The magic of Molecules

I decided to do some research on my three favorite molecules: Neon, Chlorine, and Beryllium. Using clay I was able to replicate what an atom of each element looks like. I chose neon because of how many uses it has and the variety of colors it produces. I spend so much time around a pool that chlorine may as well run in my veins. I chose beryllium because of how easily it can be changed.

Chlorine atom

Beryllium atom 

Neon atom

Here is some of the basic information for each of the elements

Neon- Atomic mass 20.1797 Atomic Number 10

Chlorine- Atomic number 17 Atomic Mass 35.453

Beryllium- Atomic number 4 Atomic Mass 9.012182

For my models, the electrons and the protons equal each other out

Chlorine- 17 protons and electrons

Neon- 10 protons and electrons

Beryllium- 4 protons and electrons

Exciting electrons- When an electron is "excited" they move to a higher energy orbit and when they "relax" they emit photons (light). Now, this light can be in different colors. This is because every element has different numbers of electrons and then different energy levels. Color will change based on the energy levels. 

Here is an example of what happens to Neon when it is exciting

New Year's Eve Fireworks

Fireworks are made up of different elements and when heated and using incandescence. For example, heating oxygen turns it into a blue color.

Here are some examples of different elements having colors from explosions

Isotopes

An isotope is a combination of an element but the number of neutrons is different. For beryllium adding three neutrons makes it 7BE.

Fun fact! 99% of an atom is empty space which makes up the majority of the volume in an atom. The remaining 1% is the protons, neutrons, and electrons

The periodic table- Elements in the periodic table are arranged by increasing mass, atomic number, and  elements in columns are grouped together to be called groups

Examples of groups and classes

alkali metals- lithium and sodium

alkaline earth- calcium and bromine

Nobel gases- neon and krypton

Transition metals- iron and gold

non-metals- oxygen and sulfur

metalloids- boron and silicon

Crazy Bizarre electrons 

After watching Doctor Quantum on behaviors of electrons I learned that electrons can emit both waves and particles. Looking at the double slit experiment, depending on what is present electrons can change behaviors because the environment has changed. But the electron is not changing behavior because there is an observer, there are changes because the environment was affected. The most common example is a fridge light. When the fridge is closed the light is off. When the fridge is open the fridge is on. When a person opens the fridge the light has to turn on. We can't expect the light to stay off even though we opened the door.