And Here's Where Your Journey Begins

The world is really amazing and to think all that we can see around us is made up of one thing: atoms.  That's right! Over 100 elements--alone or in various combinations--make up everything we use, eat, and even take for granted.  When you go grocery shopping, have you ever taken a look at the nutrition label on the items in your cart?  Perhaps you've wondered about the materials used in a computer chip.  Why does a cold glass of lemonade look like it's sweating on a hot summer day? Maybe the fact that using a neodymium magnet to extract the iron from iron-fortified cereal seems gross, yet pretty cool at the same time! Then again maybe you're wondering how something so much smaller than the sharpened point of a pencil can be responsible for everything around you!

(c) M. Prince 2012

All matter (which has mass and takes up space) is made up of atoms.  Matter falls under four different states of matter and goes though energy processes in order to change from one state to the next.  Just like you and another person are different from one another so are atoms.  Each atom has unique qualities that set it apart from the next one.  Tee properties of each atom help us to identify matter.  For instance, if I asked you to describe  an ear of corn, how would you describe it? What about play doh? What makes an ear of corn and play different from each other?  

When we look at the nature of matter here are some things I want to you think about?

• How has the concept of matter shaped how we see our world and the things around us?
• How can I symbolically or physically represent models of atoms, compounds, particle movement, and the law of conservation of matter to understand the concept better?
• How can I describe the differences of matter according to mass, volume, shape, and particle arrangement?
• How do I know if a mixture is homogeneous or heterogeneous?
• How do I know if a substance is an element or a compound?
• How would I describe the Law of Conservation of Matter?

These are the things I want to you inquire about as we start are new unit on the nature of matter.