Turning Plastic Into Gold: An Analogy To Demonstrate the Rutherford Gold Foil Experiment

Gregory, Robert B.; Vitz, Ed

doi:10.1021/ed084p626

Cited by 3 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…Additionally, it was briefly mentioned that modern chemists use the quantum mechanical model, which describes electrons as an electron cloud. The Rutherford model was chosen for this game instead of the current model as only the former is included at the Spanish secondary school curriculum and because this analogy has major advantages in regard to introducing new concepts in general chemistry . The game promotes a learning mechanism based on the understanding and use of the periodic table.…”

Section: The Educational Game “Atomizados” and Its Implementationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“Atomizados”: An Educational Game for Learning Atomic Structure. A Case Study with Grade-9 Students with Difficulties Learning Chemistry

Gambero

Mariscal

2023

J. Chem. Educ.

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Alternative teaching methodologies are required for grade-9 students diagnosed with difficulties learning chemistry. This study examines the progress made in learning atomic structure by 11 Spanish Students Diagnosed with Learning Difficulties (SDLD, experimental group), including those with poor academic performance, specific learning difficulties in reading, writing, and mathematics, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and borderline intellectual disability according to the Spanish curriculum. The study was conducted as part of the Program for Improving Learning and Performance (PMAR) and utilized the game “Atomizados”, specifically designed for this purpose. A written test on atomic structure was used to evaluate learning with three learning levels established (naïve, transitional, and informed). The findings indicate that 63.63% of the SDLD (experimental) achieved an informed learning level (understanding the internal structure of the atom) as a result of utilizing a generative learning strategy. The Mann–Whitney U test demonstrated that this learning was statistically significantly greater than that achieved by other students diagnosed with learning difficulties who did not use the game (SDLD control group). No significant differences were found between the SDLD experimental group and two other groups of grade-9 students with no learning difficulties (NSDLD control groups). However, differences were detected between SDLD (control) and NSDLD (control) in favor of the latter groups. The average for these control groups was a transitional level (identifying some elements of the atomic structure) in the best cases. SDLD (experimental) exhibited a very positive perception of the game’s influence on learning chemistry, highlighting its attractiveness, interest, and potential for generating classroom participation.

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Section: The Educational Game “Atomizados” and Its Implementationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“Atomizados”: An Educational Game for Learning Atomic Structure. A Case Study with Grade-9 Students with Difficulties Learning Chemistry

Gambero

Mariscal

2023

J. Chem. Educ.

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“…The author discusses an example lesson for using the demonstration and identifies portions of the demonstration that are not analogous to the original GFE. This Journal has recently published a demonstration and an analogy of the GFE in "Turning Plastic into Gold: An Analogy To Demonstrate the Rutherford Gold Foil Experiment" (17). In it Robert B. Gregory describes using picture frames, plastic sheets, and laser pointers to construct his demonstration.…”

Section: Chemical Education Todaymentioning

confidence: 99%

The Science Teacher: Spring 2008

Long¹

2008

J. Chem. Educ.

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This article reviews chemistry-related articles published between Summer 2007 and February 2008, in The Science Teacher (TST). A new TST column addresses safety-with emphases in reviewed articles on chemical hygiene plans, bloodborne pathogens, ionizing radiation, eyewash and shower stations, electrical safety, and chemical management. In addition, activities for teaching about ionic compounds, an inquiry-based lab and cart sorting project on freezing point depressions, and a simulation of Rutherford's Gold Foil Experiment are described. Also included is a career focus on a green product chemist. Supplementary JCE articles for these articles and topics are referenced.

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“…These types of apparatus are very expensive and require some radiation safety since they demand alpha radiation sources. As an alternative, teachers and professors use several types of analogy demonstrations [7][8][9][10] or computational simulations [11,12]. The analogies are simple and very illustrative, but it does not show how the real experiment was done.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A 3D-printed model coupled to an Arduino emulates the Rutherford scattering experiment

Calheiro¹,

Freitas²,

Martins³

et al. 2021

Phys. Educ.

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We propose an apparatus that emulates the experiment used by Geiger and Marsden in 1913 to investigate alpha particles (Rutherford) scattering. Using a widely available fused deposition modelling 3D-printer, we built a compartmented and easily assembled educational instrument. The whole apparatus is composed of a 3D-printed chamber and an electronic box. The chamber emulates the alpha particle source, the gold or aluminum foil, and the Geiger detector, which permits a real interaction by the students with the experiment simulating the real one. The electronic box has an Arduino board inside, which is responsible for simulating the particle count as a function of the scattering angle. The results obtained for gold and aluminium are similar to those found using a commercial apparatus. This low-cost didactic apparatus can be mimicked or improved from a source archive (both 3D model and Arduino project), which may help spread chemistry and physics concepts in a ludic but effective applied point of view.

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Turning Plastic Into Gold: An Analogy To Demonstrate the Rutherford Gold Foil Experiment

Cited by 3 publications

References 5 publications

“Atomizados”: An Educational Game for Learning Atomic Structure. A Case Study with Grade-9 Students with Difficulties Learning Chemistry

“Atomizados”: An Educational Game for Learning Atomic Structure. A Case Study with Grade-9 Students with Difficulties Learning Chemistry

The Science Teacher: Spring 2008

A 3D-printed model coupled to an Arduino emulates the Rutherford scattering experiment

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