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    Chemistry Pennium Lab

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    anon-579447
    In this chemistry lab, students will determine the average atomic mass of the pretend element "Pennium" using pennies of different years. Students will sort pennies, measure their masses, and identify two isotopes - pre-1982 pennies and 1982+ pennies. They will then calculate the average mass of each isotope and use the percentages of each to determine the average atomic mass of Pennium. Students will also choose the nickel as their standard unit, the "coin mass unit" (CMU), and use it to calculate the relative masses of other coins in CMUs. The objective is for students to understand how scientists developed the system of atomic mass units (AMUs) to determine relative atomic masses.

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    Chemistry Pennium Lab

    Uploaded by

    anon-579447
    2K views2 pages
    In this chemistry lab, students will determine the average atomic mass of the pretend element "Pennium" using pennies of different years. Students will sort pennies, measure their masses, and identify two isotopes - pre-1982 pennies and 1982+ pennies. They will then calculate the average mass of each isotope and use the percentages of each to determine the average atomic mass of Pennium. Students will also choose the nickel as their standard unit, the "coin mass unit" (CMU), and use it to calculate the relative masses of other coins in CMUs. The objective is for students to understand how scientists developed the system of atomic mass units (AMUs) to determine relative atomic masses.

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    In this chemistry lab, students will determine the average atomic mass of the pretend element "Pennium" using pennies of different years. Students will sort pennies, measure their masses, and identify two isotopes - pre-1982 pennies and 1982+ pennies. They will then calculate the average mass of each isotope and use the percentages of each to determine the average atomic mass of Pennium. Students will also choose the nickel as their standard unit, the "coin mass unit" (CMU), and use it to calculate the relative masses of other coins in CMUs. The objective is for students to understand how scientists developed the system of atomic mass units (AMUs) to determine relative atomic masses.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    2K views2 pages

    Chemistry Pennium Lab

    Uploaded by

    anon-579447
    In this chemistry lab, students will determine the average atomic mass of the pretend element "Pennium" using pennies of different years. Students will sort pennies, measure their masses, and identify two isotopes - pre-1982 pennies and 1982+ pennies. They will then calculate the average mass of each isotope and use the percentages of each to determine the average atomic mass of Pennium. Students will also choose the nickel as their standard unit, the "coin mass unit" (CMU), and use it to calculate the relative masses of other coins in CMUs. The objective is for students to understand how scientists developed the system of atomic mass units (AMUs) to determine relative atomic masses.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 2

    CHEMISTRY

    PENNIUM
    LAB

    Most elements consist of a mixture of two or more naturally occurring isotopes. (Atoms
    of an element that vary because they have different mass numbers, numbers of neutrons).
    Different isotopes of an element have different relative atomic masses due to the different
    number of neutrons in the nucleus.
    In this lab you are going to pretend that you have an element called “Pennium”. You’ll
    be given a bag of Pennium atoms. Through comparing the masses of the “penny atoms” you will
    see how many different Pennium isotopes are in the bag. You will then determine the average
    atomic mass of Pennium using the following equation: (average mass of isotope 1)(percent
    abundance of isotope1) + (average mass of isotope 2)(percent abundance of isotope 2).
    Next, you will choose another element (Fivecentium) to be the accepted mass standard to which
    all other atoms are compared for mass. You’ll use the mass of a nickel to determine the relative
    mass of Pennium, Dimeium, Quarterium, and Halfdollium. All relative mass will be expressed
    in CMU (Coin Mass Units).

    OBJECTIVE. In this lab you will investigate the concept of atomic mass and how it was
    derived. You will develop your own unit of measure, the CMU, and use it to measure the
    relative masses of other coins. At the conclusion of this lab you will be able to explain how
    scientists developed the system for AMU's (atomic mass units) and how it is applied to
    determine the relative masses of other atoms of other elements.

    PROCEDURES.
    PART I
    1)Obtain a packet of pennies.
    2)Sort the pennies into two groups: pre 1982 and 1982 and newer.
    3)Measure the mass (in grams) of each stack of pennies. Record the mass (in grams) of each
    penny stack in a data table. Count the number of pennies in each stack.
    4)Measure the mass in grams of a half dollar, quarter, nickel, and dime. Record these values in a
    data table.
    5)Answer the questions below and then continue with Part II.

    QUESTIONS.
    PART I
    1)Does each penny have the same mass?
    2)Can you identify two “penny isotopes” based on masses of the pennies? Explain.
    3)What does your data tell you about the relationship between mass of a penny and date of a
    penny. Make a generalization.

    PROCEDURES.
    PART II
    1)Determine the average mass of pre-1982 pennies. (Record average)
    2)Determine the average mass of post-1982 pennies. (Record average).

    mark nethercottMNethercott Chem C3 Page 1 10/20/09


    3)Determine the percentage of your pennies that is pre-1982 and the percentage that is post-
    1982. These percents should add up to 100%. What you have calculated is the percent
    abundance of each group of pennies (penny isotope).
    4)Let’s choose one of your coins to make a CMU (coin mass unit). Let’s say that the mass of a
    nickel (Fivecentium) is one CMU. Use the mass of a nickel to calculate the mass of a half dollar
    (Halfdollium), quarter (Quarterium), dime (Dimeium), pre-82 pennies (Pre-82 Pennium), post-82
    pennies (Post-82 Pennium). Again, show all calculations, and record all data in a data table.
    5)Determine the average mass of Pennium in CMU’s using the percent abundance (from # 3) of
    each pennium isotope (pre-82 and post 82) and the mass of each pennium isotope in CMU’s
    (from #4).

    QUESTIONS and CONCLUSIONS.


    PART II
    1)Make a statement about the average penny mass of pre-82, post-82, and pennies in the packet.
    2)Explain how you derived the unit “CMU”.
    3)Using the idea you explained in #2 above, how did scientists obtain the Atomic Mass Unit
    (AMU) to measure the mass of atoms of different elements?
    4)What is your weight in CMU’s? (Remember 1 lb = 2.205 Kg)
    5)Write a statement that compares what you did in this lab to what scientists have done to find
    the average atomic masses of the elements.

    mark nethercottMNethercott Chem C3 Page 2 10/20/09

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