Tennessine

High school (ages 12+)
Science & Technology

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/tennessine

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. Who discovered Tennessine?Officially announced in 2010
2. What is the scientific name?Tennessine
3. What is the element symbol?Ts
4. How was tennessine discovered?Scientists created it by shooting calcium‑48 ions at berkelium‑249 targets. The discovery was announced in April 2010 by a Russian‑American team.
5. Why is tennessine so unstable?Its atoms decay very quickly, in just a few milliseconds. Because of this short life, it can only be studied for a very brief time.

Superheavy Element: Elements with atomic numbers greater than 104, typically synthesized artificially and highly unstable.
Relativistic Effects: Quantum mechanical effects that become significant for electrons moving at speeds close to the speed of light in heavy atoms.
Nucleosynthesis: The process by which elements are created within stars and other cosmic events.
Isotope: Atoms of the same element that have different numbers of neutrons.