Material Detail

This activity describes the basic structure of an atom using an edible model and explains the quantum mechanical nature of the atom. For example, originally, each electron orbital was pictured as having a specific radius, much like a planetary orbit in the solar system. However, the modern view is not so simple. Though each orbital does have a precise energy, the electron is now envisioned as being smeared out in an electron cloud surrounding the nucleus. Students will calculate the energy differences in different energy states of the Bohr atom of hydrogen and compare these energy levels with observed hydrogen lines in a laboratory spectrum.

Disciplines:

• Science and Technology  / Physics