After receiving positive feedback from Peter Mahaffy, the IUPAC project co-chair of Isotopes Matter, I decided to add an additional component to the original isotope assignment I posted. The second component of the assignment focuses on the applications of both radioactive and stable isotopes using the interactive IUPAC periodic table.
In this component of the assignment, students chose three elements to review both their isotopes and uses. Of the three elements the students chose, one had to have a connection to medicine, one had to have a connection to nuclear energy, and they chose one final element. As students chose their elements I asked them to not only identify the uses of the isotope but to record whether or not the isotope is stable or radioactive. If students did not understand some of the vocabulary I asked them to utilize the glossary that is hyperlinked in each element description.
Once the students collected their information we then divided the isotopes into those that were stable and those that were radioactive and had a student-led discussion based on the division of the two categories. The discussion revealed a lot of misconceptions about isotopes and initiated an introduction to half-life and nuclear equations as well.
The extension activity not only displayed real world applications of chemistry for the students but it provided an instruction transition between types of isotopes and the necessity to understand nuclear equations.
With this being my first year working with the Isotopes Matter applications, I plan on adding more formative assessments and assignments using this resource in the future. If you have any suggestions, please add them to the comments.
- atomic structure
- isotopes
- nuclear equations
- half-life
- mass spectrometry
55-60 minutes for both parts of the extension activity
This extension activity was developled to follow the assignment Using IUPAC's Isotopes Matter as a Digital Learning Tool.
Part One: Choosing Isotopes
Students chose three elements to review both their isotopes and uses. Of the three elements the students chose:
- one had to have a connection to medicine
- one had to have a connection to nuclear energy
- student choice for the final element.
Students should be recording:
- uses of the isotope
- Is the isotope they are reviewing stable or radioactive?
- questions you still have about the isotope
Part Two: Student-led Discussion
- students take the isotopes they chose and divide them into two categories on group whiteboards: stable and radioactive
- teacher facilitates a discussion in which students comments on their whiteboards and other whiteboards
- the role of the teacher is to assist in making connections between groups, between isotope uses, and to address any misconceptions
- access to a computer with an Internet connection is necessary; JavaScript must be enabled
- for part two, students will need access to large whiteboards/poster paper and markers to display their information
Isotopes Matter is a project developed by IUPAC
NGSS
Students who demonstrate understanding can use the periodic table as a model to predict the relative properties of elements based on the patterns of electrons in the outermost energy level of atoms.
*More information about all DCI for HS-PS1 can be found at https://www.nextgenscience.org/dci-arrangement/hs-ps1-matter-and-its-interactions and further resources at https://www.nextgenscience.org.
Students who demonstrate understanding can use the periodic table as a model to predict the relative properties of elements based on the patterns of electrons in the outermost energy level of atoms.
Assessment is limited to main group elements. Assessment does not include quantitative understanding of ionization energy beyond relative trends.
Examples of properties that could be predicted from patterns could include reactivity of metals, types of bonds formed, numbers of bonds formed, and reactions with oxygen.
Students that demonstrate understanding can develop models to illustrate the changes in the composition of the nucleus of the atom and the energy released during the processes of fission, fusion, and radioactive decay.
*More information about all DCI for HS-PS1 can be found at https://www.nextgenscience.org/dci-arrangement/hs-ps1-matter-and-its-interactions and further resources at https://www.nextgenscience.org.
Students that demonstrate understanding can develop models to illustrate the changes in the composition of the nucleus of the atom and the energy released during the processes of fission, fusion, and radioactive decay.
Assessment does not include quantitative calculation of energy released. Assessment is limited to alpha, beta, and gamma radioactive decays.
Emphasis is on simple qualitative models, such as pictures or diagrams, and on the scale of energy released in nuclear processes relative to other kinds of transformations.