Grade Nine: Beyond the Atom

The grade 9 chemistry strand contains a lot of physics - particle physics! In this workshop, teachers will explore how the new particle physics resource from the Perimeter Institute can be used to support this part of the curriculum. They will play with balloons, marbles, wine glasses, role paying and computer simulations to get a deeper feel for Rutherford's alpha particle scattering experiment. Rutherford's experiment was just the first in a series of experiments in which particles are fired at other particles to understand what matter is made of. The latest version of this is the Large Hadron Collider. A video of this progression will help students to understand the interplay of scientific models and experiments and encourage them to take more physics courses. All participants will receive a resource kit of a 30-minute video, teachers guide with background information and student worksheets.

Greg Macdonald has taught Physics and Grade 9 and 10 Science for the past 14 years, first at St. Catharines Collegiate and more recently at Laura Secord Secondary School in St. Catharines, Ontario. In addition to attending the OAPT conference (almost) every year, Greg attended the Perimeter Institute EinsteinPlus conference in 2008 and is currently a member of the Ontario Teacher Associates network for Perimeter. Greg's other interests include astronomy, swimming and trying with limited success to convince his three daughters to become science geeks like Dad.