Periodic Table Remix Lesson

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Titanium Remix Fossils and the English Language Learner SMART lesson

Periodic Table Boxes Lesson using Mozilla Thimble

Objective: Students will be able to create a periodic table element box by remixing the HTML of an online Thimble poster
Instructional focus: Elements and the Periodic Table
Next Generation Science Standards
Standard NGSS.MS.PS1.1: Grades 6-8
Standard: Develop models to describe the atomic composition of simple molecules and extended structures. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on developing models of molecules that vary in complexity. Examples of molecular-level models could include drawings, 3D ball and stick structures, or computer representations showing different molecules with different types of atoms.

Lesson Summary: Each element's box on the periodic table contains a number of facts about that element, including its name, symbol, number # of protons (atomic number) and atomic mass.
Some symbols are easy to relate to the element name, such as H for hydrogen, Ca for calcium and O for oxygen. Some symbols are trickier: People from ancient Rome knew these elements, so their names come from Latin, such as Iron (Fe), from the Latin ferrum , Gold (Au), from the Latin aurum. and Silver (Ag), from the Latin argentum.
The number at the bottom of the element box is the atomic mass which is the number of the protons in the nucleus of an atom. In an electrically neutral atom, the number of protons equals the number of protons. The number of neutrons can be calculated by rounding the atomic mass to the nearest whole number, and subtracting the number of protons (atomic number).

--Atomic number=number of protons
--protons + neutrons = atomic mass
--#protons = #electrons

Materials: Periodic Table and Atomic Structure Article; Periodic Table; laptops

Activity:
Lesson 1: Introduce students to the structure of the Periodic Table, and the information it contains. Explain how you could use information to construct a model of an element. Have students read the article "Periodic Table and Atomic Structure" and use the blank box on the back of the article to plan their periodic table poster. Allow them to select any element of their choice, provided it has a name.
Lesson 2: .Introduce students to Thimble, the HTML remixing project available as a free resource at The Mozilla Learning Network. Model the project and web pages using a SMART Board or projector, pointing out each page (index, style sheet, etc.) Give each student pair a laptop, and let them experiment with the coding on the Keep Calm and Carry On Poster after modelling how to alter the code. Show how the style sheet allows you to change background color and font color. Show how to change text on index file. A picture of their choice can be added by dragging one from the internet onto the computer desktop, and then dragging it back into the file tree to the left of the project. Have them then type in the code for this dragged image, replacing the "crown.svg" image.
Lesson 3: Give each student pair a laptop, and have them keep their completed element planning box as a reference. Let students change style sheet to color they want. Have them change the index text" Keep Calm and Carry On" to include the following information: name of element, symbol, atomic number and weight. Delete the "text-transform: uppercase; " code to allow lower case letters to be used.



Adding an image:
Link to periodictable.com which is a photographic periodic table. click on selected element, drag to desk top, insert in poster file tree. change index code to insert picture.
Saving and printing the project:
There are several ways to save this project, and give students' their own posters. One way is to enable the full screen view of their project, and use the "Snipping Tool" to cut and paste their poster to a word document. A second option is to take a screen shot, crop to edit it in Paint, and save it as a jpeg. This could also be pasted onto a word document. This format can also be used to post to a web page.
Closing: Students can hang their posters, and others can view them in a gallery walk.


Periodic Table and Atomic Structure
You can find out a lot of information about an element and what its atom looks like from the Periodic Table of Elements. Use the Table of Elements to find your element's atomic number and atomic weight.
The atomic number is the number located in the upper left corner and the atomic weight is the number located on the bottom, as in this example for krypton:
The atomic number is the number of protons in an atom of an element. In our example, krypton's atomic number is 36. This tells us that an atom of krypton has 36 protons in its nucleus. In fact, every atom of krypton contains 36 protons. If an atom doesn't have 36 protons, it can't be an atom of krypton. Adding or removing protons from the nucleus of an atom creates a different element.
For example, removing one proton from an atom of krypton creates an atom of bromine.
Neutral atoms have no overall electrical charge. That means that there must be a balance between the positively charged protons and the negatively charged electrons. Atoms must have equal numbers of protons and electrons.
In our example, an atom of krypton must contain 36 electrons since it contains 36 protons. The atomic weight is basically a measurement of the total number of particles in the nucleus of an atom, which means the number of protons plus the number of neutrons. Atomic weight has a decimal because it is based on an average of different variations of each element called isotopes.
To find the number of neutrons in an atom, round the atomic weight to the nearest whole number, which is its atomic mass.
Then, subtract the number of protons (remember it is the atomic number) from the rounded weight, and you can find the number of neutrons.
Mass Number = (Number of Protons) + (Number of Neutrons)
In Summary...
For any element:
--Number of Protons = Atomic Number
--Number of Electrons = Number of Protons = Atomic Number
--Number of Neutrons = Mass Number - Atomic Number
Adapted from Jefferson Lab


Legal Note: You agree to use this project under a Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported license, or any later version.