ATOM SPLITTING WITH HOMELAND SECURITY TOPIC INTEGRATION

June 29, 2011 CHEMISTRY

JUDITH BEBORA ABERGOS, JULITA BELCHES

CONTEXT
The focus of the "splitting-the-atom" story should be on the discovery of nuclear fission and its impact on world affairs. It is important not to overlook the science in this episode when considering the ethical and national-security considerations associated with fission and fusion. It is a measure of its significance that books for the general reader continue to emerge on this subject. The story of the discovery of radioactivity and the structure of the nucleus of the atom, along with the incredible results that followed in this century, is drama of the highest order. It also illuminates several features of the scientific enterprise: the role of accidental discovery, the interdependence of disciplines, the ability of women to do outstanding work in both empirical and theoretical science, and the impact of science on world affairs. The focus of this lesson is on the Maryland Standard that pertain to the Curies' involvement in the "splitting-the-atom" story. (Science for All Americans, p. 155)

WARM-UP/ MOTIVATION
Activate students' prior knowledge by asking them what they already Know about RADIATION; then students (collaborating as a classroom unit or within small groups) set goals specifying what they Want to learn; and after viewing students discuss what they have Learned. KWL format

KWLRead this article: The Discovery Of Radioactivity: The Dawn of the Nuclear Age (reference: http://www.accessexcellence.org/AE/AEC/CC/radioactivity.php

K
__ 1 __ 2 __ 3 __ 4 __ 5 __ 1 __ 2 __ 3 __ 4 __ 5

After reading the text and "learning" the material, go back to the "K" column and see if any of your prior knowledge was inaccurate. Check any of them that are inaccurate, according to the text. Rewrite any of your statements that were inaccurate so they are correct. Then go to the "W" column and check any of your questions that the text did not answer. Be prepared to bring these unanswered questions up in class, or tell how you will find answers to them and where you will look to get the answers.

ENGAGEMENT
Watch a video clip about radiationJapan Earthquake: Radiation Effects On Body (03.14.11) linkhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5 jfYTsDYxU Students are asked to write their responses and reactions to what they are reading. Use the graphic organizer to write their responses and reactions:

Students Worksheet
Notes from the Video Responses and Reaction

EXPLORATION
Emphasize on Concepts on Radiation Let them watch the video: Marie Curie Projects ( The negative Effects of Radium on Health) Reference: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEHGP9XkQz8 Activities: Classroom Activity 1 The Cloud Chamber How Can You See the Footprints of Radiation? Classroom Activity 2 Using a Geiger Counter How radioactive are different materials? Personal Radiation Dose Reference: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/basicref/teachers/unit1.html#class_activities

CORNELL NOTE TAKING

Name_______________ Topic_______________ Questions 1. Explain the main conflict of the story? 2. Describe how the group of terrorists or individual involved plan to detonate bombs (atomic/nuclear). 5. If you are the director of CTU, what are the 3 things that you will do in order to ensure the safety of the human population Cornell Note Taking Notes/ Main Idea

Watch the video and do cornell note

Perform Activity 1-3

Classroom Activity 1 The Cloud Chamber How Can You See the Footprints of Radiation? Classroom Activity 2 Using a Geiger Counter How radioactive are different materials? Classroom Activity 3 Personal Radiation Dose

Note: Keen observation should be taken cared of.

Continue on EXPLORATION : Hands on Activity

Emphasize on Concepts Calculating the Half-Life of Twizzlers and M&Mium This lesson plan includes two labs designed to teach the concept of half-life. The Twizzler lab is designed to introduce the topic and is best if used before the M&Mium lab. Connections with Homeland Security

M-MS LAB
Part 1. Half-life: Determining and Graphing the Half-life of a Twizzler Background: You should know the term half-life and know how it is related to radioactive elements. The half-life of a radioactive element is the time it takes for half of its atoms to decay into something else. For example, iodine-125 (I-125) has a half-life of about 60 days; therefore, in 60 days, 1g of I-125 will turn into half a gram of iodine-125 and half a gram of something else (the radioactive decay products of radium). After another 60 days have elapsed, only a of the original 1g of I-125 will remain. Purpose: To determine the half-life of a Twizzler and graph the results. Materials: 2 Twizzlers (1 for Part I and 1 for Part II) pencil/pen 2 sheets of graph paper

Procedure: Part I: Amount of Twizzler vs. Bites

1. Hold original Twizzler vertically against the 'y' axis with one end at the origin. Mark the"length". This represents the beginning amount. 2. Wait for further instructions to Take a bite! You must eat HALF (and only half) the length of the Twizzler. 3. Repeat step 1, holding the Twizzler a unit from the origin. Mark the new length (this is your y coordinate). 4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 with the class until the instructor tells you to stop. 5. Draw a smooth Best-Fit line on your graph.

Tabulated Data
Shake # Trial 1 # Decayed Trial 2# Decayed Trial 3 # Decayed Total Average

Plot a Graph

EXPLANATION
Calculate the half-life of M&Mium? (i.e., What number of shakes are necessary to reduce the radioactive members to one-half?) Did the Twizzler ever completely disappear? Explain. 2. What was the half-life of the Twizzler in Part II? 3. If you had started with a GIANT Twizzler (2X the normal size) how would this have affected the shape of the graph? Explain. How your result related to the following video?

Watching the video:

More when you watch this video on penetrating power!

