Classroom Resources: Atomic Structure
1 – 25 of 29 Classroom Resources
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Inferences, History, Model of the Atom, Atomic Theory, Atomic Radius | Middle School, High School
Lesson Plan: Indirectly Measuring the Atom
In this lesson, students will try to determine the radius of one circle and the total area of multiple circles on a piece of paper by indirect measurement. They will relate this to the experiment done by Ernest Rutherford in which he bombarded a gold foil with Alpha particles.
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History, Model of the Atom, Atomic Theory, Subatomic Particles | High School
Demonstration: The Hoopla about Atoms
In this demonstration, students use a hula hoop that has a ball in the center (hung from a string) to simulate Rutherford’s gold foil experiment.
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Atomic Spectra, Model of the Atom, Isotopes, Atomic Theory, Subatomic Particles, Emission Spectrum, Electrons, Orbitals , Ions | High School
Lesson Plan: Atomic Structure Unit Plan
The AACT high school classroom resource library has everything you need to put together a unit plan for your classroom: lessons, activities, labs, projects, videos, simulations, and animations. We constructed a unit plan using AACT resources that is designed to teach Atomic Structure to your students.
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Physical Properties, History, Periodic Table, Model of the Atom, Atomic Theory, Atomic Mass, Subatomic Particles, Chemical Properties | Elementary School, Middle School, High School
Activity: Mendeleev Video Questions
In this activity, students will watch a video and answer questions about Dimitri Mendeleev. They will learn about his contribution to chemistry, including his organization of the periodic table and awareness to leave gaps for elements that weren’t yet discovered.
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History, Model of the Atom, Atomic Theory, Subatomic Particles, Electrons, Orbitals | Middle School, High School
Activity: Neils Bohr Video Questions
In this activity, students will answer questions while watching a video about Niels Bohr and learn how he redefined thinking about the atom and the electron. His model of the atom advanced our understanding of subatomic particles and holds an important place in the history and development of atomic theory.
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History, Model of the Atom, Radiation, Half Lives, Subatomic Particles, Radioactive Isotopes | Middle School, High School
Activity: Marie Curie Video Questions
In this activity, students will watch a short video and learn about Marie Curie, her Nobel Prizes, radiation experiments, and discovery of new elements.
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History, Model of the Atom, Atomic Theory, Subatomic Particles | Middle School, High School
Activity: Ernest Rutherford Video Questions
In this activity, students will watch a video about Ernest Rutherford. They will learn about his great contributions to chemistry, including his study of alpha particles and his use of the gold foil experiment. They will also find out that he won the Nobel Prize in chemistry for his studies on radioactive substances.
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Model of the Atom, Atomic Mass, Subatomic Particles, Electrons | Middle School, High School
Project: Element Project
In this project, students will become familiar with and have a workable understanding of atomic structure. The students will also create and construct a model of an atom.
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History, Model of the Atom, Atomic Theory, Subatomic Particles | High School
Project: The Scientists Behind the Atom
In this project, students will create a digital (or paper) book about the scientists who contributed to our understanding of the atom.
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Model of the Atom, Atomic Theory, Subatomic Particles | Middle School, High School
Lab: Investigating the Sizes of Atomic Particles
In this lab, students will use yarn and peas to compare the sizes of the three subatomic particles and will see that most of an atom is empty space.
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History, Model of the Atom, Atomic Theory, Subatomic Particles, Electrons | Elementary School, Middle School, High School
Video: Niels Bohr Video
This video tells the story of Niels Bohr, a great scientist who redefined how we think about atoms and the electron. Bohr’s model of the atom helped to advance understanding of subatomic particles, and holds an important place in the history and development of the atomic theory.
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Elements, Periodic Table, Atoms, Model of the Atom, Valence Electrons, Atomic Mass, Subatomic Particles | Middle School, High School
Activity: Mystery Elements
The students will work in cooperative groups to construct Bohr models of "mystery" elements and record missing information about each element. Students will also create a new "mystery" element card for a classmate to analyze and determine its identity.
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Periodic Table, Model of the Atom, Valence Electrons, Subatomic Particles, Electrons, Ions | Middle School, High School
Lab: Sweet Model of the Atom
In this lesson, students will use different candies to represent electrons, protons, and neutrons to gain a better understanding of atoms, ions, and isotopes.
