Lesson Plans

Objectives
Complete Michigan Objectives can be found in the Unit Plan that accompanies these lessons.

Synthesized Objective
Students will make predictions on what they think the results of various historical e periments would be based on the previous model. !fter being given the actual results students will try to modify their original models to reconcile differences and then compare them to the model that came from each e periment.

Big Ideas
"he idea of an amorphous positive atom with electrons mi ed in was tested by #utherford$s team by firing alpha particles %helium with no electrons on it& so very positively charged' at a thin sheet of gold. (t was e pected that they would pass right through with little deviation from a straight line& think of firing a gun at a thin layer of )ell*O with some raisins in it. (nstead they found that a very small number bounced off at big angles& and some of them even straight back. "his led them to believe that there must be something small& dense and positively charged at the center of the atom. "his turned out to be the nucleus. +ater we were able to determine the charge of an electron& and thus the charge of a proton thanks to an e periment by #obert Millikan. Since "hompson had also figured out the charge to mass ratio for each& then finding the mass of electrons& and protons was possible through some simple algebra. Day 1 Materials Marbles (about 15)

Marble shooters (10) ,-. ,-. pieces of paper labeled A-I ,-. ,-. cardboard s/uares labeled !*(

Pieces of wood attached to the bottom of cardboard& each cut to a different si0e and shape Meter sticks #ulers

Activities Opener (10 minutes) 1roups were assigned as students came in the door. We already discussed what was expected i we were to shoot somethin! at a sheet o atoms i the "lum "uddin! Model were true# we should expect to see the atoms !o ri!ht throu!h$ A man named %rnest &uther ord attempted to test this theory by shootin! !old nuclei with alpha particles (helium ions)$ 'oday we will be replicatin! his experiment with (alpha particles) and atoms$ *our +ob is to i!ure out what is hidden inside o the atom by shootin! (alpha particles) at the atom$ 'race where the particle starts# and ends up tryin! to i!ure out what is !oin! in$ *ou should draw on your paper to help you analy,e your data that you collect$ *ou will be wor-in! in !roups o three to complete this tas-$ We will now !o throu!h part o an example# with some !eneral tips$ .ne tip is to press down irmly on the (alpha emitter)# another is to trac- the an!le you have the (alpha emitter pointed at)# and a inal tip is to have someone hold the atom in place so that it doesn/t move$ (&un throu!h partial demo$) 2y ,3 minutes left in class your !roup will brin! up you !rand reveal to compare your experimental results to the actual results$ Passing out materials (5 minutes) One person from each group will collect 4alpha particles. and 4emitters.& one person will collect meter sticks& and rulers& and one person will collect the group atom. Once every group is set ( will have every group rotate one spot& so that they aren$t at their original set up. Lab (00 minutes) 1tudents be!in lab$ 2uestions or students durin! the lab$ What do you thin- is under the cardboard3 Why do you thin- that3 Are there anyways that you can thin- to i!ure out the an!les3

 Closer (15 minutes)

4ow could you determine the si,e o what is inside o the atom3 4ow could you chan!e your data collection3

#eveal of group shapes and si0es versus their prediction. Clean up of materials. Placements of new paper onto cardboard atoms to prepare for the ne t hour. (f time permits have a short discussion on what went well& what surprised them& and if after seeing their shape if they can think of any way they could have improved their e periment.

Assessment Student predictions of shapes and si0es to compare to actual shapes and si0es will be collected. "his will be coupled with formative assessments from discussion /uestions within groups& and from the whole class discussion at the end. Day 2 Materials P56" #utherford Simulation http788phet.colorado.edu8en8simulation8rutherford*scattering #utherford 6 perimental Paper Student !tomic Models 9rawings

Activities Opener (15 minutes) On :riday we did a lab where we predicted what the shape was of something hidden inside of our own personal atom. 2ased on the introduction from :riday& and what you did in lab :riday& how do you think this is connected to #utherford$s e periment; "ake about < minutes to write your thoughts down. !fter = minutes you can talk to a partner seated ne t you about it.

