>> host: Welcome back
to Unit 11,
and the final video
in our unit
on nuclear chemistry.
The marshmallow lab
our students performed
in the previous video,
and that you did on your own,
provided you with
a fundamental understanding
of how fusion works.
So now we're ready
to apply that knowledge
to some real world examples.
To do that, we'll
differentiate instruction
based on student interest
and learning styles,
which is just a formal way
of saying that you'll get
to choose an assignment
that plays to your strengths
and interests.
We're going to develop models
to illustrate the changes
in the composition
of the nucleus of an atom
and the energy released
in the three processes
we've studied: fission,
fusion and radioactive decay.
No matter what kind of
assignment you choose
to complete, all students
will develop a diagram
or model that compares
and contrasts
fission and fusion.
Some students may choose
a task that allows them
to demonstrate an application
of nuclear chemistry,
like a smoke detector,
a radiation detector,
the medical treatment
of tumors, or even
how a nuclear power plant
generates electricity.
Others might choose a task
that requires more reading
than building,
like a project about
the history of nuclear
technology, or how astronomers
have benefited
from knowledge gained
through nuclear processes.
Some students might even
want to include original
artwork of radioactive
decay and fusion.
The great thing about
a task like this
is that you're free
to execute the task
in a way that matches
your natural interests
and abilities.
Whatever you decide,
or whatever task your teacher
assigns, you'll have input
on how you challenge
yourself in this assignment.
That said, once you make
that choice, be sure to
follow the instructions
outlined by your teacher
on the assignment rubric.
Our students have already
been reading those
instructions that
you can find in our
Chemistry Matters Toolkit.
So let's get back to our
classroom to see what tasks
they've chosen to complete.
>> professor: I have given you
a list of performance tasks.
Now you'll need to choose
a task from either
the Rutherford group,
the Becquerel group,
or the Curie group.
Remember, we're all learning
about nuclear fission
and fusion,
and I've given you several
different options from which
to choose.
So choose the topic that
interests you the most,
and I'm gonna give you
a few minutes to review
the tasks,
and I'll check back in
with you in a little while
once you've made your decision.
Destiny, what performance task
seems like the best fit
for you?
>> student: Well,
I like building things,
so I thought I might try
building a model
of a smoke detector.
I'm pretty sure I can
figure out how to make it
with a few key parts
and mount them
on a display board.
>> Larissa and I talked
about working together
on this. Is it okay
if we work with partners?
>> professor: Of course you can.
You'll both need to follow
the requirements on the rubric,
so make sure that you include
a compare and contrast section
on your project board,
so we can see that
you both understand
the differences
and similarities
between fission and fusion.
>> student: I think I can do
that based on the notes
I've taken in class.
Um, we both really like
building things.
This will be good.
I prefer working
with a partner, too.
>> professor: I definitely
understand, and I know that
you've always been interested
in building things
from conversations that we had
at the start of the semester.
And I'll sit down soon
with both of you,
so we can discuss
the requirements of the project.
What about you, Caleb?
What would you like to try?
>> student: I think we'd like
to work together
on a performance task
about the history
of the Manhattan Project.
We read about it
in our history class,
and we figured it would relate
to chemistry.
>> student: Yeah, that was
the secret project
during World War II
when scientists developed
the first atomic weapon.
>> student: I like that idea
because I saw a movie once
about the engineers
and scientists who worked
in New Mexico to develop
the bomb.
>> student: And we've got
a friend in your second period
chemistry, you know, Addie,
has an uncle works for
the defense department.
Can she join our team, too?
>> professor: Sure.
I'll make sure she understands
the responsibilities.
And I really like the idea
of all three of you
collaborating
on this performance task.
You might wanna start
by writing down
what you already know
about the project.
Then I'll make sure
to speak to you later
about the specifics of it.
How can I help you guys
with your project?
>> student: I think we have
the information we need
to compare fission to fusion.
>> student: Can we do that
as a T-chart with information
about fission on one side
and fusion on the other?
>> professor: Yeah,
that's a great way
to show contrasts.
You also want to make sure
that you create a list
of the similarities between
fission and fusion.
How about the model
that you plan to make?
Any thoughts on that yet?
>> student: I thought it would
work to glue a Styrofoam plate
onto a poster board
to make a shape like
a smoke alarm.
We can show a box
that represents
the radiation detector
and a box that represents
the Americium-241.
>> student: Then I thought
I could use little beads
or BB's as Alpha particles.
I can drop them one at a time
from the Americium box,
showing how they hit
the detector.
>> student: Right.
Then we'll push
a piece of cotton
into the smoke alarm.
That'll represent the smoke.
The beads won't be able
to get through the cotton,
so it'll set off
some kind of alarm.
Maybe the alarm I have
on my phone?
>> professor: Hmm, yeah,
that sounds like a great idea.
You've both chosen a performance
task about the history
of The Manhattan Project.
Let's look over the requirements
of that together.
What will you need
to accomplish?
>> student: We'll need
to find some sources
of information first.
>> student: Yeah, but
we really need to decide
what kind of information
we have to have.
I'm sure we can find a general
history of The Manhattan Project
on the Internet or in a book,
but who will we write about?
>> student: Yeah, how does
a nuclear chemistry unit
help us understand something
so complicated?
>> student: For instance,
do we include information
about the politics?
Like, how the government
kept such an important
project secret.
