the 4 love chemicals referred to and what do they do?
  3. Describe how the different chemicals react when someone is in love.
  4. Make a sketch of oxytocin and describe its importance. 

Infographic on Valentine's Day chemistry, showing the chemical structures of dopamine, serotonin, adrenaline and oxytocin, and explaining how each contributes to the feeling of being in love.s

Part 3 - The Chemistry of Chocolate - Use the graphic below to answer the questions

  1. What is an aphrodisiac?
  2. Sketch and describe the 2 "love drugs" associated with chocolate.
  3. Why is chocolate toxic to dogs? 


Part 4 - Your Brain in Love - Site where the below graphic came from.

  1. Sketch the brain and label all the active regions that indicate "romantic love".
  2. What heightened cognitive functions are indicated by the brain regions affected?
  3. What are the blood levels of important chemicals and their affects? 
  4. Describe how being in love is similar to being addicted? 

Part 5:  Pick 3 of the bullet points below to complete. 

  • The Brain in Love- Video TED - Watch and take notes on comparing to what you have already learned. 
  • Podcast   What is love? - Listen and take notes comparing to what you already learned. 


Part 6 : Create an epic Valentine's Card using information from each of the parts.