Download Unit 3 Ch. 6 - Atomic Structure

Lesson: Atomic Structure
Field Museum Extensions
a. Related Exhibitions
1. Evolving Planet. Be sure to see our larger than life models of eukaryotic
and prokaryotic cells located in the Precambrian gallery.
2. For more information on Evolving Planet, see the exhibition Educator
Guide at www.fieldmuseum.org/evolvingplanet/educational_3.asp.
3. Elements make up not only living things, but all matter. In the Earth
Sciences gallery on the upper level of the Museum, learn more about the
internal structure of rocks and minerals, including the atomic structure of
the elements that make them up.
b. Harris Educational Loan Center resources
Rocks and Minerals Experience Box. Have examples of rocks and minerals to
show other types of matter, other than living things, made of elements.
c. Field Museum science/website resources
1. Visit www.fieldmuseum.org/evolvingplanet/Precambrian_3.asp and view
a model of a prokaryotic cell. Prokaryotes are tiny, single-celled
organisms; they were the first forms of life, and they still exist today
(bacteria are prokaryotes!).
2. See www.fieldmuseum.org/evolvingplanet/Precambrian_5.asp and view a
model of a eukaryotic cell. Eukaryotic cells are different from other cells
(prokaryotes) because they have a nucleus, which contains the cell’s DNA,
and other specialized compartments. These different compartments
perform different tasks within the cell.
3. View www.fieldmuseum.org/evolvingplanet/Precambrian_10.asp and
examine the oldest known prokaryote fossils, magnified nearly 5,000
times.
4. Explore www.fieldmuseum.org/evolvingplanet/Precambrian_11.asp and
view an image of a 2.1-billion-year-old fossil of algae. This is the oldest
known fossil of a eukaryotic organism!
5. See the video on radiometric dating (i.e., How does the study of elements
allow a Field Museum scientist to determine the ages of rocks from Earth
and beyond?), www.fieldmuseum.org/evolvingplanet/precambrian_15.asp.
A wonderful example of how elements and their properties can tell us
about the earth’s history!
6. Visit www.fieldmuseum.org/research_collections/pritzker_lab/pritzker/ to
learn about the Field Museum’s Pritzker Laboratory for Molecular
Systematics and Evolution, dedicated to genetic analysis and preservation
of the world's biodiversity. Explore the Lab Projects and Users and Staff
links to learn more about the specific research being undertaken in the
Museum’s laboratory facility, where large-scale evolutionary questions are
being answered by studying tiny compounds and the elements that make
them. A wonderful opportunity to discuss careers in science with your
students!