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Day 2 · Z decides the elementYear 11 Chemistry · T1 W1–2 · Day 2 lesson

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Year 11 / Chemistry / Term 1 / Weeks 01 02

Part of the full two-week lesson sequence. Check the pack guide and taught point before teaching.

Open for this lesson: Pack guide · Daily routes · Worked swaps · Fresh learner checks · Aids and text routes.

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Teacher copy: This page may include teaching prompts or answer keys. Answer keys in this public library can be viewed by anyone. Give learners a clean prompt, use checks as formative evidence, and change a case locally when prior access matters.

Learner prompts

Target: use atomic number Z to find proton count and identify carbon Z 6, oxygen Z 8 and magnesium Z 12. Prepare: Cards B/D, count mat and the three given Z values; no full periodic table needed.

  1. Launch · 2 min. Put two anonymous paper tokens marked Z 6 and Z 8 on a recycling-display mock-up. Ask whether colour or proton count decides the element.
  2. Model · 4 min. Write Z = protons; carbon Z 6 has six protons even if the display calls it fibre. Oxygen Z 8 has eight.
  3. Guided reading · 5 min. Use the given symbol/Z pairs C 6, O 8, Mg 12. If proton count becomes 12 rather than 6, the element is magnesium, not a changed isotope of carbon.
  4. Practice route · 7 min. Choose Day 2 route; classify the three given labels by Z and explain why a story label is not chemical evidence.
  5. Audit · 4 min. Peer swaps the words carbon/oxygen while retaining Z; learner repairs by checking the source Z/symbol pair.
  6. Exit · 3 min. “A neutral atom has Z 6; how many protons?” Key: six; Z alone does not give neutrons.

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