Here’s the promised podcast!

Atomic Model Review:

Listen and study!

Today we covered protons, neutrons, electrons, types of quarks and the mass of each of the particles.

Here is the link to the JLabs page with more info on protons, neutrons and electrons.

Enjoy and let me know if you have any questions!

We finished up the presentation from yesterday.

Your homework tonight (which you should complete on your blog) is to answer the following (due Thursday night at midnight):

How did Dalton, Thomson, Rutherford, Bohr, Chadwick or Shroedinger (pick one) differ from Democritus in their use of the scientific method to discover more about the nature of the atom?

Can’t remember the steps of the scientific method? Here are a few good sites to help you remember:

http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project_scientific_method.shtml
http://teacher.pas.rochester.edu/phy_labs/appendixe/appendixe.html

Hint: Democritus “thought” about atoms but that’s as far as he got…

I’ve created a new page up in the menu bar called Daily Notes that will keep a running list of links back to the main lessons we cover in class.

This should help you keep track of our studies and review our notes as we move ahead.

Feel free to blog about anything we study that you find interesting on your individual blogs. Extra credits may ensue.

Here is the presentation from today…

Here is the link to download the presentation as a Keynote file (Mac).

Fascinating…

How much stuff is in the Universe? : Starts With A Bang: “All told, there are around a whopping 1080 atoms filling our observable Universe. This is a ridiculously huge number. If you and I were to each choose an atom in the Universe at random, the probability that we’d each choose the same atom is 1 in 1080, or about as likely as winning the powerball jackpot ten times. In a row.”

That’s a lot of atoms.

We’ll talk about most of them in the coming weeks

Here are the highlights from Friday’s discussion on the nature of atoms that you should know in case there’s a *hint hint wink wink* surprise check up on Monday…

- Atoms are made of protons, neutrons and electrons.
- Protons and Neutrons compose the nucleus of an atom.
- Electrons are found in orbit (shells) around that nucleus.
- Protons are positively charged, neutrons are neutral and electrons are negatively charged.
- An element’s atomic number on the periodic table is usually found at the top of the element’s square and is equal to the number of protons (hydrogen = 1, oxygen = 8).
- An elements atomic mass is the average number of protons and neutrons for an element. So, they usually have decimal points and are found at the bottom of an element’s square on the periodic table.
- Hydrogen is the only element that does not (normally) have a neutron and is the most abundant atom in the universe.

Check out the awesome PTable.com if you need some practice or a good online periodic table.

Also check out Jefferson Lab’s Atom Tour for a good refresher.

**Extra Credit Alert** +5 test points if you post an update to your blog describing the number of protons, neutrons and electrons, atomic number and atomic mass for any element (besides hydrogen). You have until 8 PM Sunday August 29, 2010 EST.

I don’t do many extra credit chances, so make good use of it

Otherwise, have a great weekend and let me know if you have any questions!

Here are the goals for the four main areas we’re covering in our opening unit o’ studies.

By the end of the unit, you should be able to confidently have a grasp on the following tasks…

History

Describe how atomic theory has changed from Ancient Greece to the 21st century by highlighting some of the leading scientists from the last two thousand five hundred years.

Parts of the Atom

Describe the parts of the atom (their relative size, charge, location) and the particles that make up the atom.

Qualities of the Atom

What is the difference between atomic number and atomic mass? Describe isotopes and how they form.

Experimenting with the Atom

Illustrate, narrate or describe the development of atomic science since the end of WWII up to the present.

From the Guardian…

Astronomers have discovered a new solar system 127 light years away that is tantalisingly similar to our own.

The team used observations from the European Southern Observatory(Eso) in Chile to find five Neptune-like planets orbiting a Sun-like star called HD 10180. The planets are closer to their star than Mars is to the Sun.

Fascinating news!

Teachers are heading back to Spartanburg Day this week to get set for the new year (starts soon!).

I’ll be in a new room this year (308) which is the old computer lab. It’s a little larger and I’ll have new tables and stools (hopefully soon).

In the meantime, drop by and see how the room looks this year!

And yes, Maxwell is glad to be back…