Kristin Distante

Commencement Content Standard I
1. Students will we scientific inquiry to seek- answers and develop solutions

Benchmarks
Scientific Inquiry The central purpose of scientific inquiry is to develop explanations of natural phenomena in a continuing, creative process

Elaborate on basic scientific and personal explanations of natural phenomena and develop extended visual models ...to represent their thinking
Work toward reconciling competing explanations; clarifying points of agreement and disagreement
Coordinate explanations at different levels of scale ... and recognize the need for such alternative representations of the natural world
Beyond the use of reasoning and consensus, scientific inquiry involves the tesfing of proposed explanations
Refine their research ideas through ... electronic information retrieval and through peer feedback obtained from review and discussion
The observations made while testing proposed explanations, when analyzed using conventional methods, provide new insights into phenomena
Use various means of representing and organizing observafions( e.g. diagrams, tables, charts, graphs) and insightfufly interpret the organized data

Commencement Standard 2
Students Will access, generate, process, and transfer information using appropriate technologies.
Benchmarks

Commencement Standard 3
Number & Numeration
Students use number sense to develop an understanding of multiple uses of numbers in the real world

Benchmarks
Judge the reasonableness of a graph produced by a calculator or computer

Modeling/Multiple Representation
Students use multiple representation to provide a means of presenting, interpreting, communication and connecting mathematical information and relationships

Benchmarks
Choose appropriate representations to facilitate the solving of a problem

Commencement Standard 4
Students will understand and apply scientific concepts, principles, and theories pertaining to the physical setting.

3. Matter is made up of particles whose properties determine the observable characteristics of matter and its reactivity.

Commencement Standard 6
Students will understand the relationships and common themes that connect mathematics, science and technology and apply the themes to these and other areas of learning

Patterns of change: Identifying patterns of change is necessary for making predictions about future behavior and conditions

Benchmarks
Search for multiple trends when analyzing data for patterns, and identify data that do not fit the trends

Commencement Standard 7
STRATEGIES and technology are used together to make informed decisions and solve problems, especially
those relating to issues of science/technology/society, and inquiry into phenomena

Benchmarks
Working Effectively: Contributing to the work of a brainstorming group,.or project team
Gathering and Processing Information: Accessing information from... electronic data bases and using the information to develop a definition of the problem and to research possible solutions
Generating and Analyzing Ideas: Developing ideas for proposed solutions, investigating ideas, collecting data and showing relationships and patterns in the data
Common Themes: Observing examples of common unifying themes, applying them to the problem, and using them to better understand the dimensions of the problem
Realizing Ideas: Constructing components or models, arriving at a solution, and evaluating the result
Presenting Results: Using a variety of media to present the solution and to communicate the results

Students will discriminate between Periods (rows or series) and Groups (families or columns) on the periodic table
Students will understand and state the relationship between elements of a given group and elements of a given period
Students will understand atomic radii, and how this parameter changes within a period or within a group
Students will be able to state the general characteristics of groups 1, 2, 15, 16, 17, and 18 in terms of activities, ionization energies, atomic radii, valence electrons, chemical and physical properties, affinity and electronegativity -
Students will be able to define by means of valence electrons: metal, nonmetal, semi-metal, noble or inert gases, and will be able to identify groups 1, 2, 7 and 8 by family name.
Students will identify and use physical properties to determine if an element is a metal, nonmetal, or semi- and divide the periodic table into these groups.
Students will understand the changes in properties within a given period from left to right in terms of- general radius decrease, general ionization energy increase, general electronegafivity increase, general change very active metals to less active nonmetals to very active nonmetals to a noble gas.
Students will understand and demonstrate the concept of periodicity within the periodic table of elements

The following activity is designed to help students become familiar with the information contained on the periodic table and the information contained on it using a pre-existing website.

ACTIVITY:
Spell your name in "chemicalese" using elements of the periodic table. For example, my name is Kristin. In "chemicalese", my name would be Kr I S Ti N. (I have selected element symbols that most closely spefl my name.
Marion in chemicalese is Mg At Rh I 0 N or L4g At Rh I Os Ne YOU CAN BE CREATIVE WITH THIS PART!!!!!!

Go to the website and look up the name for each of the elements in your name, by clicking on the spot on the table or entering the symbol in the search box.
Example: Kr I S Ti N becomes Krypton, Iodine, Sulfur, Titanium, Nitrogen

For each of the elements in your name;
Find which group or family the element belongs to
Find which period the element belongs to

Now select two of the elements in your name. (Choose elements from different families and groups please!)
For each of the elements, use the website to determine the trend of the properties of both the group and the family of your two elements

PROPERTIES FOR TREND DETERMINATION:
Mass
Electronegativity
Ionization energy
atomic radius
ionic radius
valence electron structure
what kind of ion it becomes
reacts with ...

Example: Kr and I ... I will look at each element in the family of Kr (He, Ne, Ar, Kr, Xe and Rn) and record each of the properties listed above. Then I will look in the period of Kr and I will look up K, Ca, Sc, Ti, V..etc.. As, Se, Br, Kr, and record the properties listed above. Then I will do the same for 1.

Once you have located all the properties for each family, create a graph of the properties using lotus, excel, or whatever graphing software package you have.
After creating your four graphs (one family, one group for each of two elements) seek out other members of the class who have plotted different elements than you have. Compare the trends you observed (if any) in your family and group with other people's family and groups. Write a short summary of similarities and differences noted.

As the students begin to discover trends in properties and behaviors within families and groups it will be helpful for the teacher to include discussion of the meaning of terminologies such as l"st. ionization energy, electronegativity ", etc.

Without using a periodic table as a reference, students place should be able to place their two elements in their proper place on a large empty grid of the periodic table based on periodic properties only. Given one element as a cue, they should be able to use the elements of their classmates as a guide to the proper placement of the elements. If an element is missing, leave that spot blank. The teacher can check to see if the elements have been placed correctly. This could be used as a means of assessment where each student gets evaluated on the placement of their own element and/or the entire class gets a group grade on the final accuracy of the table. If used as an assessment, the teacher could create a grid with a shape other than that of the periodic table and have students place their elements accordingly, based on properties rather than location, or given elements other than the ones they researched demonstrate the ability to place any element based on it's properties. Students should be able to explain, in words or writing, the rationale behind their placement of their elements on the table. They should be able to explain the trends in the various properties they have plotted, and demonstrate an understanding of what the various properties mean.

This unit may be also assessed using a standard multiple choice test with Regents- style questions which address the trends, names, groups, valence structure, types, ionization energies, electronegativities, radii, etc.