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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10  039  10 09 08 07 06 05
What Is an Atom? ....................... ........................ 2

How Do We Know What Atoms Look Like? ................. 4

What Is an Element? ............................................ 6

Organizing the Elements............... ........................ 8

What Is a Compound? .................. ........................ 10

Solid, Liquid, or Gas? ............................................ 12

Changing States of Matter ............ ........................ 14

Glossary. . . . . . ............................. ........................ 16

   
   
 


 

What Is an Atom?
Your nose, your favorite soft drink, and even the air you breathe are
all made of atoms. An atom is the smallest unit of an element that still
has the properties of that element.
Here’s another way to think of it. Imagine you had a piece of
copper wire. If you kept cutting the wire in half again and again,
what’s the smallest piece you could end up with that’s still pure
copper? The answer is an atom of copper. If you did the same
thing with a piece of aluminum foil, you’d end up with an atom
of aluminum.

Everything in the
universe is made of
atoms. The sun is made
mostly of atoms of
hydrogen and helium.


Atoms are too small to see, but scientists
have figured out that they’re made of even tinier
particles called protons, neutrons, and electrons. 6egdidcVcYVcZjigdc
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charge. At least one proton is found in the 7jiVcZaZXigdc^hi^cn
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An electron is a particle with a negative i]ZbVhhd[_jhidcZ
electric charge. An atom has the same number
of electrons as protons, so the charges balance each other out. That’s
why an atom isn’t charged. Electrons are much smaller than protons
and neutrons, and they can be found around the nucleus in a “cloud.”
If every atom in the universe is made of these same particles, what
sets them apart? An atom of copper and an atom of aluminum are
different because of the number of protons in each atom. The number
of protons in an atom is its atomic number. Every element has a
different atomic number.
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3
How Do We Know What Atoms
Look Like?
If atoms are impossible to see, how have scientists developed a
model of an atom? It’s taken hundreds of years, many experiments,
and some very bright scientists.
Almost 200 years ago, an English scientist named John Dalton
suggested that all matter was made of atoms. He also hypothesized
that atoms of different substances were different themselves.
It was another 90 years before scientists started to understand
what was inside the atom. Another English scientist, J.J. Thomson,
found negatively charged particles in the atom and called them
electrons. Since he knew that atoms weren’t charged, he assumed
there must be a positive charge. He thought that the electrons were
scattered about in a positively charged sphere, like “raisins in a
plum pudding.”

Everything in this photo


is made of atoms.

The nucleus of
an atom contains
protons and
neutrons. Electrons
move around the
nucleus in clouds.

The first scientist to suggest that the atom has a nucleus was Ernest
Rutherford. Rutherford was a student of Thomson and “discovered”
the nucleus while testing the “plum pudding” model. Rutherford shot
positively charged particles at a sheet of pure gold. Some passed
through, while others bounced back. He concluded that most of an
atom was empty space, while the positive charge was collected in one
area of the atom. He called this positive area a nucleus, and suggested
the electrons orbited around the nucleus.
Just two years later, in 1913, a scientist named Niels Bohr proposed
a new model. He suggested that electrons moved around the nucleus
in orbits, like planets revolve around the Sun.
Today, we know that electrons move around the nucleus in clouds,
not orbits. We also know that the nucleus contains protons and
neutrons. This is where most of the atom’s mass is found.
main idea and details  How did Ernest Rutherford’s model of
the atom differ from J.J. Thomson’s model?


What Is an Element?
Most substances are made of many kinds of atoms. But a pure
substance that’s made of only one kind of atom is called an element.
Some common elements are oxygen, hydrogen, gold, and carbon.
These elements are the same everywhere in the universe. The helium
in the sun is the same helium used in balloons.
Today, we know of more than 100 elements, but only 88 of these
occur in nature. The others are made in laboratories. Since every
element is made of different types of atom, each one has a different
atomic number.
The most common elements have low atomic numbers. The
two most common elements in the universe are hydrogen (atomic
number 1) and helium (atomic number 2). In the Earth’s atmosphere,
the most common element is nitrogen (atomic number 7). In the
Earth’s crust, you’ll find more oxygen (atomic number 8) than any
other element. Some rare elements have high atomic numbers.
Rutherfordium (atomic number 104) is a rare element that can only
be made in laboratories.

