Exploration and Intrigue on Ice: The Aurora and the Atom

The Aurora isn’t caused directly by sunlight, but it is caused by the sun. Electrons ejected from
the sun travel 93 million miles (around 150 million km) on solar winds toward the Earth where
they are attracted to the Earth’s magnetic poles. (The Aurora phenomenon also occurs at the
South Pole.)

Once the electrons reach Earth, they collide at high speeds with atoms in the upper atmosphere.
When they collide, they transfer their energy of motion to the oxygen and nitrogen atoms and
molecules in the air. Understanding the Aurora requires understanding the structure of the atom.

While you read the History of the Atom comic strips, fill in the chart below. Then answer the
questions.
Part 1: Notes
Scientist Year Atomic Theory or Discovery
Democritus BCE

John Dalton 1803

JJ Thomson 1897

Ernest Rutherford 1911

Niels Bohr 1915

James Chadwick 1932

Part II: Who Thought What?

Who would have agreed with each statement? Write the correct initials next to each statement.
Some statements may have more than one person’s initials.
Democritus (D), Dalton (JD), Thomson (JT), Rutherford (ER), Bohr (NB), Chadwick (JC)
________________ 1. The atom is a ball of positive charges with a few small negative
charges scattered throughout. Some say it looks like “Plum Pudding”.

________________ 2. The atom contains 3 subatomic particles‒electrons, protons, and

neutrons.

________________ 3. All matter is made of small particles called atoms.

________________ 4. The atom has a very small positively charged nucleus surrounded
by a much larger cloud of negative charges.

________________ 5. Atoms are indivisible. They cannot be broken into smaller parts.

________________ 6. Electrons orbit at set distances away from the nucleus depending
on their energy level.