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High School Physical ScienceUnit 1SPS1.a–c

Atoms & the Periodic Table

The 118-piece instruction manual for the entire universe.

Two twins walk into a lab…

Two samples of carbon — both 100% pure, chemically identical in every reaction. But one is slightly heavier, atom for atom. Same element, different mass — and that tiny difference is how museums date a 5,000-year-old wooden boat. How can the same element weigh two different amounts?

Start: What Do You Already Know? → Explore on your own ↓
7activities
12new words
4parts
∞replays — new every time
Open world

Explore

Jump in anywhere, in any order. Every activity reshuffles each time you play, so there's always something new. You earn amu for every right answer.

Think about it

Big questions to wonder about

By the end of this unit, you'll be able to answer every one of these.

If two atoms are both pure carbon, what could possibly make one heavier than the other?

Sodium explodes in water and chlorine is a toxic gas. So why is table salt safe to eat?

Scientists left gaps in the periodic table for elements nobody had found yet. How could a chart predict the future?

Why is the atomic mass on the periodic table almost never a whole number?

Vocabulary

Word Wall

The 12 words you'll own by the end of this unit. Tap any card to flip it. Words you collect in the activities get a ✓.

The road ahead

Unit Roadmap

Four parts, in the order we'll learn them.

1

Part 1: Atomic Structure & Average Atomic Mass

  • The three subatomic particles
  • Atomic number & mass number
  • Why the atomic mass is a decimal
SPS1.a
2

Part 2: Isotopes & Ions

  • Isotopes: same element, different mass
  • Ions: gaining & losing electrons
  • Predicting ion charges from the group
SPS1.aSPS1.b
3

Part 3: Organization of the Periodic Table

  • Periods & groups
  • The famous families
  • Metals, nonmetals & metalloids
  • Phases at room temperature
SPS1.b
4

Part 4: Trends & the Prediction Machine

  • Valence electrons
  • Reactivity trends
  • Predicting an unknown element
SPS1.bSPS1.c
Where we're headed

Learning Targets & Success Criteria

Learning Targets

I am learning to…

  • Compare and contrast the structure of atoms, ions, and isotopes
  • Analyze periodic trends: valence electrons, ion charges, metals vs. nonmetals, and phases at room temperature
  • Use the periodic table as a model to predict how main group elements behave
Success Criteria

I will be successful when I can…

  • Count the protons, neutrons, and electrons for any atom, ion, or isotope from its symbol
  • Explain why the atomic mass on the table is a decimal and calculate it from isotope data
  • Predict the ion an element forms (+1, +2, +3, −3, −2, −1) from its group
  • Classify elements as metals, nonmetals, or metalloids and as solid, liquid, or gas at room temperature
  • Use the periodic table to predict the behavior of an unfamiliar element
Georgia Standards of Excellence

Standards

SPS1

Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information from the Periodic Table to explain the relative properties of elements based on patterns of atomic structure.

SPS1.a

Develop and use models to compare and contrast the structure of atoms, ions and isotopes.

SPS1.b

Analyze and interpret data to determine trends of the following: number of valence electrons; types of ions formed by main group elements; location and properties of metals, nonmetals, and metalloids; phases at room temperature.

SPS1.c

Use the Periodic Table as a model to predict the above properties of main group elements.

Watch

One-minute videos

Quick previews from Simple Science Videos.

The Atom

SPS1.a

The Periodic Table

SPS1.b · SPS1.c
More on Tobin Science

Keep going

Free activities for this unit that go deeper.

Periodic Table Explorer

Periodic Table Patterns