What did the Uranium say to the Plutonium?  "You're the bomb!"

This class will teach you all about nuclear chemistry.  Unlike regular chemistry where electrons are the focus, this course focuses on the cores of the atom or its nucleus.  We will look at why the nucleus is so important to our larger world.  From basic nuclear decay to full nuclear power plants, the students will learn to appreciate all that atoms can do.  Students will have the opportunity to practice what they learn each week.

Week 1: Atoms, Elements and the Periodic Table
-> Video Lecture: Review of Atoms and the Periodic Table
-> Fill in the blank note sheets for each video
-> Practice problems

Week 2: Isotopes and half-lives, the beginning of nuclear decay
-> Video Lecture: Isotopes and Half-lives
-> Fill in the blank note sheets for each video
-> Practice problems

Week 3: Nuclear decay reactions: alpha, beta and gamma decay, fission, and fusion
-> Video Lecture: Nuclear Decay reactions
-> Fill in the blank note sheets for each video
-> Practice problems

Week 4: Nuclear power plants: ins and outs
-> Video Lecture: How Nuclear Power Works
-> Fill in the blank note sheets for each video
-> Practice problems

Week 5: Nuclear Power Disasters: Three-mile Island, Chernobyl, and Fukushima
-> Video Lecture: Discussion of the 3 Worst Nuclear Disasters 
-> Fill in the blank note sheets for each video
-> Practice problems

This is a flexible schedule course, meaning that there are no live meetings. Each week, new videos, notes pages, and practice problems will be posted to the classroom. The student should upload their completed practice problems to the classroom (either scanned or picture taken) for feedback from the teacher.   There will be a discussion thread where students can ask for help from the class and the teacher.  To get the most out of this course, the teacher will provide notes pages with blanks for the students to fill in as they watch the videos.  Students are expected to complete the practice problems each week as the material builds upon itself weekly.
 
The teacher is always be available via message (either in the classroom discussion or private message) and will typically reply within 12 hours, but never more than 24 hours unless extenuating circumstances.