Name ______
Edible Atom Project
Due ______The day it was assigned______
(I should have told my parents about it on this date)
Step 1 Gather information
Pick an atom. I’m going to use Nitrogen for our example so you can’t use it. Also no Hydrogen or Helium- they’re too easy. There are literally 115 other choices on the periodic table, so choose any of them. (the first few rows of the table are easiest) Copy the information from your periodic table onto a napkin or paper towel. (it’s all part of the edible theme) It should look something like this:
Nitrogen
7
N
14
Step 2
Figure out how many protons, neutrons and electrons there are your atom. Here is the simple way to figure it out:
For any element:
Number of Protons = Atomic Number
Number of Electrons = Number of Protons = Atomic Number
Number of Neutrons = Mass Number - Atomic Number
Number of particles in the Nucleus = Mass number
For our example,Nitrogen:
Number of Protons = Atomic Number = 7
Number of Electrons = Number of Protons = Atomic Number = 7
Number of Neutrons = Mass Number - Atomic Number = 14 - 7 = 7
Number of particles in the Nucleus = Mass Number =14
Place this information in a chart on your napkin just like this:
Protons / Electrons / Neutrons / Particles in the Nucleus7 / 7 / 7 / 14
Step 3 Gather Materials
Now that you know how many protons, neutrons and electrons you will need for your model, it is time to decide what to use to represent them. It just has to be food. It can be what you have lying around or you can choose to make a special trip to the store. Basically, anything that is roundish and that can be stuck to each other should work. It is helpful if the items are color coded so that it is easier to tell which are protons, neutrons and electrons, but they don’t have to be. It is also helpful if the electrons are smaller than the protons and neutrons, again your choice.
Step 4 Build the Nucleus
The nucleus, the central part of the atom, is made from protons and neutrons. All of your atom's protons and neutrons go in the nucleus. I am going to count them, so you should too. For nitrogen, the nucleus would look something like this:
Step 5 Add Electrons
Step 6 Box or bag it all up for school
Step 7 Figure out what your grade is going to be
There are several ways to earn some extra credit. All of them are optional. A key describing which parts are which in your atom is one way. Choosing to make your atom more accurate by paying attention to the electron levels in you model is another. Making the protons and neutrons larger than the electrons helps. Choosing a larger (and more difficult) atom to model gets you bonus points. They are rows five and above on the chart. Making your model three dimensional is tough and can earn you a higher score. A simple model with the right number of parts is all that is required, but feel free to get creative.
Incredible Edible Atom Project
Scoring Guide
NapkinOptional Extra Credit:
Complete Periodic table info______/ 5Key______/1
Correct # of Particles in the Nucleus______/ 5Electron Levels ______/2
Correct # of Protons______/ 5Small E/Big P&N ______/1
Correct # of Neutrons______/ 5Row 5-7______/3
Correct # of Electrons______/ 53-D______/3
Model______/ 10Total______/10
Container______/ 5
Total______/40