Liz Zbrozek

Biology I

1st period

June 12, 2008

50 minutes

Objective:  

--The student will define element, compound, atom, and molecule (DOK I, Science 2b)

--The student will distinguish the components of an atom from each other.  (DOK II, Science 2b)

Materials:  paper, writing utensils, scissors, 11 inch strip of paper, Basic Chemistry worksheet, periodic table, atom labeling worksheet, and bell work chart

Bell Work:  Students will have a pair of scissors and an 11 inch piece of paper on their desks.  On the board is written:

1)  Take your strip of paper and cut it into equal halves.  

2)  Cut one of the remaining pieces of paper into equal halves.  

3)  Cut one of the remaining pieces of paper into equal halves.  

4)  Continue to cut the strip into equal halves as many times as you can.  Make all cuts parallel to the first one.  When the width gets longer than the length, you may cut off the excess, but that does not count as a cut.

Set:  Have you ever met somebody and had a first impression about them?  Maybe later you decided your first impression was wrong?  You need to understand all the parts that make up someone’s personality before you really can get to know them….Ask the students what kinds of things they might want to know about someone….how they act when they are really excited or really tired, what their favorite food is, what kind of music they like to listen to, etc.  All these little pieces work together to make up the whole person.  All week we’ve been talking about background knowledge that we need to know in biology, and now we’re going to jump into some chemistry background.  Just like there are a bunch of pieces that make up someone’s personality, there are a bunch of things that make up everything in the natural world around us.   Knowing how atoms, molecules, compounds, and elements work is important to us as scientists.  Ask the students why we might need to understand these things we cannot see.  We need to understand all of the little pieces to understand why things work like they do….why water expands when its frozen or how food metabolism happens.  Just like you don’t really understand a person until you understand all their parts, even when you might not see them at first, you don’t understand the world of science until you look at all the parts you can’t see.

Today we will look at atoms, molecules, compounds, and elements, and we will also start to talk about how atoms interact with each other.

Procedure:

*Do set and procedure (7 minutes)

*Now, for our bell work, you cut up a sheet of paper into itsy bitsy pieces.  TTW pass out the bell work chart that goes with the activity.  TTW explain how this relates to the size of an atom, with the expectation for the students to gain an understanding of how small an atom is.

*Today we’re going to start out by looking at an atom.  TTW ask “name one thing that is made of atoms”.  After a couple of examples, the teacher will lead the students to the conclusion that everything on earth is made of atoms.  (3 minutes)

*TTW pass out the Basic Chemistry handout and a periodic table.

*TTW lead the students through a discussion of the vocabulary terms on the paper, asking the students to provide an example for each term.  The students will fill out their blank worksheet with a definition and example to keep in their binder.   Within the discussion, TSW examine the periodic table to see it as a collection of elements.  Matter:  ex can be mostly anything.  Mass:  can be measured in grams  Element:  carbon  Atom:  an atom of carbon Compound:  CaCO3, H2O  Molecule:  O2, H2O.   (15 minutes)

*After the teacher introduces the atom, TTW pass out the diagram of an atom, and ask the student to try to label the nucleus, the protons, neutrons, and electrons.  (5 minutes)

*TTW ask students to take out a piece of notebook paper and draw a chart, as the teacher will demonstrate on the board.  (Proton, electron, and neutron on one axis, in nucleus?, charge?, and high or low mass? On the other axis).  Give the students time to fill in the chart, and then go over the answers as a class (7 minutes)

*TTW return to the Basic Chemistry handout to discuss compounds and molecules

* TTW explain that while it is easy to think of each atom alone, they usually do not end up that way.  Most of them are paired with other atoms to make molecules or compounds.  How atoms pair up together is always the same. How many people have heard the term H20? Of course, all of you have heard it before. What does it mean? (water). Do you ever see it as H02? Is that water? No. Why is that?  Remember from our diagram that atoms are “stable” or not looking for anything if their energy levels are full. The fact of the matter is, these levels are usually NOT full. So, they tend to react or combine with other atoms in order to become stable. These reactions are called chemical reactions.  Chemical reactions involve the breaking and rearrangements of chemical bonds, or attachments between atoms.  The tendency for one element to react with another depends on its electron arrangement (5 minutes)

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Closure:  Today we talked about the parts of an atom, and how atoms work together to make compounds and molecules.  Before you leave, I would like you to take out a piece of paper and draw a picture of an atom that includes the protons, neutrons, electrons, nucleus, and the charges of each component.  (Write instructions on the board).  Let the students know that this will be collected as a small quiz grade.  Tomorrow, we will talk more about chemical bonding, and learn about the two main types of bonding that occurs. (8 minutes)

Assessment/Evaluation:

--The student will define element, compound, atom, and molecule (DOK I, Science 2b)

    Informal:  The teacher will observe as students help to create and write definitions for.  

    Formal:  The objective will be included on the upcoming test.

--The student will distinguish the components of an atom from each other.  (DOK II, Science 2b)

    Informal:  The teacher will observe the students fill in their labeling diagrams of an atom and create a chart about the components’ properties.

    Formal:  The students will draw a picture of an atom with labeled charges to be turned in as a small quiz grade, as well as inclusion on the upcoming test.