DUE DATE: ____TUESDAY NOV. 17, 2015________
NAME: ______________________________
HISTORY OF THE ATOM PROJECT
The atomic theory of matter is an excellent illustration of the process of science. Our understanding of the world around
us is reshaped and refined with each scientific experiment. The first recorded idea of the atom comes from the ancient
Greeks in the 400’s B.C. Over the millennia, scientific experimentation has added to our knowledge of the atom,
redefining what it is and how it is structured. In THIS project, your goal will be to learn about some of the highlights in
the history of atomic theory to gain an appreciation of how we know what we know about atoms.
STEP ONE of this process involves research. Listed below are 14 philosophers/scientists who all contributed to our
current understanding of the atom. You need to find out WHO these people were, and what they contributed to atomic
theory. These are the SAME 14 people who are listed on your note-taking guide for this unit, so you should follow those
instructions as you research. They are repeated again here:
Scientist/Philosopher (the list is not in chronological order!)
Antoine Lavoisier
James Chadwick*
Max Planck
Albert Einstein
JJ Thomson*
Niels Bohr*
Democritus
John Dalton*
Robert Millikan
Ernest Rutherford*
Louis De Broglie
Werner Heisenberg
Erwin Schrodinger
Marie Curie
For all, provide:
 When/where they lived/worked
 Their MAJOR contribution to ATOMIC THEORY (many worked on other things also – focus on how they changed
our knowledge of the atom)… For JOHN DALTON, include the basic ideas of his atomic theory!
 The experiments they did that led them to their contribution (both what they are “called” and what was
involved)
 Interesting facts – other accomplishments, personal information, famous historical events at the time, etc.
 For those with a * next to their name, draw a MODEL of what ONE atom looked like according to their work
 AFTER you’ve looked all of this up, place them in order according to the progression of atomic theory, especially
the ones with the stars and Millikan!
You will need to cite your sources for this project, so as you research, create a document that details where you got your
information (this includes your textbook or others!) You will hand in a bibliography in proper works cited/bibliography
format. There are lots of websites that can help you make a correctly formatted citation. ONE good one is
http://www.easybib.com/
A sample citation for an online source may look like this:
“A Science Odyssey: You Try It: Atom Builder.” PBS. PBS, 1998. Web. 04 Nov. 2015. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aso/tryit/atom/>
Research Tips: Some of these scientists did experiments NOT related to atomic theory as well. If you search on the web
for information, you might include searches about history of atomic theory, or “Niels Bohr atomic theory” to get less
broad results. You can of course get good information by searching each name as well, but don’t forget to find out
about contributions to atomic theory. Your textbook has useful information about some of the scientists.
Here are a few useful websites to get things going:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aso/tryit/atom/ - scroll down to the bottom for links to scientists
http://www.ausetute.com.au/atomichist.html
http://chemistry.learnhub.com/lesson/3663-history-of-the-atomic-theory-i-ancient-times
http://chemistry.learnhub.com/lesson/3687-history-of-the-atomic-theory-part-3
http://www.visionlearning.com/library/module_viewer.php?mid=50
DUE DATE: ____TUESDAY NOV. 17, 2015________
NAME: ______________________________
STEP TWO of this project is turning your research (which should ALL be in your notes) into an interesting and informative
project. This is the part where you use the information you’ve learned, making sure to avoid plagiarism by putting
things into your own words. The format of this project is a RAFT, where you choose your Role, Audience, Format, and
Topic. You choose one horizontal row from the choices below. If you don’t see any options that appeal to you, talk to
your teacher about designing your own RAFT (a self-designed option MUST be approved by your teacher!)
Role
Science Writer for the New
York Times Science Section
Science Historian
Audience
Reader of the NY Times
Science Section
Visitors at the Bradbury
Science Museum in Los
Alamos NM
The Vice-President in charge
of new game development at
Nintendo or Sony
Format
A series of newspaper
articles
A detailed timeline for
the wall of the entrance
hall of the museum
An ILLUSTRATED
proposal for a new video
game
Author
Students in your high school
chemistry class
Graphic Novel
Actor(s) in the Fermilab
community theater group
The scientists at Fermilab and
their families in attendance
at your performance
A video of a 5-8 minute
play (comedy/satire,
drama, etc.)
