360Storylines—Fireworks, 1-Year Access

Product Details

A 360Storyline is a collection of experiments that together let students engage in science in an authentic manner through the use of relevant phenomena. Each experiment in a 360Storyline builds on things learned in the preceding experiments until students develop a final, working explanation or model of the phenomenon. Every lab in any 360Storyline is completely editable and supported by videos and simulations. 

Includes:

• Access to digital content for 1 year
• Lab supplies for each experiment for a single class of 30 students

Fireworks
Lead students to a written understanding/working model of fireworks. In this storyline, students discover that all matter is made up of atoms and that atoms of different elements have different electronic structures. When energy is applied to atoms, their electrons get excited to higher energy levels. The natural tendency of electrons to relax into lower energy states releases particles called photons. Students will ultimately connect this idea to fireworks when they observe that atoms display specific colors, attributable to their electronic structures, when burned.

What Students Do

Lab 1—Elements, Compounds and Mixtures
Students explore different types of matter, including real elements and compounds, and discover that some samples cannot be broken down further. Students also determine that some combinations of elements and mixtures can form different substances.

Lab 2—Bean Bag Isotopes
Students use dried food items to explore isotopes. Students investigate the mass and relative abundance of isotopes for the “bean bag” element (symbol, Bg) and calculate the atomic mass of this element.

Lab 3—Evaluate Atomic Spectra
Students observe light passing through a diffraction grating and analyze the observed spectrum of colors. The purpose of the lab is to relate the unique spectrum of colors to atomic structure.

Lab 4—Evaluate the Bohr Model of the Atom
Students carry out an investigation to model quantum mechanics. Students explore if it is possible to know the precise location of an electron around the nucleus of an atom at any given time.

Lab 5—Model Electron Configuration
Students use an electron configuration concert analogy to learn and practice electron configuration.

Lab 6—Evaluate Atomic Structure with Flame Tests
Students carry out a small-scale investigation to select the chemicals used in a big fireworks display. When students predict number of electrons in various energy diagrams using bingo chips, they will have a visual of the probability of where the electrons reside in the atomic structure of the atom.

About 360Storylines

A 360Storyline is a collection of experiments that together let students engage in science in an authentic manner through the use of relevant phenomena. Each experiment in a 360Storyline builds on things learned in the preceding experiments until students develop a final, working explanation or model of the phenomenon. Every lab in any 360Storyline is completely editable and supported by videos and simulations. 

Students must drive the learning forward by developing procedures and asking questions. Each storyline is supported by editable documents that force students to think about how the data they collect relate to an individual experiment’s investigative phenomenon and how the data they collect in a series of labs relate to a broader, anchoring phenomenon.