Name:_____________________________________
Scientists of the Early Atomic Theory Obituary
Scientist: _______________________________________
Answer the questions to research the background of the scientist.
BACKGROUND
Awards/Acheivements
Important Dates
Name _____________________________________
Scientists of the Early Atomic Theory Obituary
Scientist: _______________________________________
BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION TO INCLUDE
REASONS
FACTS
Scientists of the Early Atomic Theory
Writer’s Notebook
College Prep Physical Science
Essential Question:
After reading informational texts about the scientists that contributed to the early
atomic theory, write an obituary that compares a scientist that you select to the others
and argues that your selected scientist made the most major contribution the
development of the atomic theory. Be sure to support your position with evidence from
the texts.
The Assignment Details:
1. Read the printed and on-line biographical articles about John Dalton, JJ Thomson
and Ernest Rutherford. (Print sources include 4.1 from your textbook and the
Hutchinson Encyclopedia article on John Dalton; On-line sources include the Nobel
biographies of JJ Thompson and Ernest Rutherford.)
2. As you read, take notes on the background of each scientist. To do so, use the
sources to answer the background questions (listed on a separate sheet). Be sure to
indicate which source has provided you with the information as you will need to cite
it later.
3. In addition to the biographies of all three scientists, explore the site “History of
the Atomic Theory” (link on my Moodle page). You should read the following pages in
the site to help you with your background information:
 John Dalton and the Beginning of the Modern Atomic Theory
 Cathode Ray Experiments
 Sir John J. Thomson’s Discovery of the Electron
 Sir John J. Thomson’s Plum Pudding Model
 Ernest Rutherford’s Discovery of the Nucleus
4. To finish your background reading, read the article entitled “Atomic Models”. The
link to the article is on my Moodle page.
5. After completing your reading, select one of the scientists that you have read about.
You should select the scientist whom you feel made the biggest contribution to the
early efforts of the atomic theory.
6. After selecting your scientist, complete the following readings to further assist you
with your writing. All the links to these articles are on my Moodle Page:
Dalton
Thompson
Rutherford
Dalton’s Atomic Theory
Discovery of the
Rutherford Atom
John Dalton’s Atomic
Electron
Early Theories of Atomic
Model
Plum Pudding Model
Structure
Early Theories of Atomic
Early Theories of Atomic
Atomic Anatomy (print)
Structure
Structure
7. Using all of the information you have collected, complete the second graphic
organizer to serve as the outline for your obituary. Your obituary should include
biographical information as well as reasons and supporting facts as to why this
scientist made the most significant contribution to the development of the atomic
theory.
8. Write your obituary for your scientist. You must include citations for the resources
you used within the obituary (parenthetical citation) and a works cited page with
your resources listed in MLA format.
You will have in class time this week to work on this assignment. It is due by the end of
the period on Friday. Submit your final draft via the turn in box on Moodle. You will
also need to turn in your Writer’s Notebook with the notes that you have taken.
MLA citations for sources:
**Note: the MLA citation for all printed sources, except the textbook, is provided on
the article. Citation information for the Nobel biographies is located at the bottom of
the web page.
History of the Atomic Theory:
"Atomic Physics 101: History of Discovery." ThinkQuest. Oracle Foundation, n.d. Web.
30 Sept. 2012. <http://library.thinkquest.org/28582/history/index.htm>.
Atomic Models
Jessa, Tega. "Atomic Models." Universe Today. N.p., 21 Sept. 2009. Web. 30 Sept. 2012.
<http://www.universetoday.com/40826/atomic-models/>.
Dalton’s Atomic Theory
Brief Description of Dalton's Atomic Theory. eLibrary. Web. 30 Sep. 2012.
John Dalton’s Atomic Model
Jessa, Tega. "John Dalton's Atomic Model." Universe Today. N.p., 24 Aug. 2009. Web.
30 Sept. 2012. <http://www.universetoday.com/38169/john-daltons-atomic-model/>.
Discovery of the Electron
"The Discovery of the Electron." The Discovery of the Electron. Center for History of
Physics, Mar. 1997. Web. 30 Sept. 2012. <http://www.aip.org/history/electron/>.
Plum Pudding Model
Villanueva, John C. "Plum Pudding Model." Universe Today. N.p., 27 Aug. 2009. Web. 30
Sept. 2012. <http://www.universetoday.com/38326/plum-pudding-model/>.
Rutherford Atom
Villanueva, John C. "Rutherford Atom." Universe Today. N.p., 13 Sept. 2009. Web. 30
Sept. 2012. <http://www.universetoday.com/39999/rutherford-atom/>.
Early Theories of Atomic Structure
Heckert, Paul A. "Early Theories of Atomic Structure." Suite101.com. N.p., 24 Feb.
2008. Web. 30 Sept. 2012. <http://suite101.com/article/early-theories-of-atomicstructure-a45685>.
Textbook
Wysession, Michael, David V. Frank, and Sophia Yancopoulos. "4.1 Studying Atoms."
Prentice Hall Physical Science: Concepts in Action. Needham, MA: Pearson, 2009. 10005. Print.
Questions to Answer During Your Background Reading
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Where & when was he born?
Where & when did he die?
What was his family like? What did his father do?
What was his education like? Where did he attend school? College?
What were some of the highlights of his career before working on the atomic
theory?
6. How did he come to study and formulate part of the atomic theory?
7. What experiments is he known for? Did he work with anything specific? What was
his hypothesis he tested regarding the atom?
8. What major contribution(s) did he make to the advancement of the atomic theory?
9. How was he recognized for his work? Was it related to the work on the atomic
theory?
10. How did his atomic model change the way we thought about the structure of the
atom? (what was it before….how did he modify it?)
11. What is his legacy in terms of the atomic theory?
12. What work did he do that contributed to our understanding of the atom that was
not part of the atomic theory? Was this before or after his atomic theory
discoveries?
13. What other scientists did he work with that also were notable scientists of that
age?
14. What remains of his work or life today?
15. What information is relevant about his personal life? Was he married? To whom &
when? Did they have children?