Exploring the Atomic World

Description

It is FREE to sign up for this course. At the end, (or at any time during the course), you can choose to make a donation (using the Buy Me A Coffee button on the STORE page) according to how much benefit you gained from the course. Was it worth at least $1 per lesson? $2? More? You decide.

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SUMMARY:

There are 16 lessons with enough content to make a full semester of science. The target age level is grades 8-10 (USA) but could also be used with younger or older, depending on the level of their interest and ability.

This course is about atoms and their environment.  We’ll find out how big or small things are at the atomic level, find out what protons and neutrons are made of, and see how electrons allow atoms to stick together to make molecules using ionic, covalent, and metallic bonding. We’ll look at ions and isotopes and find out what radioactivity is. We’ll explore the meaning of “quantum” and find out what “quantum mechanics” is. We’ll discover that atoms generate light and other forms of electromagnetic radiation. Finally, we’ll look at the Periodic Table and read about all of the 118 elements.

What this course does NOT cover: balancing equations, stoichiometry, or other math-intensive activities.

This course is worth 1/2 credit for either chemistry or general science.

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HOW YOU CAN USE THIS COURSE:

This course is designed so that you can do it either on your own or with a group. There are 16 lessons. If you do one lesson per week you can get through the course in one semester. (The course is worth 1/2 high school credit.)

The “BEFORE CLASS” sections are tasks that the students need to complete on their own, a combination of reading and watching short videos. If you are doing it as a group, all these tasks should be complete before you meet together.

The “IN CLASS” section usually has hands-on activities, video labs, and also some discussion topics. If you are doing the class as a group, this is the section you can do together. If you happen to have some lab supplies available, you might even be able to do some of the video labs yourself. But if you don’t, that’s okay. You can watch the video labs together. (Often there are games to play– you’ll need to download  and construct these ahead of time.)

The “AFTER CLASS” section provides a wrap-up to the lesson, and ends with an online quiz. The quiz is set to require 80 percent right answers as a passing grade, but there is a reset button so you can retake the quiz if you need to. I don’t think website keeps a running tally of your quiz scores, so you will need to do that manually. You can choose whether or not to give yourself a grade. If you don’t need a grade, the quizzes are still a nice way to check and see how much you are remembering.

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WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

All content is provided (as either embedded text and videos, or as downloads) online EXCEPT for a book that you will need to order. You will need my “Chemical Elements Coloring and Activity Book,” which is a 300-page book targeted to older students, not young kids. It is loaded with information! We’ll be using this to read about many of the elements. You can order it at most online book sellers, but here is its listing on Amazon if you want it: Chemical Elements book on Amazon

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Many of the labs/activities use materials you probably have around the house or can easily purchase (paper, markers, tape, salt, flour, toothpicks. etc.)  A few of the labs use relatively inexpensive “science items,” but you can do these as video labs if you don’t want to purchase extra things. However, if you are willing to purchase a few special items, I recommend the following:

Lesson 3: student-grade spectrometer such as this one on Amazon (about $10 USD): Student spectrometer   If you want a less expensive option for a group of students, you could consider diffraction grating slides ($11 for 25-pack) Diffraction gratings on Amazon

Also lesson 3: An infrared thermometer “gun.” These are not that expensive ($9 USD) and they are very fun to use. Infrared thermometer gun on Amazon

Lesson 7:  A card game about ionic bonding. ($24 USD) In this lesson I have also listed some free online games about bonding, which can be played by just one student, so this card game would be best if you are working with a small group who can get together to play it. Here is the listing on Amazon: IONIC A compound building game

Lesson 12:  If you want to make the (harmless) homemade smoke bomb that I give directions for, you will need to get some potassium nitrate. It is sold commercially as stump remover. You can get it from a garden center (might be seasonal, though), or you can order it on Amazon.

Also for lesson 12:  If you want to be adventurous and try the sodium in water experiment (adult supervision required) you can actually buy pure sodium on Amazon, believe it or not. It is kind of expensive for the amount you get ($15 USD for 1 gram), but I have found it very worthwhile in my classes. The students really enjoy seeing the reaction, and they really remember the experience. You can also buy potassium samples on Amazon– potassium gives a more vigorous reaction. Just search Amazon for “pure sodium/potassium samples for chemistry” or use this link to go right to the page where I ordered sodium:  Sodium on Amazon      Potassium on Amazon

Lesson 13: Some good quality magnets, and a neodymium magnet, if possible. NOTE: Small neodymium magnets can be DEADLY for young children if they swallow them. They can cause serious injury to intestines. If you have small children in the house, don’t order small neodymiums even though the small ones are cheaper than the big ones. I suggest a neodymium with a handle like this one: Neodymium magnet with handle– on Amazon    Or you can just skip buying neodymiums. // For ceramic magnets (iron-based, no rare earths) I usually buy these (they are pretty strong):   Good quality ceramic magnets on Amazon

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Here are the lesson titles: (after you sign up, you will see this list on the main course page and the lessons will be click-able)

Atomic World Lesson 1: Atoms

Atomic World Lesson 2: The Nucleus, and the “Standard Model”

Atomic World Lesson 3: Photons and the Electromagnetic Spectrum

Atomic World Lesson 4: Electrons

Atomic World Lesson 5: What is “empty space” made of?

Atomic World Lesson 6: Introduction to the Periodic Table

Atomic World lesson 7: How atoms stick together

Atomic World Lesson 8: Atoms that don’t bond to other atoms

Atomic World Lesson 9: An atom that will bond with almost anything! (CARBON)

Atomic World Lesson 10: Radioactive Carbon (C-14)

Atomic World Lesson 11: The non-metals

Atomic World Lesson 12: Metals that don’t look or act like true metals (alkalis, and metalloids)

Atomic World Lesson 13: Transition metals, true metals, and electron orbitals

Atomic World Lesson 14: The Lanthanide series– the “rare earth” elements

Atomic World Lesson 15: Radioactive elements

Atomic World Lesson 16: Review activities