SPEAK OUR LANGUAGE

• CELL – Core Experience Learning Lab
• SDR – Scientist Data Record

ASK WHY

Great scientists question the world around them. We encourage our LabLearner students to do the same. In anticipation of this, we explain the importance of learning the concepts in the Ask Why section within the CELL. Our hope is that these explanations help students understand why science matters.

BRANCH OUT

Each Investigation introduces students to a different branch of science or STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) career that utilizes the scientific concepts of the CELL. These real-world connections will help students see the relevance of what they are learning. STEM connections are also integrated into each Performance Assessment.

GET FOCUSED

The Focus Questions in each Investigation are designed to help teachers and students focus on the important concepts. By the end of the CELL, students should be able to answer the following questions:

Investigation 1:

• What is an element? Elements are substances that cannot be broken down into smaller components through chemical reactions.

• What is the Periodic Table of the Elements? The Periodic Table of the Elements is a table that organizes elements according to their physical and chemical properties.

• How is the Periodic Table of the Elements Arranged? Elements with similar physical and chemical properties are grouped together on the table.

Investigation 2:

• How do the elements from the metal and nonmetal groups differ? Metals and nonmetals have different chemical properties from each other.

• What are atoms? What components make up an atom? An atom is the smallest particle of an element that still has all the properties of that element. Atoms are composed of three different types of subatomic particles: protons, neutrons, and electrons.

• What information about an element can be determined by using the Periodic Table of the Elements? An element’s atomic mass is equivalent to the number of protons in its atoms’ nucleus and the number of electrons normally orbiting the nucleus. In addition, the number of neutrons likely to be found in its nucleus is equal to the element’s atomic mass minus its atomic number.

Investigation 3:

• How do elements from the metal and nonmetal groups differ? Elements from the metal and nonmetal groups have different physical and chemical properties.

Investigation 4:

• What is a metalloid? A metalloid is an element that can have the properties of both metals and nonmetals.

• Where are metalloids found on the Periodic Table of the Elements? Metalloids can be found on the border of the metals and nonmetals of the Periodic Table of the Elements.

• How is the Periodic Table of the Elements arranged? The Periodic Table separates elements into metals, nonmetals, and metalloids.

Note: These are succinct responses to the Focus Questions and are placed here for easy reference. Fully developed responses to the Focus Questions can be found on each PostLab page.

Note: Some questions may be revisited as the CELL progresses. As students acquire additional knowledge, their responses should reflect this.

LEARN THE LabLearner LINGO

The following list includes Key Terms that are introduced within the Backgrounds of the CELL. These terms should be used, as appropriate, by teachers and students during everyday classroom discourse.

Note: Additional words may be bolded within the Background(s). These words are not Key Terms and are strictly emphasized for exposure at this time.

Investigation 1:

• Matter: anything that occupies space and has mass
• Element: A substance that cannot be broken down into smaller components through chemical reaction
• Periodic Table of the Elements: a table that organizes the elements according to their physical and chemical properties
• Atomic Number: the number of protons found in the nucleus of an element’s atom
• Atomic Mass: the mass of an atom’s protons and neutrons
• Group: the vertical columns in the Periodic Table
• Period: the horizontal rows in the Periodic Table

Investigation 2:

• Physical Property: a property of a substance that can be observed without changing the substance’s identity
• Chemical property: a characteristic that describes the atomic or elemental composition of a substance – It can be observed during a chemical reaction.
• Atom: the smallest particle of an element that still has all the properties of that element
• Subatomic Particle: particles that make up an atom – Protons, neutrons and electrons are subatomic particles.
• Nucleus: the center mass of an atom. It contains protons and neutrons
• Proton: a subatomic particle with a positive charge
• Neutron: a subatomic particle with no charge
• Electron: a subatomic particle with a negative charge that orbits the nucleus

Investigation 3:

• Metals: elements that are lustrous, shiny, hard and malleable and lose electrons easily
• Nonmetals: elements that are soft, brittle and dull
• Metalloid: an element that can possess properties of both metals and nonmetals

BE PREPARED

An overview of the materials for each lab is placed here for easy reference. Specific teacher preparation for the labs is placed at the beginning of each Lab page.

EXTEND YOUR THINKING

The following information is included so that teachers have additional background knowledge pertaining to the concepts introduced in the  CELL. Teachers may choose to use this information to enrich students during instruction by integrating it into individual Concept presentations.

In 1869 a Russian chemist, Dmitri Mendeleev, produced a simple grouping of known elements. Mendeleev’s grouping of elements was later called the Periodic Table of the Elements. The table was given its name because the arrangement of the elements reflected the periodic change in their properties. Other chemists had attempted to organize the elements by their similarities, but Mendeleev’s table was the most successful. He is considered the “father” of the modern Periodic Table.

The modern Periodic Table groups elements according to their atomic structure, and more specifically according to their atomic numbers. The atomic structure of each element is determined by three factors: the number of positively charged protons found in the nucleus, the number of negatively charged electrons surrounding the nucleus, and how the electrons are arranged in orbitals. Atomic number refers to the number of protons in the nucleus of an atom (6 for carbon, 50 for tin, 79 for gold, etc.). This arrangement of elements by atomic number also results in the organization of elements according to the physical and chemical properties. The result relevant to this CELL is an alignment of elements into three groups: metals, nonmetals, and metalloids (see legend of the chart to left for these categories).

The Periodic Table (Left, click on Table to open larger PDF in new window) is arranged into rows and columns. The table’s rows are called periods, which are numbered one through seven. In order for the rows to fit on a page, the sixth and seventh periods also include the rows at the bottom of the table. The table’s columns are called groups or families. The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) has proposed a naming convention that numbers the groups or families from 1 through 18, from left to right. (Note: The elements separated at the bottom of the table are called inner transition elements. The elements of the first row of the inner transition elements are the lanthanides and the elements of the second row are the actinides. However, this information and nomenclature is not essential for students to understand at this time.)

Each group of elements has characteristic chemical and physical properties and these properties can assist in their identification. For example, the elements in Group 1 are known as the alkali metals, which easily react with water, even though hydrogen (H) the first element in the group, is not a metal. Group 17 elements are the halogens, which are also extremely reactive. Metals are often shiny or lustrous in appearance and are hard and malleable, while nonmetals are often gases or solids which are soft, brittle, and dull in appearance. Metalloids, which are select elements in Groups 13-17, can be shiny or dull in appearance and either soft or hard, malleable, or brittle.

Below is a LabLearner video that introduces the Atomic Structure CELL. Please take the time to show it to your students. The most important information will be discussed again later in the CELL, so students should focus on the overall concepts at this time.