Written by: Mrs. Kamille L. Dawson

Middle School Science/Math Teacher

Salut! I began this crucial Chemistry lesson by taking my students on a  history walk through the evolution of the atom and its particles. Each student was given a graphic organizer where they had to research the Scientist, his atom model and his contributions to the evolution of atoms. Let’s take that walk shall we… 

 

In the inception of establishing the atom the Greek Philosopher Democritus believed that all matter was matter up of four basic elements: Earth, Air, Fire and Water. Democritus also believed that atoms had 4 different shapes based on the element they were made of. We are appreciative of Democritus. He laid the foundation for other Scientist to build upon and also helped the writers and creators of the 90’s cartoon Captain Planet create a storyline.

Centuries later Chemist/School teacher John Dalton entered the conversation by proposing the Atomic Theory. His theory included 4 rules that stated the specifics on what an atom could and could not do. Dalton’s Atomic  Theory still stands to this day, however, the students and I believe he must have been a fisherman because Dalton also proposed that atoms could be joined to form compounds using tiny hooks.

Less than a century later Physicist J.J. Thomson makes a significant contribution to the evolution of atoms by discovering the first subatomic particle, the electron. Thomson must have also been a foodie because he used a very relatable real world example for his atom model. Thomson named his model after a 15th century British dish and called it the Plum Pudding Model, where the plums represented the electrons and the pudding contained the positive charge.

Everyone please give a hand clap for Modern Chemistry entering the stage. I introduce to you the Big 3. Physicist’s Ernest Rutherford, Niels Bohr, and Erwin Schrӧdinger. Between these men we discovered a second subatomic particle, the proton, discovered that electrons can be found in energy shells and that the outermost electrons are called valence electrons, electrons are not stationary but moving around the nucleus in an electron cloud. I personally believe they were scifi fans, more specifically Star Trek and Star Wars fans, experimenting with alpha particles(lasers), and energy shells(lightsaber) and the electron cloud(quantum physics/beam me up Scotty).

All of the above research laid the groundwork for the students’ foundational understanding of the atom and its subatomic particles.

Now we can have some fun!

Opposites Attract Experiment 

Using project based learning the 6th graders got a chance to participate in an experiment of how protons and electrons are attracted to each other.

Here are the steps:

-student blew up one balloon to an appropriate size

-students rubbed their balloon on their hair and clothes

 the electrons from their hair and clothes will attach to the balloon giving it a negative charge

-lastly students went to the sink, turned on the water and watched how the positively-charged area of water and the negatively-charged balloon attract!

Here are some pictures of the 6th graders in action!

 

 

 

Let’s create an Atom with Gumdrops Experiment

Using project based learning the 7th/8th graders are getting a chance to create their own Lithium atom by first creating the nucleus.

Here are the steps:

-students were asked probing questions about what subatomic particles are inside of the nucleus

-students then determined how many gumdrops will be needed to create the nucleus

-students will find the gumdrop ziplock bags, grab the subatomic particles needed

-students then had to find the orange circle stickers and label them with the number of (+’s) and (0’s) needed for their subatomic particles

-Lastly after sticking the stickers to the appropriate subatomic particle the students connected the plus and zero gumdrops with the broken toothpicks to form the nucleus of Lithium.

Here are some pictures of the 7th/8th graders in action!

 

Thank you for taking the time to read my Blog.

Stay tuned to my next blog post, “Periodic Table and Elements” But until then I leave you with this quote by respected Chemist Peter Atkins.

“Chemistry begins in the stars. The stars are the source of the chemical elements, which are the building blocks of matter and the core of our subject.”