Scientist Smackdown!
Who Is the Most Influential Scientist in Atomic Theory
Debate
Groups will consist of 3-4 members depending upon the size of the class. Each group will choose a category of
scientists in the field of the Atomic Theory and Periodic Table. Members of each group will then choose one
scientist in their category. They must then put together a presentation/argument proving that their scientist was
in fact the most influential in developing the atomic theory.
The presentation/debate format:
Each presenter will be given:
 3 uninterrupted minutes to provide some background about their scientist and present an
argument for their scientist being most influential.
 2 minutes in which they may continue their argument, but the other students may voice
opposition (no opposing statements may exceed 10 seconds)
 1 minute uninterrupted rebuttal and closing statement after all presenters have finished
presenting
Each presentation will include:
 At least 10 basic facts about their scientist (where they lived, went to school, birth and death
dates, important relatives etc.)
 A description of the major accomplishments
 Their scientists “Claim to Fame”
 Models, diagrams or pictures showing or describing the contributions of the scientist (these could
be mathematical, experimental, theoretical or may include the tools or apparatus they designed)
 A brief written handout of the information presented to be given to the other presenters in your
group
Each Presenter should:
 Do additional research on the other presenters’ scientists so they may anticipate flaws in the
other presentations.
 Prepare a series of questions or facts to expose weaknesses in other student’s arguments.
 Prepare counter arguments against anticipated weaknesses in their own scientist.
The question of how much information is appropriate should be determined by how much you will need in
order to win your debate.
The debate winner will be determined through both peer and teacher grading using the debate/presentation
rubric. The winner of the debate will be given an additional ten points on their average for this assignment.
Scoring should be done honestly and carefully. The sum of all the points from each student and the teacher will
determine both the grade as well as the debate winner. Any intentional sabotaging of another students grade
will negate your input on your peer’s grades as well as your own ability to earn the extra points for winning the
debate.
Possible Grading Rubrics to be attached (right now they are separate pdf documents)
List of scientists grouped into categories (by color):
1. Democritus
2. Aristotle
3. John Dalton
4. Galileo Galilei
5. Joseph Proust
6. Isaac Newton
7. Charles de Coulomb
8. Michael Faraday
9. Antoine Lavoisier
10. Robert Boyle
11. Dmitri Mendeleev
12. John Newlands
13. Johann Dobereiner
14. Henry Moseley
15. George Stoney
16. Robert Millikan
17. Richard Abegg
18. Joseph John Thompson
19. William Crookes
20. Hantaro Nagaoka
21. Eugen Goldstein
22. Gilbert N. Lewis
23. Niels Bohr
24. Ernest Rutherford
25. James Chadwick
26. Frederick Soddy
27. Marie Curie
28. Pierre Curie
29. Lise Meitner
30. Hahn Strassman
31. Wilhelm Röntgen
32. Glenn T. Seaborg
33. Henri Becquerel
34. Francis Aston
35. Enrico Fermi
36. Otto Hahn
37. Hans Geiger
38. Albert Einstein
39. James Maxwell
40. Erwin Schrödinger
41. Paul A. M. Dirac
42. Wolfgang Pauli
43. Werner Heisenberg
44. Louis de Broglie
45. Max Planck