Project: Element Trading Cards

For this project, you will design a trading card for an element of your choice. The most durable cards are printed on paper and then laminated (students have had good results using Kinko's). You might want to consider printing on inkjet paper (heavier stock, whiter paper) on a printer where you can set the quality setting on "best". Print shops can print out and laminate your design if you supply the file on a floppy disk. Some students have chosen to use foamboard or cardboard. The design is usually printed on paper and glued to the board. However, we have found that the paper tends to eventually become "unglued". The card needs to have overall dimensions of 4 x 6 inches to fit in one of the boxes on our wall version of the Periodic Table. Any attached objects need to be approved. The front of the card should have the element's symbol and other information that is general in nature. This description is vague for a reason. I want the fronts of the cards to have some variety and reflect the creativity of their creator. The back of the card should include the following information:

• your name in the upper right hand corner
• element name and symbol
• name of discoverer
• date of discovery
• place of discovery
• atomic mass and atomic number
• melting point and boiling point
• density in natural state

The back of the card should also include a short narrative that contains interesting information about your element. This could include uses for the element, the importance of the element, or just interesting facts about the element. Each student has to make three identical trading cards. You then trade two of your cards with any of the other chemistry students. Each student should end up with three different cards. The cards must depict three different elements. These three cards should include the best two that you can find from any of the other students. The cards will then be turned in and I will grade them on the basis of:

Your grade will depend on all three cards, however, the majority of your grade will depend on your card. The maximum score will be 50 points and will counted in the lab report category. The final score is weighted such that 75% of the score is based on your card and 25% from your trading partners. The element trading cards will be due ____________.

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