5th - Building Atoms

Yes, you read correctly, we made atoms in class. To be precise, we constructed models of atoms: hydrogen, helium, lithium and beryllium.

The students are embarking on a chemistry unit where we scaffold onto their base knowledge of matter and delve into the building blocks of our world, atoms.

In this first lab, we learned how to interpret the individual boxes in a periodic table. We learned that each element has a one or two letter symbol and that the atomic number and mass tell us how many protons, neutrons and electrons compose each atom.

We are familiar with electrons from our study of electricity but protons are new to most of us and many of us thought that Neutron was just Jimmy's last name. :)

Ask your students which two particles combine to form the nucleus of an atom.

Hopefully your child brought home their atom model. If not, have a dig through their backpack.

Ask them what the beads represent.

Next up is a riddle-filled walk through the Periodic Table. Stay tuned!