Science - My Element

This week on Monday and Tuesday in Science we have been learning about atoms. First on Monday we got our scipad and we did our scipad about atoms. On the scipad, we had to describe an atom, name particles inside atoms and other questions about atoms. Then we looked at the elements on the scipad, there are 72 different types of atoms on the scipad. After that we started to do an activity where we had to pick one atom from the two rows on the scipad, I picked Lithium, then we had to make a model atom of one of the atoms that we had to chose from. Since I chose lithium I had to get three beads of the same colour and four beads of the same colour. One of the coloured beads represented the protons and the other coloured beads represented the neutrons. In the centre of the atom is the nucleus.

Equipment:

• Coloured paper

• Vivid

• Scissors 

• Blu tack

• 2 lots of different coloured beads

Method:

1. Cut 2 circles out of the paper but one had to be bigger than the other.

2. Get blu tack and make a ball.

3. Since I chose lithium I had to put all of the seven beads on the blu tack ball. 

4. Cut a square out of the paper and write down what it says on the periodic table of elements of what atom you chose. 

5. Get the some string and tape together the two circles, the square and the atom ball.

6. Make sure that the atom ball is in the middle of the smallest circle.

Here is a photo of the finale product that I made, hopefully it makes sense.

Then we had to answer these questions according to the element of our choosing that we had to make a model of.

If I were a element I'd like to be Lithium and my symbol is Li.

My atomic number is 6.9 which means I have 3 protons in my nucleus and 3 electrons around my nucleus.

At room temperature 20°C I will be a solid.

My melting point (the temperature when I turn from solid to liquid) is 180.5°C

My boiling point (the temperature when I change from liquid to gas) is 1,330°C

I was first discovered by Johan August Arfwedson in 1817. It was discovered in Stockholm, Sweden

I am found in spodumene, petalite, tepidolite and amblygonite important minerals containing lithium.

My uses to humans are to help humans from bipolar because lithium salts have been proven to be a useful mood stabilising drug in the the treatment of bipolar disorder in humans.

Some interesting things about me are that lithium burns with a bright red colour because lithium chloride imparts a read colour to a flame. A carmine red colour is imparted to the flame by lithium chloride. The colour is less intense than the strontium flame colour. Other interesting things about lithium is that lithium is the lightest metal, lithium has the lowest density of any metal, lithium is a shiny, soft metal which reacts violently with water forming a strong corrosive base, lithium is used extensively to rechargeable batteries.