Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences

Northeast Front Range Math/Science Partnership

2005 Institutes:

Chemistry Institute: Atoms and Properties of Matter

Teachers in Jeffco are eligible for this institute. Teachers in Adams 12, Ft. Lupton, Platte Canyon, and St. Vrain Valley are eligible for a limited number of spaces in this institute, through a collaboration with the NSF-funded Rocky Mountain Middle School Math & Science Partnership.

June 6-17, 2005
Structured follow-up dates: September 17, October 8, November 5, and December 3, 2005.

An Overview
This course will introduce the structure of the atom, how atoms interact to form bonds, and how matter behaves at the molecular level. The periodic table will be explored both from a historical perspective and through various elemental periodic properties. The effect of molecular structure and properties on macroscopic properties will also be discussed. Hands-on activities, requiring only simple equipment and materials, as well as teaching strategies aimed at the middle school curriculum will be integrated throughout the content. The topics covered are listed below.

Part I. The World of Chemistry will explore how the chemical sciences interact with other scientific and technological disciplines, how chemists approach and solve problems, and the importance of understanding the universe at an atomic and molecular level.

Part II. Phases of Matter will explore solids, liquids, and gases at the molecular level and what happens during phase changes. We will examine the behavior of gases and the gas laws in a qualitative fashion. The behavior of different phases with respect to heat, temperature, and pressure can be mapped graphically using heating curves and phase diagrams and these graphical depictions will be discussed for different familiar substances.

Part III. Chemistry and Measurement will examine the types of measurements that chemists typically make, the units that describe those measurements, and the uncertainty that is inherent in all measurement.

Part IV. Atomic Theory will introduce fundamental nuclear chemistry and chemical isotopes, discuss the Bohr model of the atom, both theoretically and historically, and describe modern atomic theory and how electrons are arranged within the atom.

Part V. The Periodic Table will connect the construction of the atom to the properties of elements through the arrangement of elements in the periodic table.

Part VI. Bond Formation and Compounds will explore the types of bonds atoms form, how atoms bond to form molecules, what those molecules look like in three dimensions, and how that three-dimensional structure affects physical properties such as boiling and melting.

Part VII. Macroscopic Properties of Substances will extend the study of molecules into macroscopic properties such as density, chemical and physical properties, chemical and physical changes, and how to use those properties to effect separations of different types of mixtures.