LESSON PLAN

Subject

Combined Science (Chemistry)

Class:

3I5

Unit

Atomic Structure and Stoichiometry

Date:

29 February 2016

Topic

Atomic Structure

Time:

0945 1045

Prior Knowledge
Students should already know:
1. describe elements as a substance that cannot be broken down chemically into simpler substances.
Instructional Objectives
By the end of the lesson, students should be able to:
1. state the relative charges and approximate relative masses of a proton, a neutron and an electron
2. define proton number (atomic number) and nucleon number (mass number)
3. Interpret and use symbols such as C
Tim
e

Lesson Development

Rationale (optional)

Resources

Introduction OR Pre-activity
5
mins
15
mins

Settling down
Introduction to class, expectations, routines and getting to know the class
better

PowerPoint Slides

Lesson Development OR Main Activities

5
mins

I) Introducing todays topic:

- Atoms and its structure
II) Linking atoms with elements:
- Elements are the simplest substances that cannot be broken down into
simpler substances by chemical means.
- Given an element, what is it made up of?
- Key concepts:
a) An atom is the smallest particle of an element

PowerPoint Slides,
worksheet (notes),
whiteboard & markers

b) Everything is made up of atoms (albeit different)

10
mins

III) Size of an atom:

- To have an idea and a good appreciation of how small an atom is, the
following video will be played (to be downloaded prior to lesson):
https://www.ted.com/talks/just_how_small_is_an_atom
Recap of salient points from the video:
- Atoms are really, really really small
- The different analogies: atoms in a grapefruit akin to blueberries filling
the earth; size of nucleus as a marble in a stadium; the denseness of the
nucleus and the vast amount of empty spaces
- The nucleus is really dense most of an atoms mass is concentrated in
the nucleus.
- The mass of an electron is negligible in comparison

10
mins

III) Structure of an atom:

- Link back to a familiar picture of an atom
- Main features of an atom: a) dense nucleus and b) electron clouds
- Analogy of the structure of an atom as the sun and the solar system:
- The sun is akin to the nucleus
- The planets are moving in orbitals around the sun, like electrons
- Key concepts:
- Relative masses of protons, neutrons and electrons
- Charges of electrons and protons
- Electrical neutrality of an atom
- Filling in of worksheet:
- Second half of page 1
- First half of page 2

10
mins

IV) Representing an atom:

- Motivation on why there is a need to find a way to represent an atom
efficiently
- Analogy of an index number for identification
- Use of the class register numbers as a simple activity for
identification
- Mention that their register number correspond to a single
element in the periodic table (look at the bottom left number)
- Call out a few students and write down their initials, register

Video (with sound)

Slides, whiteboard and

markers

Class register, periodic

table

number and mass on the board.

- Link back: Each element has a unique number for identification
and that is its atomic (proton) number. The mass of could be the
same, but the atomic number is always different.
- Key concepts to cover:
- Proton (atomic) number represents the number of protons in an
atom of the element
- Proton (atomic) number also represents the number of electrons
in an atom of the element
- Nucleon (mass) number represents the number of neutrons and
protons in an atom of the element.
- Filling in of worksheet:
- First part of page 1 and second part of page 2
Closure and Consolidation OR Post-Activity
5
mins

Recap the main learning points of the chapter through the asking of
questions:
1) state the relative charges and approximate relative masses of a
proton, a neutron and an electron
2) define proton number (atomic number) and nucleon number
(mass number)
3) Interpret and use symbols such as C

Slides, worksheet
(notes)

Go through example 1 and 2 of Worked Example 1 as an application of

the concepts learned.

Reflections (Choose 1 aspect of the lesson to reflect on positive or negative one. It can be written in point form not more than 1 page)
1. What happened? (What did my students do? What did I do?)
2. Why? (Why did I think things happened this way? Why did I choose to act the way I did?)
3. So what? (What have I learnt from this?)
4. Now what? (What do I want to remember to think about in a similar situation? How do I want to act in future?)

NOTE: General guidelines for a double-period lesson about 5 pages, excluding references and
worksheets/resources (Times New Roman, font size 12)

 2015, NIE, Office of Teacher Education (OTE), Practicum