"Welcome. And congratulations. I am delighted that you could make it. Getting here wasn’t easy, I know. In fact, I suspect it was a little tougher than you realize.
To begin with, for you to be here now trillions of drifting atoms had somehow to assemble in an intricate and curiously obliging manner to create you. It’s an arrangement so specialized and particular that it has never been tried before and will only exist this once. For the next many years (we hope) these tiny particles will uncomplainingly engage in all the billions of deft, co-operative efforts necessary to keep you intact and let you experience the supremely agreeable but generally under appreciated state known as existence."
(Introduction to Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything)
Rainbow Fire... We will demo flame tests of various elements in class to understand the energy levels of electrons
Useful Resources for the Applied Atomic Theory Timeline:
Early Atomic Theory: Dalton, Thomson, Rutherford, and Millikan tutorial
Discovery of the Electron Intro
Dr. Sheldon Cooper writing electron configurations:
You may think you are sitting on your chair, but in reality, you are hovering 10-8 cm above your chair (floating!) because of electron repulsion!
Practice Electron Configurations
Practice Counting Protons, Neutrons, and Electrons