March+2,+2009

Title: Isotopes of Pennies Subject Area: Physical Science Grade Level: 9th Link Address: []

This lesson helps students build their understanding of the properties of matter, specifically it will help them understand that average atomic mass is not a simple average, but is weighted according to percent abundance. Before working on this lesson, students should be familiar with the periodic table and should have had some basic instruction in the following concepts: isotopes, mass number, and atomic number. Students should be able to describe an atom and its basic structure. I have already used a form of this lab in my classroom.