Thoughts on Radioactive Decay Lab

I found this lab useful because we cut a piece of paper, that was colored on one side only, into over 500 pieces. We then continued to place them in a cup, dump them out and count how many landed with the color side up. These were the "atoms" that decayed, so they were taken out and the process was repeated 5 more times. This lab really helped me put a visual in my head to radioactive decay and how it occurs. It was also fun to touch on forensic science in a way as we had to identify a body based on the amount of the certain substance left after 60 years.

Beanium Lab

Today we did a lab that simulated finding isotopes of a new element, Beanium. There were 4 types of beans and we sorted each of them along with finding the mass of each isotope. Then we found the average atomic mass of the element with the formula.

The Founding Fathers of the Atom: Part 1

The atom has been around since history began, but there are three scientists that helped discover traits about the atom to help make it realistic to the human eye today. The first of the three is John Dalton who proposed his famous atomic theory in which he stated that all matter is made of atoms, all atoms are indivisible and indestructible, and compounds are formed by a combination of two or more different types of atoms. Although his theory has proven to be partially false, it is still considered the first major discovery towards identifying the atom and what the atom really is because it gave people a glimpse of how important atoms are for the first time.

Naming Acids

If you were curious as to how you name compounds with acids, you can use this flowchart to help.

Does the anion contain oxygen?

I                                   I          

                                                               No                               yes

                                              Hydro-                                      check the ending of the anion name

                                              + anion root                                            I                      I

                                               + ic_______

                                            hyrdo(anion root)ic acid         anion or element root        anion/element root

                                                                                                 + -ous____________           + -ic____________

                                                                                                 (root)ous acid                       (root)ic acid

How do you tell which type of compound something is?

To identify the type of compound, you can simply use this flow chart to determine which type it is.

Is it a bianary compound?

                                                                                       yes

Is metal present?

     No                                               yes

                                            Type III                                         Does metal form more than one cation?

                                                                                               I                                         I

                                                                                                      No                                              yes

                                                                                               I                                         I
                                                                                                         Type I                             Type II