
Lesson summary for:
Rutherford's enlarged: A content embedded NOS activity


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Students reason about a model of Ernst Rutherford's famous experiment supporting the idea of the atomic nucleus. They differentiate between observation and inference and see the role of creativity in the process of science.

Abd-El-Khalick, Fouad


Physical Sciences, Nature and Process of Science

One class period

Teaching tips:
Intertwining nature of science and content instruction might make learning about the nature and process of science more meaningful for students and might help teachers overcome time constraints.




  • Science focuses on natural phenomena and processes.




  • Scientific ideas cannot be absolutely proven.







  • Analysis of data usually involves putting data into a more easily accessible format (visualization, tabulation, or quantification of qualitative data). (P4, P5)

  • Scientists are creative. (NOS7)

Teacher background:

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