Teaching Regents Physics Students about Models of the Atom using Online Simulations and Animations Teaching Regents Physics Students About Models of the Atom using Online Simulations and Animations Katherine Walker Department of Physics State University of New York Buffalo State College 1300 Elmwood Ave Buffalo NY 14222 kwalker csufsd org Acknowledgement This manuscript was prepared in fulfillment of requirements for PHY690 Masters Project at SUNY Buffalo State College under the guidance of Dr Dan MacIsaac and Dr David Abbott Abstract This paper reviews and extends conceptual lesson materials on the Bohr Model of the atom available at PhET colorado edu and Tony Mangiacapre s website www stmary ws highschool physics adding numeric problems fulfilling the New York State Regents Physics requirements Typical struggles of high school students are identified and addressed by emphasizing qualitative conceptualization prior to quantitative practice The foundation of these applications have been extracted from Arnold B Arons Teaching Introductory Physics The PhET Design Process Look and Feel and New York State Standards for High School Regents Physics Introduction In accordance with the New York State Board of Regents physics students are required to understand that states of matter and energy are quantized1 and that energy is emitted or absorbed in discrete packets called photons2 http www emsc nysed gov ciai mst pub phycoresci pdf Both of these concepts are typically taught at the end of the school year and are presented in a seemingly disconnected and arbitrary manner Many students view the concept of quantization as an abstract theory The evolution from classical physics to the 1 Standard 4 Performance Indicator 5 3a http www emsc nysed gov ciai mst pub phycoresci pdf Standard 4 Performance Indicator 5 3c9http www emsc nysed gov ciai mst pub phycoresci pdf 3 The St Mary s Physics website offers comprehensive and interactive notes and simulations that can be used by teachers for in class discussion then referenced by students outside of class There are a variety of instructional approaches for each topic while fulfilling all New York State Regents requirements www stmary ws highschool physics 2 1 Teaching Regents Physics Students about Models of the Atom using Online Simulations and Animations modern theory is not emphasized and students prior knowledge is not utilized to bridge the gap between classical and modern thinking This results from strictly quantitative analysis rather than qualitative introduction followed by quantitative practice Arons 1997 299 In order to fulfill the New York State Regents requirements and accentuate the interconnectedness between classical and modern physics the St Mary s High School website was used as whole group in class reference notes while the PhET website was used primarily as independent class work and homework Matter and Energy are Quantized http www emsc nysed gov ciai mst pub phycoresci pdf When introducing students to the idea of quantized energy levels it was important to stress the qualitative nature of the atom and its descent before any quantitative work There is great pedagogical value in treating the hydrogen atom at the level at which this is done in Bohr s very first paper in 1913 Arons 1997 293 Direct exposure and analysis of Bohr s script allowed students to connect previously studied fundamental classical physics concepts such as circular motion centripetal force Coulomb s law kinetic and potential energies and conservation of energy into one large volume After synthesis students were able to reach their own conclusions that parallel the concepts of discrete energy levels ground states and excited states The study of Bohr s script also reinforced comprehension of the basic concepts Ibid After students experienced the compilation of the quantization rule a useful source for introductory notes was the Bohr Model animation on www stmary ws highschool physics home notes modPhysics Students were able to view labeled packets of energy interacting with electrons occupying discrete energy levels This animation introduced the notion that electrons occupying energy levels require a 2 Teaching Regents Physics Students about Models of the Atom using Online Simulations and Animations precise amount of energy to jump to the next level by allowing students to view the electrons 3 www stmary ws highschool physics Once that idea was understood it became important to begin to develop the idea that all elements have unique energy levels that require unique energy quantities in order to allow electrons to jump to outer energy levels Then the connection between movement of electrons and the emission absorption spectrum can be more seamlessly made Photons http www emsc nysed gov ciai mst pub phycoresci pdf The photoelectric effect is no longer required of the New York State Board of Regents for Physics however investigation into Einstein s Nobel prize winning idea provides a strong foundational understanding of not only spectral lines associated with the Bohr Model but also farther insights supporting ideas in modern physics that students will encounter in higher level courses Its intelligibility to students provides a rational step to modern insights Arons 1997 300 When discussing the absorption and emission spectrum of common elements the St Mary s physics website was a useful visual tool for students The Black Box and Atomic Spectra simulations on the St Mary s website not only provided a visual example of emission and absorption spectrum for all elements but simultaneously stressed that each energy level transition produces a single spectral line In addition it is emphasized that in absorption electrons are elevated from ground state to higher states and those transitions produce spectral lines while the emission spectrum results from electrons cascading down through intermediate states and also directly to the ground 3 3 Teaching Regents Physics Students about Models of the Atom using Online Simulations and Animations state The students directly viewed the results of the simulation which were the additional spectral lines from emission To further ensure the connection between exclusive energy levels and spectral line production students drew energy level diagrams similar to the Hydrogen energy level diagram in the New York State Regents Physics Reference Table for various different elements www nysedregents org ReferenceTables Physics
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