Lesson Plan: P1.5.03

Learning About
How do subatomic particles relate to each other?

Keywords:

Isotope : forms of the same element that contain equal numbers of protons but different numbers of neutrons in their nuclei, and hence differ in relative atomic mass but not in chemical properties; in particular, a radioactive form of an element. (1)
Element : each of more than one hundred substances that cannot be chemically broken down into simpler substances and are primary constituents of matter. (1)
Neutron : a subatomic particle of about the same mass as a proton but without an electric charge, present in all atomic nuclei except those of ordinary hydrogen. (1)
Proton : a stable subatomic particle occurring in all atomic nuclei, with a positive electric charge equal in magnitude to that of an electron. (1)

Memory Anchor:

Method	Precise Learning Objective	Linked	Question / Activity (Designed for maximum working out)	Stepping Stones	Pitstop Check (Thinking Map)
	In an atom the number of electrons is equal to the number of protons in the nucleus.		How does the number of electrons relate to the number of protons in an atom?
	Atoms have no overall electrical charge.		What is the overall electrical charge of an atom?
	All atoms of a particular element have the same number of protons. The number of protons in an atom of an element is called its atomic number.		What do all atoms of a particular element have in common? What do we call this number?
	The total number of protons and neutrons in an atom is called its mass number.		What does the mass number of an atom refer to? Calculate the mass number for a particular element given the number of protons and neutrons in the atom. Rearrange the equation to find number of protons or number of neutrons and the mass number.
	Atoms can be represented as shown in this example: (Mass number) (Atomic number) 23 11 Na		How can atoms be represented? Produce a table showing the mass number, atomic number and number of neutrons for an element given in the form (_11^23) Na .
	Atoms of the same element can have different numbers of neutrons; these atoms are called isotopes of that element.		What is an isotope? Use simple modelling techniques to show that the number of protons in an isotope of an element remains constant but the number of neutrons changes.
	Atoms turn into positive ions if they lose one or more outer electron(s).		How can an atom become a positive ion? Use students to model losing electrons.
	Students should be able to relate differences between isotopes to differences in conventional representations of their identities, charges and masses.		What is an isotope?

Links To the Big Ideas
Forces	Particles	Energy	Cells