(n comparison to #utherford e periment what did our marble represent;

5ow did shooting the marble help us to determine si0e and shape; 5ow could shooting alpha particles have helped #utherford determine what the inside of an atom looks like;

"he goal of today is to use these thoughts along with artifacts from #utherford$s e periment and a simulation to determine what #utherford$s model of the atom would have looked like. >ou will also end up adding to your atomic model sheet.

Rutherfords Paper %< minutes'

Show a digital copy of #utherford$s original paper. 5ighlight where it talks about the usage of alpha particles& and shooting them& as well as in the discussion section where he refers to large deflections. Scientific research has to be published so that it can be reviewed and scrutini0ed by other scientist so that they can also check the results being presented to assess the validity of the claims being made.

PHET Simulation and Discussion !" minutes#

"hese simulations will be run as a class and lend themselves to a whole class discussion.

Starting with the Plum Pudding Model& what did we e pect to see; o o o ?hy would we e pect that; ?hat are we actually seeing with a Plum Pudding Model; (f this was what was seen would it have supported our original prediction; ?hy or why not; %Short answer is yes'

Simulation with #utherford$s actual e periment& and 0oomed in on a single atom. o o (f this were to fit with Plum Pudding what would we e pect; ?hat appears to actually be happening; "alk about it with your neighbor.

#an again with tracer lines to improve visuals what do you notice; !gain talk with your neighbor. ?hy do you believe that to be the case; !re the alpha particles actually ever touching the center; ?hy is it not touching the center& but still going away; ?hat charge does a proton have; ?hat charge does an neutron have;

?hat would happen to the alpha particles if we were to decrease the number of protons; (ncrease the number of protons; ?hy would we e pect each of those results;

?hat would happen if we changed the number of neutrons; !fter running that. 9oes it fit with your prediction; ?hy would it result in almost no change to the alpha particle paths; ?ould #utherford have been able to figure out if there was a nucleus; o ?hy or why not;

2ased on this simulation what do you e pect #utherford$s model to look like;

Closer " minutes# Pull out your old atomic models paper where you have been drawing each of your atomic models thus far. ?ith the last five minutes of class ( would like you to draw each of the models on the paper& 9alton through 2ohr. !s before if you don$t know a model& just give you best prediction based on what you know so far. 2e sure to label your drawings. "his will be collected before you leave.

Assessment

:ormative assessments based on class discussion. ( will be sure to call on a variety of students to elicit many different student thoughts. !dditionally ( will collect their drawings to check to see how student thoughts have progressed.

Day 3 Materials Mechanical 5niverse 6umber 17 http788www.youtube.com8watch;v@e:kUAos</Bk 8hair with wheels One large student and one small student Student !tomic Models 9rawings

Activities Opener %,< minutes'

5and back student atomic model drawings 1ive students what the actual model based on #utherford is. 2ased on what you have and what was accepted as #utherford$s model compare and contrast. o !dditionally cite what evidence you used to get to your model& and what evidence may have contributed to #utherford$s model. ( will walk around to see what you are writing.

Secondary opener after students have finished with writing revisit charge to mass ratio from previous week. o Push the smallest& small girl& and largest student& one of the football players& in the class in the chair with wheels$ Who will deviate rom the path astest when a orce is applied3 Who will deviate least3

?hy did you predict this for each;

5ow is this related to charge to mass ratios; (f we had one of the charges how could we figure out other charges and masses; %5ave a small discussion about this& and then tell students that this is e actly what the point of the class will be today& and that they are to focus on this /uestion throughout the video.'

$echanical %ni&erse 'ideo and Discussion (uestions %=< minutes'

5ow did Millikan find the charge of a single electron; ?hat else did this allow us to find; 5ow would this impact the #utherford model of the atom;

Closer (5 minutes)

9escribe how Milli-an conducted his experiment$ Also describe what evidence he collected# and how that supported his indin!s$ :inally describe any !aps that you can thin- o between &uther ord/s model# and the masses we ound based on Milli-an/s wor-$ 4and this in on your way out$

Assessment 1tudent wor- on Milli-an experiment# and !aps between in and &uther ord/s model$