Name: ________________________________ Date: ______Period: ___
Mr. Kirby, Mrs. Schroeder
Science 7
Grade: ___/30
It’s Elemental!!
Background: It is often confusing to see the terms “atom” and “element” used
interchangeably as if they are the same thing. An atom is the smallest particle or
“building block” of a substance. An element is a substance made up of all the same
type of atom. For instance, a piece of pure carbon is made up of only carbon atoms.
This piece of pure carbon is a sample of the element carbon. The people who
developed the periodic table could have called it the Periodic Table of the Atoms
but they did not have a firm understanding of atoms at that time. Since they were
working with actual samples of elements such as copper, mercury, sulfur,etc., they
called it the periodic table of the elements. The periodic table shows all the atoms
that everything in the known universe is made from. It’s kind of like the alphabet in
which only 26 letters, in different combinations, make up many thousands of words.
The 100 or so atoms of the periodic table, in different combinations, make up
millions of different substances.
Questions:
Labeling: Label the parts of the box for the element Carbon as it appears on the
periodic table:
Defining the 3 main parts of an atom: Define each part using your own words.
Make sure to include their charge, location, and how to determine its number or
what their number means.
1. _________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
2. _________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
3. _________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
Procedure:
1. Your group will receive a set of cards with information that describes a
particular atom. Your job is to read the card carefully, figure out which
atom the card is describing, and put the card at the spot in the room for
that atom. Make sure to use the Periodic Table and the Elements 1–20 chart
(attached) to help you determine what atom your card describes.
HINT: To match the number of neutrons listed on your card to the correct
element, look for an element on the periodic table so that if you add the
number of neutrons on your card to the protons of the element, you will get
close to the atomic mass for that element. For example, you may have a
card that says, “The atom you are looking for has 5 neutrons.” Look at the
periodic table to find an atom that you could add 5 to its number of protons
that would give you a sum close to the atomic mass given for that element.
The answer is beryllium (Be), which has 4 protons and an atomic mass of
9.01.
Data Collection:
Directions: For only 5 (you pick) of the cards you need to explain the information
given on the card, and then explain how you determined which of the first twenty
elements it belonged to.
1st Card
Information on card:
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
How did you use the information on the card to determine which element
it belonged to?
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
2nd Card
Information on card:
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
How did you use the information on the card to determine which element
it belonged to?
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
3rd Card
Information on card:
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
How did you use the information on the card to determine which element
it belonged to?
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
4th Card
Information on card:
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
How did you use the information on the card to determine which element
it belonged to?
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
5th Card
Information on card:
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
How did you use the information on the card to determine which element
it belonged to?
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
Conclusions: Make sure to answer each question using complete sentences and use
examples to explain your answer.
1. What did you find to be the most challenging when trying to determine
which atom the card belonged to?
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
2. How would you describe the organization of the periodic table? Your answer
must include descriptions of atomic number, atomic mass, and trends in the
periodic table.
_________________________________________________________
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_________________________________________________________
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_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
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_________________________________________________________
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_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
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Section:
Questions
Data
Collection
Conclusions
ELA
Excellent
Good
Fair
All questions
answered with a lot of
detail, with answers
supported with
examples.
5
Excellent all around
job in the
observations and data
collection. Highest
levels of effort shown
in the details of your
explanations and the
quality of how you
identified each
element.
10
All conclusions
answered with a lot of
detail, with answers
supported with
examples.
10
Activity meets all ELA
requirements for
handed in work.
All questions answered
with some detail and
supported with examples.
All questions
answered to the most
basic level.
Answers were lacking
detail and/ or support.
4
Observations and data
collection show clear
effort and questions are
thoughtful. Further
details, such as
explanations how you
identified the element is
needed. Good all-around
job in calculations
3
Observations and data
collection show basic
information has been
gathered, but not
much else is recorded.
Much more detailed
observation and how
you identified each
element.
2
Missing large amounts
of detail for the time
given to complete this
section. Need to put in
more effort, or ask your
teacher for help if the
directions are not
understood.
8
All conclusions answered
with some detail and
supported with examples.
7
All conclusions
answered to the most
basic level.
4
Answers were lacking
detail and/ or support.
8
Activity generally meets all
requirements for handed
in work, with some minor
problems with
conventions.
4
7
Activity had more than
minor conventions
issues.
4
Activity had major issues
with conventions.
5
Needs Work
3
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