Name of Assignment: Atomic Model Project
Subject: Chemistry
Facilitator/Teacher: Mrs. Shirkhodai
Description of Work/Assignment:
Create an atomic model of an assigned element (Mine was magnesium) with proper energy levels, number of protons, neutrons and electrons with proper sizing. Along with your model, create a video explaining your model and explaining what your element is used for.
Which 21st Century Skill do you feel this assignment addresses, and why?
I feel this assignment addresses informational skills as we had to apply everything we had learned so far in chemistry to this project. I still had to research quite a bit, but without my prior knowledge on the periodic table, I couldn’t have completed this assignment.
What are you most proud of from this assignment, and why?
I am most proud of my video I created for this project. I was very disappointed in how my model came out, but I did my best to create a video that properly showcased my element and all its uses. I also added music and made sure my video was entertaining as well as informative.
How did you develop and/or improve upon your 21st Century Skill with this assignment?
I developed my informational skills through this project by really making use of the notes Mrs. Shirkhodai provided us throughout the year. Most importantly, understanding the periodic table. With our unit on learning names of atoms, I was able to easily find my element on the periodic table and tell how many valence electrons it has without writing it out.
What was most difficult about completing this task?
The most difficult part about this task was buying materials. The only ideas I had to construct my model were somewhat expensive, and in total, it cost about 25 dollars to make. This made it difficult to construct my model because even after spending a lot of money, I still didn’t have enough materials to make my model. Thankfully Mrs. Shirkhodai allowed me to take home my project and redo my nucleus with more materials.
How could you improve this work? If you could start over, what would you do different?
To improve this project, I would have made a better plan of what materials would work for my element specifically. I originally was assigned the element arsenic which had much more atoms and would have required a tremendous amount of materials. Since I planned my model to have a lot of room, I didn’t quite know what to do once my atom was changed to magnesium. If I could redo this project, I would have created a plan for magnesium specifically so I wouldn’t have had to go through so much trouble making the sizes of my energy levels.
How does this relate to what you have learned in the past?
This project related to our unit 5 lessons where we learned about the names of the elements and how they are used. While I learned about magnesium generally in class, I learned so much more about it through my research. I think this was a good exercise to get me more involved with the elements and understand how they impact us in real life.
How can you apply this to future learning?
This project has taught me to always make a plan no matter what happens along the way. I made a huge mistake throughout this project and I’ve really learned a lot on what not to do in the future if I should be assigned another project like this. I can also apply my knowledge of navigating the periodic table through the rest of my time in chemistry to make it easier than just counting up the atomic number. This project also taught me how to easily find the number of valence electrons an element has just by reading the periodic table.