Atomic Structure & Theory

Analogy Experiment—Projectile Pennies with Rutherford

Atomic theory is a common topic throughout any introductory chemistry course. It is likely that Rutherford’s gold foil experiment gets at least some attention in your course. This simple activity gives students an opportunity to replicate Rutherford’s experiment through an analogy experiment that may allow for easier conceptualization of the experiment itself and provide additional support for model development.

Stamp of the Week #2

Germany issued a pair of stamps that honor two fundamentally huge accomplishments in science in 1994. The Quantum Theory and Ohm’s Law. They were really well designed stamps and very accurate in their science.

M&Ms as Isotopes

Use Mega M&Ms, M&Ms minis, and regular M&M’s in this activity to examine the concept of isotopes and average atomic mass. The color of the M&M’s represent that they are the same element and have the same number of protons. The size represents, in a relative sense, the different numbers of neutrons.

How I Fell in Love with PES

Like many AP Chemistry teachers, Melissa Hemling was not fond of teaching Photoelectron Spectroscopy (PES). Surprisingly, she fell in love with teaching PES in AP Chemistry after making an old-school change.

Pivot Interactives—A Resource All Chemistry Teachers Should Know About

As many teachers are preparing for the possibility of teaching online next semester, we are revisiting posts from the ChemEd X archives like this one that might be of help. As a teacher, having the freedom to create or edit something within my instruction based on the needs of my students is incredibly important to me. So, when I found out the activities in Pivot Interactives are completely customizable, I was thrilled. (Originally published 12/14/18)