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What activities, demonstrations, songs, or dramatizations do you use when you teach this topic?
basic internal structure of the atom, mass number, average atomic mass, atomic number, isotopes................................


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JanelleHollingshead Simulations 0 Nov 1 2009, 4:34 PM EST by JanelleHollingshead
Thread started: Nov 1 2009, 4:34 PM EST  Watch
If you search for "s orbitals" on you-tube you will get a simulation of how s and p orbitals come together in 3-D...you can also find d orbitals and hybridization.

Lots of great simulations including rutherford's gold foil model, the photoelectric effect, how a microwave works (one of my favorites), how the hydrogen atom releases color (another of my favorites....use white light, turn on the prediction button with the bohr model, and turn on the energy level button of the right), and lots more!
http://phet.colorado.edu/simulations/index.php?cat=Chemistry

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JanelleHollingshead Protons, electrons, and neutrons 0 Oct 10 2009, 6:45 PM EDT by JanelleHollingshead
Thread started: Oct 10 2009, 6:45 PM EDT  Watch
This activity is simplistic ....i am sure most teachers have done this. I give the students bingo chips.....seven of each color....not all of them have the same color because you usually will not be able to find that many bingo chips in the same color. I ask them to separate the chip into protons, electrons, and neutrons. I give them a picture where the center is labeled nucleus and then there is an outer ring. I put on the board an isotopes with a charge and ask them to create the atom on their paper with their chips. Then if you get see through bingo chips you can use your transparency to show the class your answer. I usually put up the answer with some mistakes and have them correct the picture instead of always showing them the answer. It works well for kids with learning disibilities.
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JanelleHollingshead Gold foil experiment demonstration 0 Oct 10 2009, 6:39 PM EDT by JanelleHollingshead
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I learned this demonstration from JulieAnn Villa. I first have students copy and color the picture of the gold foil experiment for homework so students are familiar with its set up. I tell them that the walls of the classroom is the detector and i have a nerf gun that shoots out the positive particles. I talk to them about how J.J Thomson thought that atoms were made out of plum pudding and that they expected the positive particles to shoot right through the gold foil. I stand in the middle of the classroom to show the students where the gold foil is and have a student shoot through the imaginary foil and have the balls hit the back wall. I tell them that this is what Rutherford expected to happen but it is not what actually happened. I go to the center of the room where the gold foil should be, tell the students that I am the real representation of gold foil and ask the student to shoot the rest of the nerf balls. They are instructed to miss sometimes (JullieAnn had them shoot at a ball that was hanging from a stick to represent the nucleus. I am too lazy so I just have them hit me) I then talk about how, because I had mass, the balls were deflected to other parts of the classroom. We go back to the picture and I show them how just like me....the nucleus deflected the positive particle and they learned that the nucleus was small, positive. Based on the number of times the positive particles missed Rutherford also came to the conclusion that the atom is mostly space.
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