EXTENSION:
Radium: Narrative of a Moral Dilemma is a writing project in which the student plays the role of a character in an ethical real-life dilemma faced by medical researchers and patients whenever there is a breakthrough in the development of a procedure or drug to cure a disease. These resources can be used to enhance the study of the history of the splitting of the atom, including the work of Lise Meitner, Otto Frish, Enrico Fermi, and others. Figures In Radiation History Radioactivity: Historical Figures

CONT EXTENSION
Students can continue to explore some of the social issues involved in the development of nuclear energy and weapons by examining these resources: The American Experience: Meltdown at Three Mile Island The American Experience: Race for the Super bomb Andrei Sakharov: Soviet Physics, Nuclear Weapons, and Human Rights

EVALUATION: PODCASTING
Presentation of students report using PowerPoint and grading based upon the presentation rubrics. To summarize and assess student understanding of the ideas in the central benchmarks, have students put the events surrounding the splitting of the atom into a story map in which students generate a map of its events and ideas. In order to map the story, students must identify the setting, characters, time, and place of the story, the problem, the goal, the action that took place, and the outcome.

Steps for the PPT Presentation

Go to start, Open the power point presentation and the Microsoft office documents. Go back to start and hit the internet. Google your questions ( if essay), video, posters about Marie Curies documentation about radioactivity. Copy and paste the research documents. Choose the design of your power point which is located at the menu bars. Add animations.

Rubrics for PPt Presentation

1 2 3 4 Audience cannot Audience has Student presents Student presents understand difficulty following information in information in logical Organization presentation because presentation because logical, interesting sequence which there is no sequence student jumps sequence which audience can follow. of information. around. audience can follow. Student is Student does not have Student demonstrates uncomfortable with Student is at ease full knowledge (more grasp of information; information and is with content, but fails than required)with Content Knowledge student cannot able to answer only to elaborate. answer questions explanations and rudimentary about subject. elaboration. questions. Student occasional Student used visuals used visuals that Visuals related to text Student used no Visuals to reinforce screen rarely support text visuals. and presentation. text and presentation. and presentation. ____

____

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Cont rubrics for ppt presentation

Mechanics Student's Presentation had Presentation has no presentation had three misspellings more than two four or more spelling and/or grammatical misspellings and/or errors and/or errors. grammatical errors. grammatical errors. Student mumbles, Student incorrectly Student's voice is incorrectly pronounces terms. clear. Student pronounces terms, Audience members pronounces most and speaks too quietly have difficulty words correctly. for students in the hearing presentation. back of class to hear. Presentation has no misspellings or grammatical errors. ____

Delivery

Student used a clear voice and correct, precise pronunciation of terms.

____

Rubrics for Podcast Presentation:

CATEGORY Equipment Preparation 4
All necesary equipment/supplies are located and scheduled well in advance. All equipment (sound, light, video) is checked the day before the shoot to ensure it is operational. A backup plan is developed to cover possible problems with power, light, etc. Team has a clear picture of what they are trying to achieve. Each member can describe what they are trying to do and generally how his/her work will contribute to the final product. Storyboard is complete with sketches for each scene, detailed notes on titles, transitions, special effects, sound, etc. Storyboard reflects outstanding planning and organization for the visuals in the video.

3
All necesary equipment/supplies are located and scheduled a few days in advance. All equipment (sound, light, video) are checked the day before the shoot to ensure they are operational. A backup plan is developed.

2
On the day of the shoot, all necessary equipment/supplies are located and checked to ensure they are operational. There may or may not be a backup plan.

1
Needed supplies/equipment are missing OR were not checked before the shoot.

Score

Concept / Organization

Team has a fairly clear picture of what they are trying to achieve. Each member can describe what they are trying to do overall but has trouble describing how his/her work will contribute to the final product. Storyboard is relatively complete with sketches for most scenes, and notes on titles, transitions, special effects, sound, etc. Storyboard reflects effective planning and organization for the visuals in the video.

Team has brainstormed their concept, but no clear focus has emerged for the team. Team members may describe the goals/final product differently.

Team has spent little effort on brainstorming and refining a concept. Team members are unclear on the goals and how their contributions will help them reach the goal. Storyboard is not done or is so incomplete that it could not be used even as a general guide. Storyboard reflects very little planning of the visuals.

Storyboard

Storyboard has glaring omissions in scene planning. There are some sketches, and notes on titles, transitions, special effects, sound, etc. Storyboard reflects attempts at planning and organization for the visuals in the video.

Cont rubrics
CATEGORY Teamwork 4
Students meet and discuss regularly. All students contribute to the discussion and all are listened to respectfully. All team members contribute a fair share of the work. Microphones are positioned optimally to ensure that important sounds and dialogue are captured. The team has made every attempt to anticipate and filter out unwanted ambient noise in the recording. Note cards indicate that the group members developed questions about the assigned topic, consulted at least 3 reference sources, developed a position based on their sources, and correctly cited their sources. Additional lighting has been used to eliminate shadows and glares. Cameras are set to the appropriate light level.

3
Students meet and discuss regularly. Most students contribute to the discussion and are listened to respectfully. All team members contribute a fair share of the work. Microphones are positioned optimally to ensure that important sounds and dialogue are captured.

2
A couple of team meetings are held. Most students contribute to the discussion and are listened to respectfully. All team members contribute a fair share of the work.

1
Meetings are not held AND/OR some team members do not contribute a fair share of the work.

Score

Sound Setup

At least one microphone Little attention was paid to (in addition to that on the ensuring quality sound camera) is used to ensure during the shoot. that dialogue is captured.

Research

Note cards indicate that the group members consulted at least 3 reference sources, developed a position based on their sources, and correctly cited their sources.

Note cards indicate that the group members consulted at least 2 reference sources, developed a position based on their sources, and correctly cited their sources.

There are fewer than two note cards OR sources are incorrectly cited

Lighting Setup

Additional lighting has been used, but may not be set up optimally. Cameras are set to the appropriate light level.

Cameras are set to appropriate light level, but no additional lighting was used when needed.

Cameras are not set to appropriate light level. Additional lighting may, or may not, be used.

THANK YOU!