Sand is made of oxygen and


silicon. These are the two
most common elements in
Earth’s crust.


Silver, neon, helium, and
mercury are all elements,
but they have very
different properties.
Scientists classify
elements based on
these properties. For
example, all elements can
be identified as a metal
or a nonmetal.
A metal is an
element that conducts
heat and electricity well.
Metals can also bend
and be rolled into sheets.
Like iron and silver,
many metals are shiny
and silver or gray.
Most elements are
metals. Natural metals
are almost always solid
when found on Earth.
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or electricity well. It also can’t \gVn#HdbZ!a^`Zi]^hXdeeZg
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bend. In fact, many nonmetals are
gases. Oxygen, nitrogen, and
chlorine are examples of nonmetals.
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7
Organizing the Elements
With more than 100 elements, how do scientists keep them all
straight? In 1869, the Russian scientist Dmitri Mendeleev became the
first person to organize elements by their properties. He arranged
them from least massive to most massive. Then he noticed their
properties fell into patterns that kept repeating. He sorted the
elements into a table called the periodic table.
Today, the periodic table organizes all the known elements by
atomic number. The table begins with hydrogen (atomic number 1).
Each element is listed in a box showing the element name, atomic
number, and a one- or two-letter symbol. For example, the symbol
for Helium is He.
The periodic table shows
all the known elements.


The table shows much more than atomic numbers. The rows and
columns give important clues to an element’s properties too. In the
periodic table, the columns show different families. All the elements in
a family have similar properties. For example, copper, silver, and gold
are all in the same family. What do these elements have in common?
The rows of the table are also important. All the elements in a row,
or period, have increasing complexity in the arrangements of electrons
in their atoms.
You’ll also see there are different colors in the table. These show
whether an element is a solid, liquid, or gas.
SEQUENCE  Why does the periodic table begin with hydrogen?


What Is a Compound?
Most of the substances we find in nature aren’t pure elements. For
example, water is made of a combination of hydrogen atoms and
oxygen atoms. Any substance made of atoms of two or more elements
is called a compound.
Every compound can be
identified by a chemical formula.
For example, the chemical formula
for water is H2O.
A chemical formula shows what
elements make up a compound,
and in what proportion. Water
has two atoms of hydrogen (H)
for every atom of oxygen (O).
Think of the elements
that make up water.
Hydrogen and oxygen
are gases, not liquid.
As you can see, a
compound doesn’t
have the same properties as
the elements in it.

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10
The salt water of the
ocean is an example
of a mixture. You can
separate the salt from
the water by letting
the water evaporate.

So how can hydrogen and oxygen


combine to form water? This happens
because their atoms bond together. In Did you know that all living
water, the atoms share electrons, which things are made of organic
holds them together. Atoms can also bond compounds? In an organic
when electrons from one atom move to compound, carbon atoms
another. When this happens, the atom that are attached to atoms of
loses an electron becomes positively hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen,
charged. The atom that gains an electron or other elements.
becomes negatively charged. The two
atoms are held together by opposite charges.
SEQUENCE  What happens to an atom’s charge when its electrons
move to another atom?

11
Solid, Liquid, or Gas?
In your kitchen you see steam rising from a pot of boiling water, and
ice cubes cooling water in a glass. You’re looking at water in each of the
three main states of matter: solid, liquid, gas. All
matter can exist in each of these states.
Did you know that A solid has a definite shape or volume. An ice
stars are made of cube is an example of water in solid form. As long
a fourth state of as it stays frozen, it doesn’t change shape or take up
matter called plasma? more or less space.
In fact, 99 percent A liquid also has a definite volume, but it can
of matter in the change shape. If you pour a cup of water from a
universe is plasma. glass into a shallow pan, it changes shape but it still
In plasma, matter takes up the same amount of space.
gets so hot that some A gas can change shape and volume. The steam
atoms lose electrons rising from the boiling water slowly expands to fill
and become the room. It has changed shape, but it is also taking
up more space.

Water vapor in the air is a


gas. When these molecules
come together in clouds and
cool, they form tiny droplets
of water.

