Student contest

One of our winning entries.... (Click here to hear an audio sample [requires RealPlayer].)

AN  ATOMICALLY  RAPPED  PRESENT

Skander Carlson and Ryan Black
Evanston Township High School
Evanston, IL

Early on people had some stuff wrong,
But we plan to fix that with this song,
Atomic Theory is nothing easy,
Some brilliant people were even queasy.

Geiger, Bohr, and Ernest Marsden,
Were called together like the three wise men,
They found that atoms came in two parts,
And most of the package didn't have a heart.

The insides are a small bunch,
But they pack the nuclear punch.
Protons and neutrons combine in here,
Making a ball that's more like a sphere.

Then there is this big old space,
Just as in my big old base,
Hovering outside of this place,
Is a sheet that looks a little like lace.

This is called the electron cloud,
And it is very negatively well endowed,
Like any good opposites they push and pull
Until their outer rings are full.

Talkin' 'bout electron orbitals,
Which act like walls,
And like my Swiss bank account
They always stay full.

The electron orbitals control bonding,
Because most bonds lie on this powerful ring,
So as you can see it's a powerful thing,
This atom's inner power is in full swing.

So I'm going to describe for you, the parts of the atom,
Letting it flow with whatever may come,
Going down into the lake of knowledge,
Alls made of atoms, even pond scum.
So what makes up an atom? What's inside?,
Electrons reside on the outside world wide,
And in the middle? Well it seem to me,
That protons and neutrons are the key.

Protons and neutrons are held together by the nuclear force,
A force strong enough to be used to change the course,
Of history, don't take it from me,
You better hope and pray, there's not a world War III.

As I sit with a scotch and count the seconds on my swatch....

While working with Neon, J. J. Thomson observed,
That there were two types of Neon -- this sounded absurd.
And then he found that these were called isotopes,
Which altered the periodic table to have a different slope.

Isotopes are not hard to form,
Just take away a neutron and the isotope is born,
Or add one on and you will see,
Like adding a little more plastic to the chest of Barbie.

I believe that I can say
About the atomic radi(hey) hey hey hey,
From the electrons to the nuclear array
They act in a periodic way.

Back Streets back all right!
Who let the dogs out?
Ruf Ruf Ruf
Ah it's got my leg!

You've got to admit that this is some good s*!#,
But would you permit that we submit this legit transmit,
Thank you for listening to me hack and spit, that is
Giving my spiel on the chemistry bit.

We're gonna split like a banana,
'Cause we sound like Santana,
Listen to this s*!#,
'Cause you know this skit's got wit.


Student comments:

We are sophomores from Evanston Township High School and thought that writing a rap about chemistry would be a fun way to test our knowledge, creativity, and skill. This was a stimulating project which we enjoyed doing.