Small, Smaller, Smallest

This unit introduces students to the structure and properties of matter. In addition to learning basic concepts related to atoms, elements, molecules, and compounds, students will have the opportunity to consider the atomic structure or everyday items such as sand, saltwater, and clouds. Finally, students learn about how atoms are rearranged in photosynthesis and how the total number of each type of atom is conserved in chemical reactions.

Activities

Scene: Playing Halfsies

Adam, Zena, and Olivia play "halfsies" with Aunt Lucy’s delicious brownies, leading to a discussion of what the "smallest" particle is.

Duration: Approximately 50 minutes

Lesson: Atoms Forming Groups

While investigating a topic that is frequently confusing for students and adults alike, students think through the difference between the terms element, atom, compound, and molecule.

Duration: Approximately 45 minutes

Interactive: Peeking at the Particles

First with open exploration and then with an informal quiz, students take a VERY close look at items at the beach to become familiar with particulate models and the specific properties of items such as air, water, and sand.

Duration: Approximately 40 minutes

Reading: Making Trees from Thin Air (Photosynthesis)

Students read, discuss, and reason through how the Law of the Conservation of Matter relates to photosynthesis.

Duration: Approximately 45 minutes

Teacher Tune-ups

• What does atomic structure have to do with how atoms bond with each other?
• What evidence first led chemists to adopt the modern atomic theory of matter?

Student View of Visuals and Activities

Some teachers prefer to have students view the slides and other visual assets in this unit directly instead of projecting them in class. Below is a web page to share with students with links to some of same items that are within in the teacher lesson plans, but without the explanatory text for the teacher.

 

• Student Links to Unit M1 Slides and Other Visuals

Original SciGen Unit

This unit has been adapted from pieces of the three units of the "Introductory Chemistry Concepts" group in the Word Generation program led by Catherine Snow (Harvard University) through a SERP collaboration with the Boston Public Schools and other districts in Massachusetts and Maryland.

PDFs of that earlier unit's teacher and student editions are available at the Science Generation Download Center.

particle

noun – a small piece of matter (often an atom or molecule)

What particle is central to the atomic bomb? How do you know?

element

noun – a substance that cannot be separated chemically into simpler substances

How many elements on the periodic table can you name?

atom

noun – the smallest particle of an element

Which atoms combine to form water?

molecule

noun – a group of atoms linked together to form the smallest particle of a compound

A molecule of DNA has millions of atoms. Can you think of a molecule comprised of only two atoms?

compound

noun – a substance made of definite proportions of two or more elements

Water is a chemical compound. Can you name the elements that combine to form water molecules?

particulate

adjective — made of particles, such as molecules and atoms (at a microscopic scale); or of small solid pieces like grains of sand (at a macroscopic scale)

At a particulate level, the density of a substance is determined by two things: how massive the particles of the substance are, and how closely packed or spread out those particles are.

continuous

adjective – without interruption

Why do you think water appears continuous, even though it is made of separate atoms?

conservation

noun — the preservation of some quantity despite some kind of transformation

We see the Law of the Conservation of Matter at play in photosynthesis when every atom of carbon dioxide and water that goes into the plant is accounted for in the sugars and oxygen it produces.

reaction

noun – (in chemistry) an interaction between substances that changes the connections between atoms

Why do some chemical reactions produce only one kind of new molecule, while others produce multiple?