Atom builder app.

Link: https://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulation/build-an-atom

Build an atom gives me the choice to build an atom with protons, neutrons, and electrons.  Gives me the chance to build an atomic symbol by placing protons and neutrons in the nucleus and electrons in the shells.

1. Does it help me demonstrate anything that is involved with atoms, molecules, or ions?

This app demonstrates the atomic structure of an atom which can help with the understanding of how ions or chemical reactions could occur when an electron transfers from one atom to another.

2. Can I use the app to further build on my scientific knowledge?

I could use the app to further build on knowledge by using the app to create various atomic structures.  This could be used as a studying tool to help try to memorize the different atomic structures of various atoms, as it allows you to even vary the ion charge for when an ionic compound is made.

 

3. Is the app practical to use for everyday education or is it too much of a hassle?

This is a very easy-to-use app, you definitely could use it every day mainly for studying or for making displays for projects about certain chemical structures.  It isn’t super complex so most people could use the app and it’s a practical way to study.

4. How can the app help others understand more about science?

Others can further learn from this app about science and what an atoms structure looks like.  They will learn how there are protons and neutrons in the nucleus, and the electrons in the shells.  They can learn how many electrons each shell can hold and how different atoms for different elements have different numbers of electrons in the outer shells.

5. Why should I use this app other another app to help me further learn about science?

I should use this app over other apps because most other apps are too complex to use and very difficult to understand what the uses are.  What we look for to day in technology is how easy something is to use.  This app is very straight forward and easy to use, and another plus is that this app is free to use unlike most other paid science apps.  This app also can help me learn about how the atomic mass relates to the number of protons and electrons inside of the atoms, and how you can find the number of electrons by subtracting the number of protons in an atom from the atomic number.

6. How could I use this app to help make a project?

I could use it to make a project by taking screenshots of various atomic structures and what they look like, for example Hydrogen.  This is very useful over trying to draw atomic structures over and over.  This is faster and looks more professional than a drawing.  Another plus is that this meshes really well if you are doing a digital project as you can take screenshots of the atom and the number of protons, neutrons, and electrons inside of them.  The app implements very important details like the atomic mass and the number of protons, neutrons, and electrons in a very clean cut manner.