History of Atomic Theory Project

The atomic theory of matter is an excellent illustration of the process of science. Our understanding of
the world around us is reshaped and refined with each scientific experiment. The first recorded idea of
the atom comes from the ancient Greeks in the 400’s B.C. Over the millennia, scientific experimentation
has added to our knowledge of the atom, redefining what it is and what its structure is like. In this
project, your goal will be to learn about some of the highlights in the history of atomic theory to gain an
appreciation of how we know what we know about atoms.

Step 1 of this process involves research. Listed below are 8 scientists who all contributed to our current
understanding of the atom. Your group will be assigned one of these people. You need to find out who
this person was and what they contributed to atomic theory as we understand it today.

Democritus JJ Thomson Erwin Schrodinger

Antoine Lovosier Ernest Rutherford James Chadwick
John Dalton Niels Bohr

Questions to answer in your research 1) When did they live? Where did they live? 2) What new
information did they contribute to the understanding of the atom? 3) How did they find this new
information? (What experiments did they do?) 4) Interesting facts – other accomplishments, personal
information, famous historical events at the time,etc. NO WIKIPEDIA

Cite Your Sources! You must hand in a bibliography with your project. This must be in proper APA/MLA
works cited/bibliography format. (See the example shown below.) There are lots of websites that can
help you make a correctly formatted citation. One good one is http://www.easybib.com/

Sample Citation (for an online source):

"A Science Odyssey: You Try It: Atom Builder." PBS. PBS, 1998. Web. 04 Nov.
2009. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aso/tryit/atom/>.

Research Tips Some of these scientists did experiments not related to atomic theory as well. If you
search on the web for information, you might include searches about the history of atomic theory, or
“Niels Bohr atomic theory” to help get less broad results. You can of course get good information by
searching each name as well, but don’t forget to find out about contributions to atomic theory.

Here are a few potentially useful websites to get things going:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aso/tryit/atom/ - scroll down to the bottom for links to scientists
http://www.ausetute.com.au/atomichist.html
http://chemistry.learnhub.com/lesson/3663-history-of-the-atomic-theory-i-ancient-times
http://chemistry.learnhub.com/lesson/3687-history-of-the-atomic-theory-part-3
http://www.visionlearning.com/library/module_viewer.php?mid=50
 DUE DATE: _____________ Name: _________________________

Step 2 of this project is turning your research into an interesting and informative project. This is the part where you use the
information, making sure to avoid plagiarism by putting things into your own words. The type of project you will complete is
called a RAFT (R = role, A = audience, F = Format, T = Topic). You choose one horizontal row from the choices below to
complete. If you don’t see any options that appeal to you, talk to your teacher about designing your own. (A self-designed
option must be approved by your teacher.)

Role Audience Format Topic (RAFT)

Role Audience Format Topic

Science writer at the Reader of the New York Series of Newspaper The ongoing discovery
New York Times TImes Science section Articles of the atom

Author Students in a high Graphic Novel/Comic Adventures of your

school chemistry class Book scientist including their
contribution to Atomic
Theory

Video Game Developer Head game developers Illustrated proposal for Video game outlining
at Sony or Nintendo new video game (with the developments of
title) your scientist

Actors putting on a Scientists in the Role-Playing Take on the persona of

performance (must research community your scientist and the
submit script) figures that led to their
contribution

Read the rubric carefully to understand what content needs to be included in your project and how your project will be
graded.
● Newspaper articles – You could write one article, but it might be better to write a few articles, each one focusing on a
different time period of your scientist's life and developments. Make sure your writing is interesting; your reader
shouldn’t want to put the newspaper down after the first few sentences. Make sure to use newspaper article format and
be creative. (Read a science article perhaps for a better understanding of this.)

● Graphic Novel – You should write an illustrated story. Don’t forget a cover with the title of your novel. Remember, you
need to make an interesting narrative that students would like to read that still includes all the required content. Turn
your research into a story!

● Video Game Proposal – Imagine you have to pitch a new video game to Nintendo or Sony. This is the proposal you
would bring with you. It should outline the type of game, the objective of the game, and describe how the game is
played. It should include some illustrated frames of what the game will look like on screen. Be creative about how you
can incorporate learning atomic theory into a game! Remember, your proposal should make Nintendo or Sony want to
make and sell your game.

● Role Playing – Take on the persona of the scientists. You will give your performance to the scientists in our class. Be
creative and fully take on the role of the scientists you have chosen. Limit the performance to 3-5 minutes and turn in a
bibliography with the sources you used to research your scientist(s).
 Nigudkar, Gauri. “33. Schrödinger Equation.” Madoverchemistry, WordPress, 13 Aug. 2022,
madoverchemistry.com/2016/11/22/33-the-atomic-structure-schrodinger-equation/.

Purdue.edu. Erwin Schrodinger, 2009,

chemed.chem.purdue.edu/genchem/history/schrodinger.html#:~:text=TheSchrC3
B6dingermodelassumesthat,mostlikelytobefound.

Bernstein, Jeremy. “Erwin Schrödinger.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia

Britannica, inc., 25 Sept. 2023, www.britannica.com/biography/Erwin-Schrodinger.

Biograpy.com, Editors. “Erwin Schrödinger .” Biography, 26 Mar. 2021,

www.biography.com/scientist/erwin-schrdinger.

Scoring Guide

Attach this rubric to your group’s final product (if applicable). Be sure to put everyone’s
names on the rubric!!!

Group Name(s): ________________________________________________________

Format (circle one):

Newspaper Article
Graphic Novel
Video Game
Play Script
Other (must be approved by teacher): _________________________________
Content: You have included all
necessary elements in your project 26-30 21-25 16-20 11-15 0-10
and answered all questions listed in
part 1.

Coverage of your specific

format/topic: Work is creative and 21-25 16-20 11-15 6-10 0-5
meets all requirements of your
chosen RAFT category.

RAFT Presentation: Project is neat,

organized, and contains no 21-25 16-20 11-15 6-10 0-5
grammatical or factual errors

Bibliography/Works Cited: Citations

are properly formatted; Multiple 15-20 10-15 6-10 0-5
sources used; Sources are reliable
(NO WIKIPEDIA)

Total Score: _____/80

Scorer Notes: