Summary: Scientific understanding changes and is refined over time through a process of review by the scientific community.
Matter as Atoms
“identify that all matter is made of atoms which are composed of protons, neutrons and electrons”
“describe the structure of atoms in terms of the nucleus, protons, neutrons and electrons”
“outline historical developments of the atomic theory to demonstrate how models and theories have been contested and refined over time through a process of review by the scientific community”
Notes
| Activity/Resource | Notes |
|---|---|
| [Literacy] Summarise | Simple activity: Provide students with a paragraph of information about atoms (including about protons, neutrons and electrons). Using this, students produce a table describing the properties of each subatomic particle. |
| [Literacy] Description | Opposite of the activity above, students write a one or two sentence description of what an atom is using scientific terminology |
| [Literacy] Diagram | Simple activity: Students draw and label a model of the atom (proton, neutron, electron) in their books (this activity could be improved by having a physical model for students to refer to first) |
| [Digital] Build an Atom | Applet available on PhET – students can ‘build’ at atom (manually adding protons, neutrons and electrons). The applet has several features, including both orbit/cloud models, as well as atom stability |
| [Literacy] Atomic Theory | Students summarise key scientists’ contributions to atomic theory – e.g. Democritus, Dalton, Thomson, Bohr, Schrodinger, Chadwick For interested students, further research can be directed towards modern understandings of the atom (the Standard Model of Particle Physics; particle colliders) This can be presented in different ways – one page biographies; timelines; PowerPoints; videos; presentations (where students draw/create atomic models); webpage etc. |
| [Video] What Happens When Protons Collide? | Available from ABC Education – video about the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, Geneva |
Radioactivity and Nuclear Energy
“identify that natural radioactivity arises from the decay of nuclei in atoms, releasing particles and energy”
“evaluate the benefits and problems associated with medical and industrial uses of nuclear energy”
Notes
| Activity/Resource | Notes |
|---|---|
| [Practical] Geiger Counter | Students use the Geiger Counter to detect radiation (use samples) Can also test Geiger counter blocked by paper, skin, wood, aluminium, cement (construct a diagram afterwards) Use Geiger Counter to examine properties of alpha, beta and gamma radiation (penetration power) |
| [Digital] Half-life Spreadsheet | Students model half-life using spreadsheet/simulation A guide for producing such a spreadsheet can be found from the University of York. Alternatively, a pre-made one (with plenty of details about radioisotopes) can be found from the California State University, Northridge. |
| [Literacy] Summarise | Students extract information (from a text) to identify the properties of each type of radiation |
| [Video] How Kodak Exposed the Atomic Bomb | Veritasium. (2020). How Kodak exposed the atomic bomb [Video]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pSqk-XV2QM Case study – scientist detecting (beta) radiation from American atomic bomb tests, related: ‘The Fogging of Photographic Film by Radioactive Contaminants in Cardboard Packaging Materials‘ journal article (link requires login – can access with a university account) Can also discuss the environmental/societal effects of testing/using nuclear weapons |
| [Video] The Most Radioactive Places on Earth | Veritasium. (2020). The most radioactive places on Earth [Video]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRL7o2kPqw0 Examples of places with high levels of ionising radiation (can discuss what students have seen/heard from other subjects, their parents, or from the media e.g. movies) |
| [Digital] Radiation Dose Chart | xkcd. (n.d.). Radiation Dose Chart. https://xkcd.com/radiation/ Chart that can give students some reference/scale for radioactivity |
| [Literacy] Periodic Table | Students locate + investigate synthetically prepared elements on the Periodic Table (e.g. Plutonium, Americium, Technetium) |
| [Research] Nuclear Energy | Students research then discuss the benefits & environmental problems of nuclear energy as an energy source The discussion part can also be conducted in different ways, e.g. debate, presentation, roleplay, video, webpage/blog post, news report, small group discussion (or jigsaw) |
| [Video] Fukushima | ABC Behind the News. (2011). Fukushima nuclear threat from earthquake in Japan [Video]. https://education.abc.net.au/home#!/media/85316/ |
*Will continue adding/refining ideas here over time.
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