Summary

In this activity, students will watch a short video and learn about Marie Curie, her Nobel Prizes, radiation experiments, and discovery of new elements.

Grade Level

Middle and High School

Objectives

By the end of this activity, students should be able to

• Understand Marie Curie’s important work and discoveries in chemistry.
• Appreciate a basic understanding of radiation.

Chemistry Topics

This lesson supports students’ understanding of

• Nuclear Chemistry
• Radioactive isotopes
• Radiation
• Half-lives
• Atomic Structure
• Subatomic Particles
• Model of the Atom
• Atomic Theory
• History of Chemistry

Time

Teacher Preparation: minimal

Lesson: 10 minutes

Materials

• Marie Curie Video
• Student Handout
• Projector with Volume
• AACT Student Video Pass (optional)

Safety

No specific safety precautions need to be observed for this activity.

Teacher Notes

• The Marie Curie video was developed as a part of the AACT original video series, Founders of Chemistry. The entire series can be found here.
• The running time of this video is five minutes.
• This video is intended for students to watch, and for teachers to integrate into their curriculum.
• The student questions/answers are presented in sequential order in the video.
• An answer key has also been provided for teacher reference.
• Videos can be shown with the use of a classroom projector, or teachers can generate a Student Video Pass through their AACT membership to allow students to independently access the video.