sewing for school 4

OK...so...where was i?

oh, yeah, electrons...and then attaching them to atoms - here is a preview of my carbon atom with only five valance electrons - you can see the snap where the other electron will go once it is attached to both the hydrogen (white [1proton/1electron]) and the carbon (black [6p/6n/2e interior/4e valence])



(note about colors: hydrogen is usually depicted as a white sphere, carbon as black, oxygen as red, chloride as green, and sodium as various colors - purple is the one i chose)

and the (almost) completed methane molecule (CH4 = one carbon and four hydrogen atoms)...



the hydrogen atoms (i wanted them to be more round, but now they just look like little white potatoes - sigh) without any indication on them yet...



water (H2O - one oxygen [8p/8n/8e total] and two hydrogen) indicating the protons and neutrons in the nucleus of the oxygen and indicating the covalent bonds that hold them together.



a close-up of the oxygen atom (there are six valence electrons and space for two more once the hydrogen get hooked up)



the chloride and sodium atoms stuck together in the ionic bond that forms after chloride steals the electron from the sodium... [17p/18n/17e @ nutral chloride] but becomes an anion --> 18e and negative one charge.



a close up of the sodium ion [11p/11n/10e --> positive one charge] showing where the 11th electron was before chloride was so rude as to steal it (smile) (up-side down = "above" the "P" you can see the snap piece).



so that was what i did over my holiday break...and i get to use them on tuesday - we shall see if it helps the students understand what the heck i am talking about...

peace

sewing for school 3

electrons, electrons everywhere!

from this mess of embryonic electrons:


i used the way to braid 4-strands from "http://www.thecheesethief.com/2011/11/how-to-weave-paper-ball-ornament.html"> to start the process of making electrons:





after a few rounds i added a bell (electrons are negatively charged and i think they must sound bright, like a bell...)



then...at the end, there are these tails...i ended up super gluing them to strand under it




now, here is the pile of embryonic electrons along with some of the completed ones...


now to attach the "female" part of the snap to the electrons and the "male" part to the atoms and i will have my bits!! (i still need to make four more electrons - sigh)

peace

sewing for school 2

sew...i have made two chlorines (~7.5" square), five carbons (~5.5" square), two sodiums (~5.5" square), four oxygens (~5.5" square)...



now fluffed, with half of a hydrogen for size-comparison...




a pile of un-made hydrogens (~3.5" square)...



and a bunch of embryonic electrons:


more later : ). peace

sewing for school 1

so...at about 3am a few days ago...i had an epiphany...you know how understanding how an atom is structured...protons and neutrons in the nucleus and electrons around the outside? well, i have had students just NOT GET IT. that may not be too surprising to some of my readers, but others are saying "what is a atom, if not the big bomb-thing?" well...i thought of a way to present the information in a hands-on way...



ok...so after i woke fonda up looking for a pen...i went out and wrote what you see in black...she looked at me funny in the morning and asked if it made sense to *me* and i said "yup!" and proceeded to explain my logic...and it all started with her sending me a link
"http://www.thecheesethief.com/2011/11/how-to-weave-paper-ball-ornament.html"> so, really it is all her fault. this is how i am going to make the electrons! with a bell inside and silver because *they are electrons!*

she just looked at me like i was crazy...but there will be more to come soon...i got the chickens atoms made and we just went out and bought the material for some electrons and the snaps and the bells...i am SO excited...more later!

peace! (yay! - sewing for school!!!!!)