Summer SAVY 2016 (Session 2, Day 2) – It’s Elemental

Posted by hallep on Tuesday, June 21, 2016 in Grade 1, Grade 2, SAVY.

What an exciting Day 2 in It’s Elemental. We started out by learning about the history behind the current structure of an atom, from ancient Greek’s belief that there were 4 different atoms (Earth, Air, Water, and Fire) to our current understanding of quantum orbitals developed by Erwin Schrodinger. We learnt about the properties of the atomic subatomic particles. We focused on how electrons can be passed between atoms and this is responsible for a common occurrence: static electricity. After completing an activity on static electricity with balloons we learnt some new chemistry terms such as ions and isotopes and then used a little skit to act out the differences between these. We also learnt about how scientists use properties of elements to separate them from mixtures. Separation of components from a mixture is called chromatography and we performed a common laboratory method called Thin Layer Chromatography. We separated out the pigments that are used in black markers. It was a great day It’s Elemental and if you would like to learn more about atomic theory here is a great video by The Vlogbrothers:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thnDxFdkzZs&list=PL8dPuuaLjXtPHzzYuWy6fYEaX9mQQ8oGr&index=37.