Name Date Class

Atomic Trading Cards

Lab Preview

Directions: Answer these questions before you begin the Lab.

  1. What information about each element do you need to collect for this lab?
    name, symbol, family, atomic number, atomic mass, metal/nonmetal/metalloid; optional: discoverer, date of discovery, common uses, state at room temperature, where located geographically.
  2. What is the relationship between the number of energy levels an atom has and that atom's position on the periodic table?
    The row of the periodic table has the same number as the number of energy levels in the atom.

Perhaps you have seen or collected trading cards of famous athletes. Usually, each card has a picture of the athlete on one side with important statistics related to the sport on the back. Atoms also can be identified by their properties and statistics.

Real-World Problem

How can a visible model show how energy levels fill when atoms combine?

Materials

4-in × 6-in index cards
periodic table

Goals

Procedure

  1. You will get an assigned element from your teacher. Write the following information for your element on your index card: name, symbol, group number, atomic number, atomic mass, and metal, nonmetal, or metalloid.
  2. On the other side of your index card, show the number of protons and neutrons in the nucleus (e.g., 6p for six protons and 6n for six neutrons for carbon).
  3. Draw circles around the nucleus to represent the energy levels of your element. The number of circles you will need is the same as the period the element is in on the periodic table.
  4. Draw dots on each circle to represent the electrons in each energy level. Remember, elements in row 1 become stable with two outer electrons, while levels two and three become stable with eight electrons.
  5. Look at the picture side only of four or five of your classmates' cards. Identify the elements and the groups to which they belong.

Conclude and Apply

  1. As you classify the elements according to their group number, what pattern do you see in the number of electrons in the outer energy levels?
    They are the same in each group.



  2. Atoms that give up electrons combine with atoms that gain electrons to form compounds. Predict some pairs of elements that combine in this way.
    Sodium and potassium give up the only electron in their respective outer energy levels to chlorine and iodine, forming the chemically stable compounds sodium chloride
    and potassium iodide.

















Communicating Your Data

Make a graph that relates the groups to the number of electrons in their outer energy levels. For more help, refer to the Science Skill Handbook.