Living PeriodicallyOur Existence with the Elements

A Webquest for EDU 505, Summer 2013By Karen Springer

IntroductionHave you noticed the word wall at the back of Mrs. Springer’s classroom? Well, it’s time for the annual changeover to the “monster interactive table” or “MIT” for short. We are going to transform this wall into the biggest periodic table you have ever seen, and what’s more, MIT will have different facets which show through the course of the year.

Each one of us will become an expert on one of MIT’s elements and create each of the facets MIT displays.

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Pick up your passbook, your facet pages,

and your HPE(hand picked element)

from Mrs. Springer -but be careful,

some of them arequite dangerous.

Your Task

During this quest, you will completely fill out your passbook andbegin to understand what the different elements are, as well as general information about the periodic table.

You are to become an expert on your HPE and use your expertise to present 3 facets of that element in a monster table at the back of the classroom. The facets include:

• name and history of discovery including a bio of discovering scientist

• Physical characteristics, availability, and uses• A photograph of your element

Click on the video below to understand where the Periodic Table came from.

A bit of history…

Processes and Resources

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0zION8xjbM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUDDiWtFtEM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGM-wSKFBpo

Fill in the info you found on page 2 of your passbook.

See what you can learn about your HPE by clicking on one or more of the links below.

Now try to learn more about your HPE by checking out its neighbors.

The neighborhoods of the periodic table.

Metals

Metalloids

Nonmetals

The Metals

http://www.chemistrydaily.com/

This link is for an online chemistry encyclopedia. Search for metals and see what characteristics you find which you can use to answer questions on page 3 in your passbook.

The Nonmetals

http://www.chemistrydaily.com/

Use the chemistry encyclopedia above to search for nonmetals and answer the questions on page 4 of your passbook.

The Metalloids

http://www.chemistrydaily.com/

Search the encyclopedia again for questions on page 5.

Now you are ready to become the expert on your element.

http://www.rsc.org/periodic-table

Go to the Royal Society of Chemistry web site and spend 5 to 10 minutes clicking around and getting to know the site. It is loaded with information!

Begin to look at your element in particular in the site above.Make sure you listen to the podcast and watch the video for your element located at this site.

The 1st facet of your element:Name and history of discovery

On the history tab at http://www.rsc.org/periodic-table/history

Find the following out about your element:Meaning of the nameWhen discoveredHow many elements were known at that time?Who discovered it?

Record this information on your 1st facet sheet

Find out more about the person who discovered your HPE

Try going to the chemical heritage foundation and looking up your scientist:

http://www.chemheritage.org/discover/online-resources/chemistry-in-history/people.aspx

If you cannot find your scientist here, look around the web and let me know where you found your info.

On the back of the 1st facet sheet, write a short bio for this scientist, including how he/she discovered this element.

Return to the Royal Society of Chemistry site at

http://www.rsc.org/periodic-table

And determine the following about your element:• name and symbol• Atomic number and atomic mass• melting point and boiling point• density at 0 degrees C• electron configuration• supply risk• principal country of origin

Record this information on your 2nd facet sheet.

The 2nd facet of your element:Physical Characteristics and Uses

To find out more about how this element is used in the world today, check out another interactive periodic table called WebElements.

http://www.webelements.com/uses.html

On the back of your 2nd facet sheet, write a short paragraph, in your own words, about what your element is used for.

The final facet for you to record of your element is its picture. Try one of the following sites for starters, to see if you can find a good shot – then print it. Make sure your picture is sized to be approximately 5x7 in size.

http://www.webelements.com/pictures.html

http://www.rsc.org/periodic-table

http://periodictable.com/

Label the back side of your picture with the name of the element.

The 3rd facet of your element:Picture

Evaluation

Criteria 1 2 3 4Retrieval of Info Information

incomplete and inaccurate

Information mostly complete and accurate

Information complete and accurate

Extra information provided with documented accuracy

Writing – Bio and Uses Paragraphs

Writing disjointed with no significant details

Writing contains 3-4 significant details.

Writing contains several details, written cohesively

Writing complex, cohesive, containing both significant and interesting detail.

Use of Time for Webquest

Little focus and did not use time wisely

Maintained adequate focus and time usage.

Worked consistently and focused on completing tasks

Excellent focus and time usage.

Conclusion

Congratulations! You have been a major contributor in developing our MIT. We will be rotating the facets throughout the course of the year to give everyone a fantastic understanding of the elements we live with.

The time and energy you put in shows, and the class appreciates your work! Let me know if there are more facets about the elements you came across that you would like to put up on MIT.

Teacher Page

Living Periodically is a web-quest designed for 11/12 grade general chemistry students. It is an introductive study of the periodic table and should be implemented after students have an understanding of the following:

• Atomic structure (protons, neutrons, electrons)• Density, Atomic mass, Atomic number

It has been constructed to be completed individually, though it would work in pairs. Care should be taken to ensure that students are generating their own writing.

Prior to running the quest, print out copies of passbooks and facet sheets and determine how an element will be selected for each student.

Webliography

Asap Science. The New Periodic Table Song. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUDDiWtFtEM Web 6/2013.

Chemical Heritage Foundation. Philadelphia, PA. http://www.chemheritage.org/ Web, 6/2013.

Chemistry Daily, The Chemistry Encyclopedia. http://www.chemistrydaily.com/ Web. 6/2013.

Green, Hank. The Periodic Table. Crash Course Chemistry #4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RRVV4Diomg&feature=player_embedded#at=37 Web 6/2013.

Lehrer, Tom. The Elements Song, animated. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGM-wSKFBpo Web 6/2013.

Periodic Table of the Elements by WebElements. http://www.webelements.com/ Web 6/2013.

Royal Society of Chemistry, Visual Elements Periodic Table. http://www.rsc.org/periodic-table Web 2013.

The Photographic Periodic Table of the Elements. http://periodictable.com/ Web, 6/2013.

They Might Be Giants. Meet the Elements Song. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0zION8xjbM Web 6/2013.