12
What makes water different as a solid, liquid, or gas? Think
of the atoms that make up water. In water, two hydrogen atoms
bond with one oxygen atom to form a unit called a molecule.
In all matter, atoms and molecules are in constant motion. How
much they move around depends on how much energy they have.
The molecules in ice have very little energy so they move very
little. They can’t change positions, so a solid keeps its shape.
The molecules in water have more energy. They can move around,
but they still stay attracted to each other. Liquids can flow and
change shape.
Molecules in steam
have the most energy
of all. Molecules can
bounce around and
spread out. A gas fills
the space of whatever
container it’s in.
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13
Changing States of Matter
What makes an ice
cube melt? What turns
water into steam? The
answer is heat. You
can change water from
one state to another by
changing the temperature.
When you increase the
temperature, you cause the
molecules to move around
faster. When you decrease
the temperature, you cause
them to move slower.
Any substance can be
changed from one state
to another by increasing
or decreasing the
temperature. The
temperature at which
a substance changes
matter depends on the
substance. For example,
ice starts to melt at 0°C.
It takes a much higher
temperature, 100ºC, for
water to boil and turn
to steam.
CAUSE AND EFFECT 
You’d have to heat pure What causes a
iron (Fe) to about 1535°C substance to change
before it melts! from one state to
another?

14
Summary
All matter in the universe is made of atoms. Atoms are the smallest
particles of an element that still have the properties of that element.
Atoms are made of even tinier particles. Positively charged protons and
neutrons with no charge make up the atom’s nucleus. Electrons with
negative charge swarm around the nucleus.
Atoms of the same kind form elements, like oxygen and iron.
Different elements have very different properties. What makes each
one different is the number of protons in its atoms. The periodic table
organizes all the elements by their number of protons and similar
properties. When elements combine, they form compounds.
The atoms in a substance also affect what state it is in: a solid,
liquid, or gas. A substance can be changed from one state to another
by increasing or decreasing the temperature.

As these molecules
move faster, this
water changes from
a solid to a liquid.

15
Glossary
atom  (at•uhm)  The smallest unit of an element that still has the
properties of that element (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 15)

atomic number  (uh•tahm•ik nuhm•ber)  The number of protons in an


atom (3, 6, 8, 9)

compound  (kahm•pownd)  A substance made up of atoms of two or


more elements (10, 11, 15)

electron  (ee•lek•trahn)  A subatomic particle that orbits an atom’s


nucleus, has a negative electric charge, and has very little mass (3, 4, 5,
9, 11, 13, 15)

element  (el•uh•muhnt)  A substance made up of only one kind of


atom (6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 15)

gas  (gas)  The state of matter that does not have a definite shape or
volume (7, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15)

liquid   (lik•wid)  The state of matter that has a definite volume but no
definite shape (9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15)

metal  (met•uhl)  An element that conducts heat and electricity well


and is malleable (7, 9)

neutron  (noo•trahn)  A subatomic particle that has the same mass as


a proton but no electric charge (3, 5, 15)

nonmetal  (nahn•met•uhl)  An element that does not conduct


electricity well and is not malleable (7, 9)

nucleus  (noo•klee•uhs)  The center of an atom, usually made of


protons and neutrons (3, 5, 15)

periodic table  (pir•ee•ahd•ik tay•buhl)  A table that shows the


elements arranged by their atomic numbers (8, 9, 15)

proton  (proh•tahn)  A subatomic particle that has a positive electric


charge (3, 5, 9, 15)

solid  (sahl•id)  The state of matter that has a definite shape and a
definite volume (7, 9, 12, 13, 14, 15)

16
Think and Write
1. Why are atoms considered the building blocks of matter?
Explain how they make up elements, compounds, and
mixtures.
2. MAIN IDEA AND DETAILS  What part of the atom has the
most mass? Which particles will you find there?
3. SEQUENCE  The most common elements in nature appear
near the top of the periodic table. Elements that only occur in
laboratories appear near the bottom of the table. What does
this tell you about these elements?
4. Narrative Writing  Imagine you are hiking along a river on
a cold winter day. Which different states of water might you
see or feel? How is water found as a solid, liquid, or gas? Write
a letter to a friend describing the different states of matter
you might see along your walk.

Hands-On Activity
Work with a partner and use your periodic table to describe the
makeup of these common compounds:
ammonia (NH3) baking soda (NaHCO3)
carbon dioxide (CO2) methane (CH4)

School-Home Connection
Tell a family member what you have learned about atoms and
elements. Together, look at the label on your cereal or daily vitamins.
How many elements can you find? Find these elements on the
periodic table.

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