Atoms and Static Electricity

Week One
This lesson is designed to teach about the structure of atoms, with a focus on conceptual
modeling. Additionally, it will teach the relationship between protons and electrons and the atom's
overall charge.

Objectives
1. Be able to describe the roles of protons, neutrons, and electrons in an atom.
2. Be able to conceptualize the scale of atomic building blocks.
3. Understand the limitations and advantages of models.

Introduction
As a class, brainstorm about what the students think everything around them is made up of. For
example, ask what their desk is made of (wood), and then ask what wood is made of, etc. Ask them to
consider a concrete case: a sheet of aluminum foil. If you were to rip the sheet in half, and then in half
again, would you be able to continue indefinitely? The answer is no. Eventually you would be left
with a single aluminum atom. Ask if anyone has heard of atoms, and let the students know that is what
you will be talking about today.

Atoms
There are currently 117 known elements (each “element” is a different type of atom), 94 of
which are found naturally on earth (as of 2007). See if the students can come up with other examples
of atoms besides aluminum. Some suggestions are gold (Au), silver (Ag), carbon (C), and oxygen (O).
Scientists organize the different elements into a chart called the periodic table. We will talk more about
how this is organized later in the lesson.
To give students an idea of how small an atom is, have them picture a strand of hair and guess
how many atoms wide it is. A human hair is about one million carbon atoms wide, and a speck of dust
may have as many as three trillion atoms. If you were to try to add up all all of the atoms in the width
of a hair at a rate of one per hour, it would take over 100 years!
Structure of Atoms
Draw a model of an atom up on the board (for simplicity, we will talk about the Bohr model).

Ask the students if they know what each part of the model is. If they are having difficulty, prompt
them. There are three main components of an atom. The protons (positively charged particles) and
neutrons (neutrally charged particles) are bound together very tightly (by the “strong force”) in what is
called the nucleus. They can only be broken apart by a very large amount of energy. They type of
atom is determined by the number of protons in the nucleus. For example, carbon has 6 protons,
oxygen has 8 protons, and gold has 79 protons. Next tell the students that there are very small particles
called electrons (the same things that make up electricity), which are negatively charged and orbit
around the nucleus. In a regular, uncharged atom, there are an equal number of electrons and protons
to balance each other out. In the periodic table, elements (or atoms) are arranged sequentially based on
the number of protons in their nucleus. It is helpful to have a picture of the periodic table to show them
(which can be easily found online). Atoms near the top have fewer protons than the atoms near the
bottom, and elements in each column share similar chemical properties. For example, elements in the
first column are all very reactive when they come in contact with water.

Atomic Scale and Modeling Activity

Tell the students that atoms are mostly empty space, and to model this you are going to go
outside. First, however, the students should complete the atomic modeling worksheet so they
understand the structure of an atom. Once the worksheet is completed, take the class outside and
divide into groups of six. Have the students work in their group to form a helium atom (they should
know what this is from the worksheet) where each member is either a proton, neutron, or electron. Tell
them they should try to think about scale (ie, how much space between the different parts). Once
they've all created their models, bring them back together and tell them who's model is the closest.
Their models will definitely be too small. A proton has a radius of about 10-15 m and a helium atom has
a radius of 10-10 m. If the students in the nucleus stand 1 foot apart, this would mean the electron is
about 19 miles away. Everything in between is empty space! Bring them back inside so you can
discuss the limits of the models they've seen today.

Limits of Models
Have the students shout out limitations of each model (the worksheet one and the human one)
and make a list on the board. Consider scale issues for the worksheet model, as well as the fact that it
is not 3-dimensional. For the human model, also consider scale issues (the electrons are really point
particles and not the same size as protons and neutrons) and the fact that the students probably did not
distinguish between protons and neutrons in the nucleus.
Ask the students why we still use models and how they can be useful. Models allow us to
visualize things that we cannot always directly observe, helping us understand concepts better. Ask
them if they can think of any other models they have encountered. Some examples might be the world
globe, maps, some toys (such as cars), or other models they've used in science class. List these on the
board and see if they can figure out some of their limitations and some of their advantages.

Overview and Wrap-up

Review the concepts they've covered today: the structure of atoms (protons, neutrons, electrons
and their charge), the fact that in uncharged atoms the number of protons equals the number of
electrons, the relationship between the type of element and the number protons, and the
limitations/advantages of models. If there is extra time, you can go over different types of atoms, tell
them the atomic number, and ask how many protons and electrons they would have to solidify the
concepts. Let them know that next time they will talk about what happens when atoms have different
numbers of protons and electrons.