are atoms the smallest particles of matter

For this reason, we will start our discovery by imagining a wall that has been built of bricks, like the one in the following picture. The title of this section is 'The building blocks of matter'. We also learnt that each element has a unique name, chemical symbol and atomic number that represents it, along with a fixed place on the Periodic Table of elements. There are more than 100 known elements and scientists are still looking for more. Write down what you remember or say it out loud. Before reading further, stop and see how much you can remember about the elements. You were introduced to some of the elements in Gr. To understand matter in a scientific way, we need to imagine what it is made of.Īll the different types of matter that exist on Earth are made up of one or more chemical elements. We could say that matter is 'stuff', but that would not be very specific. What is matter? The traditional definition says matter is anything that has mass and occupies volume (takes up space). Observing, recording information, interpreting,ġ.4 Mixtures of elements and compounds (0.5 hours)Īctivity: Distinguishing between elements, compounds and mixtures Investigation: The decomposition of copper chloride Reading, interpreting, accessing and recalling, making, drawing, labelling, communicatingĪctivity: Studying representations of atoms and elementsĪccessing and recalling information, interpreting, reading, writingĪccessing and recalling information, revisingĪctivity: Writing and understanding simple chemical formulaeĪccessing and recalling information, interpreting, sorting and classifying, reading, writing, making, drawing, communicatingĪctivity: Imagining the decomposition of water at the scale of moleculesĪccessing and recalling information, interpreting, sorting and classifying, making, writing, Work the colour through the dough, adding more if you wish to increase the intensity of the colour.ġ.1 The building blocks of matter (1 hour)Īctivity: A quick revision of the Periodic Table of ElementsĪccessing and recalling information, sorting and classifying, writing

Make a small depression in the centre of the ball, and pour a little food colouring into it.

Divide the dough into balls for colouring.

Turn the dough out onto a clean surface and knead vigorously until smooth.

Note: If the dough is still sticky, it simply needs to be cooked longer.

When the dough pulls away from the sides and clumps in the centre of the pan, remove the pan from the heat and allow the dough to cool enough to handle.

The dough will begin to thicken until it resembles mashed potatoes.

Mix all of the ingredients together and stir over low heat.

1 tablespoon cream of tartar (optional for improved elasticity).

Play dough is easy and cheap to make a recipe follows. We have also built in activities where learners have to construct molecules using plasticine or play dough, to reinforce the skill. It is equally important for learners to be able to interpret and draw sub-microscopic diagrams.

The ability to imagine chemical events as they would happen on the sub-microscopic scale lies at the heart of understanding chemistryĪnd the importance of developing this skill cannot be overstated. Since these atoms and molecules are too small to see even with a microscope, science educationists use the adjective 'sub-microscopic' to refer to diagrams that depict entities on this scale. We have also included many diagrams of what the different classes of matter would look like at the atomic/molecular scale.

For this reason, these concepts and their explanations are repeated very often throughout the chapter. 'Atom' is often confused with 'molecule' and the distinction between element and compound is also one that learners find difficult to make. One of the main challenges of this introduction (and this is true at all levels) is that learners are easily confused by the terminology. This chapter introduces the fundamental building blocks of matter and some of the important classification schemes scientists use to communicate about matter.

Are atoms the smallest particles of matter