>> student: Right,
but I feel like we need to
read a lot more before we can
come up with a plan.
>> professor: Yeah,
you're right.
It's hard to tackle such a big
project without a focus.
I can give you a little help
with that, I think.
Here's a magazine article
that gives a really careful
outline of the important events
that led up to the atomic
weapon development.
And with Addie's help,
you guys should be able
to locate enough resources
for this project.
>> host: As you just saw,
our students have developed
excellent ideas
around this performance task
and created solid plans
that their teacher approved.
After those steps were
completed, they followed
through on the execution
of those plans,
doing research,
constructing models,
and demonstrating to each other
how those models would work.
>> student: Okay, check out
this model of our smoke alarm.
>> student: We have the box
that holds the Americium,
and the bead represents
the Beta particles.
>> student: That looks cool.
So what happens next?
>> student: So when we drop
the bead and it hits
the radiation detector,
the device knows
that there's no smoke.
>> student: But watch
what happens when we put
cotton in there
to represent the smoke.
>> student: When the smoke
is in the way, the bead
representing the Beta particle
can't ionize the atoms
in the air.
So the alarm goes off.
>> student: Okay, tell us
about your display board.
>> student: We took
a nuclear chemistry perspective
of The Manhattan Project.
>> student: Right.
We found out that
a guy named Enrico Fermi
built the very first
nuclear reactor
in Chicago in 1942.
>> student: And it didn't
take long for other scientists
to find a lot of applications
for his technology.
>> student: Later that same
year, Robert Oppenheimer
was appointed the director
of The Manhattan Project,
a top secret project that
took place way out
in the desert,
in Los Alamos, New Mexico.
>> student: They worked with
both fission and fusion,
and within three years they
had developed a nuclear
weapon based off fission.
>> host: Our students have
shown two real world
applications of
nuclear chemistry
and are off to a good start
refining the presentations
they'll be making later
to their entire class.
But I've got one more
real world application
of chemistry
I'd like to share.
Our team at Chemistry Matters
recently visited
an isotope laboratory.
This is a place where chemists
use a combination
of radiation detectors
and chemical tests
to examine samples
from soil, water, air
and other sources
to measure the levels
of radioactive isotopes
found in the environment.
The workers at
this particular lab
are especially interested
in isotopes that might have
been formed
by nuclear reactors.
This lab can detect Alpha,
Beta and Gamma radiation.
>> lab technician: Has the
vegetation finished
counting yet?
>> lab technician: Yes.
And the picocuries per kilogram
all came back well below
nuclear regulatory
commission limits.
>> lab technician: Sounds good.
the air, soil and milk samples
all tested below limits as well.
They were all below any
natural radiation background.
>> host: Isotope detection
laboratories utilize
a wide variety of
state of the art equipment
for tests like these.
This lab even employs
a Gamma radiation detector
that uses liquid nitrogen
at a temperature of
negative 196 degrees Celsius
to cool atoms--
reducing their kinetic energy
and making any Gamma
radiation easier to detect.
This laboratory also uses
qualitative analysis,
like we learned about
back in Unit 7, to detect
the presence of atoms
like strontium,
because strontium is an element
that could also exist
in a radioactive form.
Just like we do
in the classroom,
people who work in labs
like this take a wide variety
of precautions
to ensure their safety.
For example,
the air in this lab
is under constant surveillance
through the use of
environmental dosimeters.
But that's not the only
precaution they're taking.
>> lab technician: We use
radioactive sources in our lab
for quality control
and calibration purposes.
because of this,
we wear dosimeter badges,
to help measure our radiation
exposure.
We have a laboratory in house
that can read our dosimeter
badges, as well as the badges
for our entire company.
>> host: Facilities like this
exist around the globe,
monitoring a wide range
of nuclear isotopes.
The purpose of isotope labs
is to ensure that all
nuclear-related facilities
are maximizing
their security protocols
and operating
in the safest way possible.
We've covered a lot
in Unit 11, our unit
on nuclear chemistry.
We began by refreshing
our memories of atomic structure
in order to dive into
the world of the nucleus,
where we discovered
some interesting phenomena
occurring, like nuclei
splitting apart,
as observed
in our cloud chambers.
This process is known
as nuclear decay.
We then practiced how to
write isotope notation
for each of the decay products:
Alpha, Beta, and Gamma,
and how to use them
in nuclear equations.
We found that we can
predict the daughter nuclide
of nuclear decay
by applying
the Law of Conservation
of Matter.
But we also discovered
that matter
is sometimes converted
directly to energy.
And nuclear fission
releases a lot of heat energy
while nuclear fusion
produces even more energy.
Fusion energy is
how the sun heats the Earth
and enables life
as we know it.
We also visited
a genuine isotope lab
where chemists test
environmental samples,
looking for isotopes
that could be produced
by a nuclear reactor.
And our students began
project-based learning
to solidify
their understanding
of nuclear chemistry.
So this is a good time
for you to begin your own
performance task,
with your teacher's guidance,
so you'll be ready to make
a classroom presentation
as well.
After that, I hope you'll
join me at the top of Unit 12,
recapping the content across
all of our units.
And exploring the real world
applications of chemistry.
We'll be investigating
potential careers
that might interest you.
And we'll answer
any remaining questions
regarding the importance
of chemistry
in our everyday lives.
So when you're ready,
I'll see you at the top
of the Unit 12 playlist.