Junior High Science Projects on Atoms

An atom project for junior high school science class needs to demonstrate that you understand the composition, concept and properties of an atom. A junior high project need not be extremely rigorous, but it should be informative to the point of being able to teach a layman with no scientific experience some aspects of the atom. Some suitable projects are building a model, splitting molecules, giving an analogous explanation of the atom and stating the history of the atom.

Atom Model

You can demonstrate your knowledge of the construction of an atom by creating a model displaying the structure of a chosen atom. In this project you must first choose an atom complicated enough to impress your teacher. You may consider choosing a lithium, oxygen or magnesium atom. Research the atom to find out the number of protons, neutrons and electrons involved and then build the model. You can build such a model in many ways. One way is to use glue and plastic balls to attach the protons and neutrons together and then use wire, glue and plastic balls to create paths for electrons around the nucleus. You can embellish the model with LEDs to light up the different parts of the atom, if desired.

Splitting Molecules

By using certain processes, you can reveal that some substances' molecules can be split apart into separate atoms. One classic example of this type of project is to use electricity to split saltwater. Attach the two ends of a battery to two double-sided pencils (pencils with graphite on both sides). Then place the unattached side of each pencil in saltwater. After a while you will see bubbles form around the tips of the submerged pencil tips. In fact, these bubbles are hydrogen and chlorine gases, which were formed by the electricity separating the saltwater atoms apart.

Demonstrating the Scale of an Atom

Although we imagine atoms to be similar to a solar system--a big ball in the center with small balls circling outside--our imagination does not conform to reality. Your science teacher may not have mentioned how much space exists between the nucleus of an atom and its electrons. You can impress your teacher and classmates by exhibiting the vast amount of empty space inside an atom by making comparisons. You can either draw or list analogies for this project. For example, if an exercise ball were the nucleus of an atom, the closest electron would be about 40 miles away.

History of the Atom

To take a different perspective on an atom science project, you can analyze the history of the atom. Although you learn in science class about the atom itself, many teachers fail to state that the idea of an atom is more than 2,000 years old. It is only recently (in the past few hundred years) that we have learned the details of the atom. Create a project that discusses how the human concept of the atom has changed throughout history by researching the atom and its history at your local library.