Final Thoughts on Unit 2: Atomic Structure & Radioactivity

Looking back on this unit, I believe we learned some fairly simple concepts that furthured our knowledge on atomic structure and how atoms react over time. We first learned about the different scientists and what they contributed to our knowledge on atomic structure. Dalton created basic postulates that characterized atoms. JJ Thompson experimented with a cathode ray and discovered the electron. He created a plum pudding model where all the electrons are placed equally apart from one another inside of an atom. Ernest Rutherford performed a gold foil experiment and discovered the proton and neutron, creating a model that had a dense center of positively charged protons and neutrally charged neutrons surround by orbiting electrons. In this unit, we also learned about calculating average atomic mass which was pretty easy; you just needed to double check that the input on the calculator was correct so you get the correct number. For Chapter 19, we began discussing the various types of radioactive decay and the impact it has on an atom's nucleus. Alpha, beta, and gamma were some of the most significant types. Additionally, half-life was another concept we learned. Half life is the time it takes for half of the original sample to decay. I thought this was the hardest concept for me personally since each half life problem would be worded differentlly, and I had trouble figuring out what steps to do to figure them out. However, with some more practice, I'll be able to get half life perfectly! The last thing, we did not learn in class but was also on the test, was nuclear fission & fusion. I wish we would've talked about this in class as it is a pretty interesting topic to discuss. However, this was also a pretty easy concept to understand: fission is neutrons disbanding to form lighter elements and fusion is neutrons joining to create a heavier element.

https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atom

I walked in today for the unit test feeling very anxious and frazzled. However, once I sat down and took the test, I was feeling pretty good about it. Even the half life problems were not that difficult. Overall, this unit was pretty interesting and I enjoyed the star log project that went along with it.

Half-Life and Forensic Archaeology Lab Recap

Today in class, we learned a new lesson on half-life. An overall summary of what half life is is that half life is the amount of time it takes for half of the substance to decay radioactively. We followed up the lesson with doing some practice problems. The problems would give you the mass, amount of time gone by, and the half life. Then, it would ask you to calculate the remaining mass left over after that time has gone by. For the most part, I thought this lesson was fairly easy, but I should just practice more with a variety of different types of half-life problems. I found this website that has many problems, including a short lesson to refresh my memory. I'll be doing some more practice on there.

http://www.m2c3.com/chemistry/VLI/M3_Topic2/M3_Topic2_print.html

In the second half of the class, we began a new lab dealing with what we just learned about half lives. We started the lab by measuring out a 24 cm by 24 cm paper and then cutting out 567 squares from it. This was extremely (!!!) tedious, but it did not actually take that much time. It was mostly just me trying to make the lines straight and the squares even. This lab's purpose was to give a demonstration on how radioactive decay works. We would scatter the squares onto a surface and then count the number of squares that have the colored side face up. Those squares represented how many "atoms" decayed. We would repeat this process 6 times, each time discarding those decayed atoms. Overall, I think this lab did give me a good model of how elements decay over time, losing their radioactivity.

Recap on Beanium Lab

Upon hearing the name "beanium," I was interested in what it was exactly. Today's "beanium" lab consisted of an activity to apply our new skills of calculating atomic mass. The element we were calculating was beanium, and a single atom was a single bean of varying color (red, black, white, and spotted). Each variant of bean counted as an "isotope" which we then calculated each isotope's mass and average mass. At the end, we calculated the overall atomic mass of all beanium atoms.

Cute l'il red solo cup!

The various "isotopes" of beanium

Overall, I think this lab was an excellent lab which helped us practice calculating atomic mass. The whole "bean as an element" idea was very amusing. I did not find the lab to be particularly difficult in any sort. After today's lab, I think I've got a handle on calculating atomic mass. My favorite part of the lab had to be the mini solo cups for measuring mass; I thought they were absolutely adorable.

Isotopes and More!

Today marked the second lesson of the atomic structure and radioactivity unit. We learned the basics on atoms and what they are made of, how to calculate atomic mass and how to write an isotope in proper notation. The things we learned today covered a big chunk of the questions I was confused on during the pre-test. I now know how to calculate the amount of subatomic particles in a given atom of an element based on the isotope notation. I do not remember learning this concept in Physical Science, so this is an entirely new concept I have just learned. I really enjoy having those practice problems where we can actually interact with it via a wireless app. They let me apply my knowledge and practice for the quizzes/tests.

At first, I was a bit slow on understanding how to solve for the amount of a subatomic particles because I had to remember which number is which and how they all relate to each other. But I think after some more practice, I will be able to do those problems with no problem!

I'm also very interested to see how tomorrow's Beanium Lab will turn out and how it will be executed.

https://www.gourmetstore.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/product_full/B108_PebbleBeans.jpg

First Concepts Learned on Atomic Structure & Radioactivity

For the first lesson about atomic structure & radioactivity, we learned about various scientists and their contributions to the atomic model. We also learned how to calculate percentages of an element found in a certain chemical compound. After taking the pre-test, I was incredibly confused by many of the concepts, but after today's lesson, I now understand the basics of the unit. Some highlights of today's lessons include Dalton's Atomic Theory, Thomson & Rutherford's atomic models vs. the modern atomic model, and using the mass of an element to calculate its percentage. I understood everything we learned today, and I look forward to what other concepts we will learn and how they can be applied to the real world.

For some further and more detailed information on what we learned today, Study.com has some awesome resources, including an excellent video and also a quiz for comprehension on the various scientists and their contributions to the atomic theory.

https://www.thinglink.com/scene/443893437972873217

First Thoughts on Atomic Structure & Radioactivity

While taking the pretest for this unit, I was extremely stumped by a majority of the questions. I have no idea what alpha and beta means in terms of chemistry or how to balance chemical reactions. The only concept I understood for the most part was half-life. It was easy to understand that half life is how long it takes for a chemical to retain half of its mass. However, it was difficult to calculate specific percentages of how much chemical is left after a certain amount of time based on its half-life. Overall, I am curious on what new concepts we will learn in this unit and how they can be related back to our first unit, Nomenclature. I am also interested in what labs we will doing in this unit and what they have to do with atomic structure.

http://www.wpclipart.com/energy/atom/atomic_structure.png.html