WHAT’S AN ATOM?
LEARNING INTENTION
KNOW: that all the things around us are made up of atoms.
UNDERSTAND: that atoms are so small we cannot see them, but they build the objects we see all around us.
DO: Draw pictures to show models of different atoms
SUCCESS CRITERIA
WHAT’S AN ATOM?
Look inside the things around you and you'll find something smaller inside.
There are pages inside books, seeds inside oranges, hearts and lungs inside people, computer chips inside mobile phones.
WHAT’S AN ATOM?
If you keep cutting and cutting things like the seed in the orange, or the page in the book, you'll get to a smallest part that they are made of.
Think of it like breaking up a LEGO model until you find the smallest part – the LEGO block.
We call these smallest parts atoms.
WHAT’S AN ATOM?
All the "stuff" around us is made from atoms.
WHAT’S AN ELEMENT?
Some things are made by joining lots of the same atoms together – they are called elements.
WHAT’S AN ELEMENT?
Carbon is one of the elements.
Diamonds are made from lots of carbon atoms joined together.
A natural diamond. A cut diamond.
WHAT’S AN ATOM?
Scientists have discovered over 100 types of atoms, so that means 100 types of elements.
Some elements are metals, like copper, tin, iron and gold,
Some elements are gases, �like hydrogen and helium.
An atom of gold is the smallest amount of gold you can possibly have.
One atom is about 100,000 times thinner than one of your hairs, so you can only see an atom with an incredibly powerful electron microscope.
WHAT’S AN ATOM?
Most atoms have three different particles that make them: protons, neutrons, and electrons.
WHAT’S INSIDE AN ATOM?
Most atoms have three different particles that make them: protons, neutrons, and electrons.
WHAT’S INSIDE AN ATOM?
electron
proton
neutron
The protons and neutrons are packed together into the centre of the atom, which is called the nucleus.
WHAT’S INSIDE AN ATOM?
The electrons, which are much smaller, speed around the outside.
When people draw pictures of atoms, they show the electrons like planets spinning round the sun.
WHAT’S INSIDE AN ATOM?
To show what’s inside atoms, we draw pictures of atoms like this:
WHAT’S INSIDE AN ATOM?
We find out the numbers of protons, neutrons and electrons from the atom’s number on the Periodic Table of the Elements.
It looks pretty confusing to start with, but you will get used to it.
WHAT’S INSIDE AN ATOM?
TASK 1
See your teacher now. Complete the Atoms Worksheet.
ABOUT ATOMS
TASK 2
Complete the table:
ELEMENT | How many protons do its atoms have? | Where did its name come from? | What is it used for? |
Oxygen |
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Carbon |
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Iron |
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Aluminium |
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Neon |
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Silicon |
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Gold |
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Silver |
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Platinum |
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Uranium |
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Mercury | | | |
Choose one element from the list:�
gold, copper, neon, aluminium �
and make a picture collage of how it is used.
TASK 3
LEARNING INTENTION
KNOW: that we put things into groups to make it easier to find things.
UNDERSTAND: that the Periodic Table of the elements is a way of organising the elements.
DO: Organise some alien insects to help understand about the Periodic Table
WHAT’S THE PERIODIC TABLE?
We organise things to make them easier to find.
WHAT’S THE PERIODIC TABLE?
The Periodic Table is just a way of organising the elements into families. It makes it easier to find the elements.
Row
Group
Look at the Alien Insects sheet and work out different ways to group the insects. Draw a table like the one on the next slide and put your ideas into it.
TASK 4
INSECT NUMBERS | WHAT MAKES THEM A GROUP |
9, 12 |
They have spikes |
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TASK 4 (continued)
Success criteria
KNOW: that the elements are classified (arranged) into the Periodic Table of the Elements.
UNDERSTAND: that the basis of the Periodic Table is the Atomic Number (number of protons).
DO: Complete Task 4 to look at two families of the Periodic Table.
LEARNING INTENTION
TASK 4
Investigate the structure of the Periodic Table.�
Identify:�
TASK 4 (continued)
WHAT’S A COMPOUND?
What is a compound?
Other things are made by joining different types of atoms together – they are called compounds.
WHAT’S A COMPOUND?
Water is a compound made from hydrogen H atoms and oxygen O atoms.
WHAT’S A COMPOUND?
You can make anything you can think of by joining atoms of different elements together, just like you can build things using LEGO® blocks.
You usually need a lot of atoms. A grain of salt is made of a lot of atoms, about 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 (a million, million, million).
WHAT’S A COMPOUND?
Living things are mostly made from the atoms �carbon, hydrogen and oxygen.
For example, you might have heard of carbohydrates. Their name comes from
carbo = carbon
hydr = hydrogen
ate = another way of saying oxygen