Evidence of Work

The main aspects of nuclear chemistry that were expected to be included within these projects were, the changes and reactions within the nucleus of an atom, the role of nuclear fusion specifically in the sun, and the evidence of the Big Bang Theory. For our projects, we decided that Sydney would create a poster focused on the Big Bang Theory and the evidence behind it, while I would create a script and video of a Magic School Bus Parody that was focused on processes of nuclear fusion and fission, and how these processes occur in our sun. Although we each took on different sections of the project, we helped each other to improve our products throughout the work time. The final poster created by Sydney is seen above and the final video that was filmed by both of us and edited by me is attached below.

Chemistry Concepts

Nuclear Chemistry: the study of when the subatomic particles inside an atom’s nucleus are changed. Any change that affects the number of protons will turn one element into a completely different one. Any change that affects the number of neutrons will turn one isotope of an element to another isotope of an element. This process is known as transmutation.

Atom: the basic unit of a chemical element. Atoms are made up of the smaller subatomic particles which are located both inside and outside of the nucleus of an atom. On the inside of the nucleus of an atom, there are protons and neutrons, while on the outside of the nucleus there are electrons that travel in orbitals around the nucleus.

Subatomic Particles: the particles smaller than atoms. The three subatomic particles are, the proton, with a positive charge, the neutron, with a neutral charge, and the electron, with a negative charge. Protons and neutrons make up the mass of the atom as they are equal in mass as well as have much greater mass than the electron. These subatomic particles are located within the nucleus of an atom. On the other hand, electrons, although are much lighter, make up the volume of the atom. Electrons are located outside the nucleus of an atom.

Ion: an atom with a net electric charge due to the loss or gain of one or more electrons. A cation is an ion that is positively charged, while an anion is an ion that is negatively charged.

Isotope: each of two or more forms of the same element that contain equal numbers of protons but different numbers of neutrons in their nuclei, and hence differ in relative atomic mass but not in chemical properties; in particular, a radioactive form of an element.

Fusion: a nuclear reaction in which atomic nuclei of low atomic number fuse to form a heavier nucleus with the release of energy. This process is modeled in the Magic School Bus video we created for the project.

Fission: a nuclear reaction in which a heavy nucleus splits spontaneously or on impact with another particle, with the release of energy. Both the processes of fusion and fission occur due to the atom's desire for stability.

Radioactive Decay: the process in which unstable nuclei of radioactive atoms become stable by emitting charged particles and energy. There are three types of radioactive decay: alpha decay, beta decay, and gamma decay. Alpha and beta decay both emit some form of particle, which in hand leads the element to transform into another element. Gamma decay, however, only emits energy and does not emit any particles.

Big Bang Theory: the leading explanation about how the universe began. At its simplest, it says the universe as we know it started with a small singularity, then inflated over the next 13.8 billion years to the cosmos that we know today. The evidence that we discussed for the Big Bang Theory was, the characteristics of red shifted light, the presence of cosmic microwave background radiation, and the abundance of elements in our universe.

Reflection

Throughout the entirety of this project I felt that my partner and I worked very effectively, which, in hand, was shown in our two great final products. Sydney and I collaborated well with each other during the whole project as we worked to create the best projects we could. Although technically we were working separately on our own sections of the project, we both helped each other in developing and improving the others project. For Sydney's poster, I helped to generate ideas of what explanations we could provide for the Big Bang Theory evidence. And for my video, Sydney worked with me to brainstorm the concepts for the video, as well as record the whole thing with me. Our great collaboration efforts were in large part thanks to the communication we generated throughout the project. We were both receptive to the ideas the other person brought to the table and we communicated efficiently to improve our end results.

Although the teamwork and effort put into this project by both me and Sydney were substantial, there is always room for improvement. For this kind of project, it was unfortunately too difficult to be culturally competent. The goal of this project was to present information on Nuclear Chemistry and the Big Bang Theory, therefore there was little room to be culturally competent. It is important for us in the future to keep in mind the significance of remaining culturally competent. To further improve our efficiency during the project and even take less stress off of ourselves, we could have worked on our skills as conscientious learners through our organization and time management. We left more of the heavy project work towards the end of the allotted time to finish the project, so by the end of the project we were stressing over whether it would be done in time.