Video-game developer
Topic
The ONGOING discovery of
the atom
Important figures and
events in the history of
atomic structure
A video game that will
teach high school students
about the development of
atomic theory
The adventures of the
atomic scientists as they
contribute to the
development of atomic
theory
The development of atomic
theory
READ THE RUBRIC CAREFULLY to understand what content, etc. needs to be included in your project and how your
project will be graded. More specific information about each RAFT choice is included below:
Newspaper articles: You could write one article per scientist, but it might be better to write fewer articles, with scientists
grouped together in some way. Make sure your writing is interesting: your reader shouldn’t want to put the newspaper
down after the first few sentences! Include pictures, use newspaper article FORMAT and BE CREATIVE! (Read a few
newspaper articles for inspiration!) You should include information about ALL of the underlined scientists and at least
THREE of the other scientists.
Timelines: Your timeline should be visually attractive and include pictures of each scientist/their experiments/etc. Their
contributions to atomic science should be clear. Organization and attractive layout are key. Your timeline does not
need to be “wall size”, but should be large enough that all of your information is neat and easily seen. You should
include information about ALL of the underlined scientists and at least THREE of the other scientists.
DUE DATE: ____TUESDAY NOV. 17, 2015________
NAME: ______________________________
Illustrated video-game proposals: If you were pitching a new video game to the company who would develop it, your
product is what you would bring with you to the meeting. It should detail the name of the game, type of game, how it
would be played, the objective of the game, any story-lines in the game, and the age-level it targets. It must be specific
enough that it is clear that you understand the development of the atomic theory. You MUST include at least TEN
illustrated frames (one for each of the underlined scientists and one for each of at least THREE of the other scientists)
and the necessary information about those scientists. Be creative about how you can incorporate the learning of atomic
theory into a game! Remember, your proposal should make Nintendo or Sony want to make and sell your game!
Graphic novels: You should write an illustrated story (very few words, remember!) that tells the story of the adventures
of ALL of the underlined scientists and at least THREE of the other scientists as they endeavor to understand the atom.
Your novel should have a cover and a title. You need to make an interesting narrative that students would want to use to
learn about the history of atomic science! Turn your research into a story! Some websites that detail graphic novels and
how to create them are listed here:
http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/comics/027002-6000-3.html
http://www.getgraphic.org
http://www.toondoo.com
http://www.pixton.com
http://www.wikihow.com/create-a-graphic-novel
5-8 minutes plays: You will write, direct, and perform a 5-8 minute play that gives information about ALL of the
underlined scientists and at least THREE of the other scientists and their contributions to atomic theory. This can be a
drama, a comedy, a tragedy, etc. You decide! Your play should be family-friendly. This option is the only option that can
be a GROUP project (groups no larger than 4!) as long as ALL group members play a significant part on-stage! You must
take on the persona of the scientists in the play – this cannot be only a narrative/biography. Be creative! To turn in your
play, you MUST upload your video to YouTube and provide your teacher with the link to view it and to show it in class.
Group members must EACH turn in a bibliography and rubric for grading!
*** YOU WILL BE GIVEN TWO CLASS DAYS TO WORK ON THE NOTES/RESEARCH AND YOUR “PRODUCT” FOR THIS
PROJECT! All other work must be completed on your own time prior to the due date 
DUE DATE: ____TUESDAY NOV. 17, 2015________
NAME: ______________________________
RAFT SCORING GUIDELINES: Please GRADE YOURSELF HONESTLY and attach this rubric to your bibliography and turn in
with your project! If you chose the 5-8 minute play, please record the url for your YouTube video here!
YouTube url: __________________________________________
Content: correct
contribution for all 7
underlined scientists
Content: correct MODEL of
atom for all 5 starred
scientists
Content: correct
contribution for all 3
“other” scientists
Content: the 7 underlined
scientists’ work is
displayed/discussed in
chronological order
Format: your work fulfills
the specific requirements
of the RAFT format you
chose
Format: creativity with
incorporation of facts into
product
Presentation: Your product
is neat, organized, shows
your best possible effort,
and is quality work!
Bibliography: citations are
formatted correctly,
multiple reliable sources
are used
Deadline met: project
turned in ON TIME or
EARLY!
Exceptional! 
Well done! 
Needs work 
No evidence

7
6
1-5
0
5
4
1-3
0
1-2
0
Meets the
minimum
3
3
0
4
3
2
1
0
4
3
2
1
0
4
3
2
1
0
2
2 (bonus - early!)
0
1 (on time)
-1 (late)
Total score from above: _________________/33 x 3 = ____________________/99 final score!
NOTE: ANY areas in which this rubric would be scored as “Needs work” or “No evidence” require that you spend time
AFTER SCHOOL to revise your project until it is more appropriate!