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Periodic Table, Model of the Atom, Subatomic Particles, Atomic Radius, Ionic Radius, Electrons | Elementary School, Middle School, High School
Animation: Atomic & Ionic Radii Animation
In this animation, students will have an opportunity to visualize atomic and ionic radii. They will look at the different sizes of atoms in the third period and the atoms in the sixth group. They will also look at an atom and its cation as well as an atom and its anion. **This video has no audio**
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Periodic Table, Model of the Atom, Quantum Numbers, Electron Configuration, Subatomic Particles, Electrons | High School
Animation: Orbitals Animation
In this animation, students will visualize how orbitals are superimposed upon one another within an atom, in three dimensions. The orbitals depicted in this animation are 1s, 2s, 2p, 3s, 3p, 4s, and 3d. **This video has no audio**
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History, Model of the Atom, Atomic Theory, Subatomic Particles, Radioactive Isotopes | Middle School, High School
Video: Ernest Rutherford Video
Rutherford's initial research was studying alpha particles, which he hypothesized were helium nuclei. With the help of Hans Geiger, Rutherford conducted the gold foil experiment, which justifies that the nucleus of an atom is a dense collection of protons and contains the majority of an atom’s mass. It also inferred that most of the atom is empty space and electrons are not located in the nucleus. He won the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 1908 for his studies on radioactive substances.
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History, Periodic Table, Model of the Atom, Atomic Theory, Atomic Mass, Subatomic Particles | Elementary School, Middle School, High School
Video: Dimitri Mendeleev Video
This video tells the story of how Dimitri Mendeleev organized the periodic table, even leaving gaps to be filled in with elements that weren't yet discovered.
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Observations, Physical Properties, History, Model of the Atom | Elementary School, Middle School, High School
Video: Ancient Chemistry Video
This video traces the history of chemistry from the discovery of fire, through the various metal ages, and finally to the great philosophers.
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Observations, Introduction, Elements, History, Periodic Table, Atoms, Model of the Atom, Culminating Project, Matter | Middle School, High School
Activity: Is a Picture Worth 1000 Words?
In this activity, students will learn about early chemistry discoveries through a textbook reading as well as from a cartoon.
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Review, Model of the Atom, Isotopes, Balancing Equations, Atomic Mass, Subatomic Particles, Lewis Dot Diagrams, Electrons, Ions | Middle School, High School
Activity: Tic-Tac-Toe Review
In this activity students collaborate to complete tic-tac-toe review questions to prepare for a test on the atomic structure unit. The idea behind the activity is to give students choice and you can read more about the inspiration for the activity in the May issue of Chemistry Solutions.
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Physical Properties, Elements, History, Periodic Table, Atoms, Model of the Atom, Identifying an Unknown, Valence Electrons, Subatomic Particles, Atomic Radius, Ionic Radius, Ionization Energy, Electron Affinity, Chemical Properties, Electrons, Ions | High School
Lesson Plan: The Periodic Table Unit Plan
The AACT high school classroom resource library and multimedia collection has everything you need to put together a unit plan for your classroom: lessons, activities, labs, projects, videos, simulations, and animations. We constructed a unit plan using AACT resources that is designed to teach the Periodic Table to your students.
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Interdisciplinary, History, Model of the Atom, Culminating Project, Atomic Theory | Middle School, High School
Activity: Scientist Infographic
In this activity, students will design and publish an infographic focused on a well-known scientist and their contribution to the development of the atomic model.
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Physical Properties, History, Periodic Table, Atoms, Model of the Atom, Isotopes, Electron Configuration, Valence Electrons, Atomic Mass, Subatomic Particles, Atomic Radius, Chemical Properties, Electrons, Orbitals | Middle School, High School
Activity: Ptable.com Investigations
In this activity, students will use the online periodic table found at www.ptable.com to investigate a number of chemistry concepts. Students will use this online resource to explore information about the elements, including historical data, physical properties, periodic trends and more.
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Elements, Interdisciplinary, History, Periodic Table, Atoms, Model of the Atom | Middle School, High School
Project: Element Baby Book
In this activity, students will “adopt” an element and create a baby book about their “new baby” while they research and learn about the element.
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Periodic Table, Atoms, Model of the Atom, Valence Electrons, Subatomic Particles, Atomic Radius, Ionic Radius, Electron Affinity, Electrons, Ions | High School
Activity: Periodic Trends II: Electron Affinity, Atomic Radius, & Ionic Radius
In this simulation, students will focus their investigation on the electron affinity of an atom. Through the use of this simulation students will have the opportunity to examine the formation of an anion as well as compare the atomic radius of a neutral atom to the ionic radius of its anion.