This last week, we had a special guest (a co-op parent with a rich background in chemistry) come to teach a portion of both our Advanced and Beginning Grammar classes about atomic orbital theory and exciting things like the Heisenberg Uncertainty and the Poly-exclusion Principles. He used an illustration of a hotel to explain to the kids where electrons are located around the nucleus, and the correct way to fill orbitals as the number of electrons in an atom increases. He shared a bit about how electrons behave, and why some elements are looking to give or gain electrons based on the state of their outer-most orbital (the valence electrons). It was great to hear him explain some of the patterns that appear across the periodic table when you take a closer look at the elements, as well as how important the valence electrons are for determining the characteristics and properties of a given element. A few of the kids took turns placing electrons in their proper hotel rooms on the board, and overall, we all gained a better understanding of atomic orbital theory.
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