« Return to AACT homepage
AACT Member-Only Content
You have to be an AACT member to access this content, but good news: anyone can join!
Atomic Theory Timeline Mark as Favorite (5 Favorites)
ACTIVITY in History, Model of the Atom, Atomic Theory, Subatomic Particles. Last updated July 05, 2024.
Summary
In this activity, students will attempt to identify the historical contributions of several famous chemists and also identify the year of their work.
Grade Level
High School
Objectives
By the end of this activity, students should be able to
- Identify the contributions of Democritus, J.J. Thomson, Ernest Rutherford, Niels Bohr, and James Chadwick.
- Understand that the discoveries of these chemists evolved the model of the atom.
Chemistry Topics
This project supports students’ understanding of
- Atomic Structure
- Atomic Theory
- Model of the atom
- Subatomic particles
- History of chemistry
Time
Teacher Preparation: minimal
Lesson: 10-15 minutes
Materials
- Student handout
Teacher Notes
- This activity was created to appear in the November 2017 ChemFun section of Chemistry Solutions.
- There is only one correct contribution per chemist, and one correct year. There will be four unused contributions and years.
- Teachers may want to consider pairing this activity with the project, The Scientists Behind the Atom, for a more in-depth study of these chemists and their scientific contributions.
- An Answer Key has been provided for teacher reference.
For the Student
Directions
Match each famous chemist with their contribution to atomic theory and year of their work. There will be one answer per chemist, not all choices will be used.
