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It's Elemental

Students will explore and illustrate some of the elements on the periodic table.

Lesson Plan

Supplies Needed

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  • Paper

Steps

  • Step 1

    Have students investigate some of the elements on the periodic table. What are their symbols, atomic numbers, and classifications? How were they named? Who discovered or produced them? Where might they be found? For example, Neon (Ne, atomic number 10) is a noble gas. It was discovered in 1898 by the British chemists Sir William Ramsay  and Morris Travers in London and named "neon" for the Greek word "neos" meaning new. It produces light when electricity is applied to it and is used to illuminate neon signs.

  • Step 2

    Assign or have each student choose one or more elements to research. They should create an informative poster that shows information they learned.

  • Step 3

    When the work is complete, have students discuss the elements and their uses. Then display them in the order of the periodic table.

Standards

SCI: Design pictorial or graphic representations/models that are useful in communicating ideas. 

SCI: Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information based on evidence. 

Adaptations

Several of the elements are named after scientists. Have students research some of these people. For example, Roentgenium (Rg, at. no. 111) was named for Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen,  who produced and detected electromagnetic radiation in a wavelength range known as X-rays. As a result of this discovery, he became the first recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1901.

Carbon is number 6 on the periodic table. Have students learn about the process of carbon dating, which can determine the age of archeological artifacts. One famous example is Ötzi the Iceman, a well-preserved mummy discovered in the Alps in 1991. Carbon dating revealed that Ötzi lived around 3,300 BCE, making him the oldest known natural human mummy.