Professional Documents
Culture Documents
ELEMENTS,
COMPOUNDS,
AND ATOMS
Produced By…
Dr. Brian A. Jerome, Ph.D.
Written and Directed By…
Dr. Brian A. Jerome, Ph.D.
Study Guide Written By…
Dr. Brian A. Jerome, Ph.D.
Stephanie Zak Jerome
AGC/UNITED LEARNING
1560 Sherman Avenue
Suite 100
Evanston, IL 60201
1-800-323-9084
24-Hour Fax No. 847-328-6706
Website: http://www.unitedlearning.com
E-Mail: bistern@interaccess.com
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Teacher’s Guide
Table of Contents
Introduction ............................................................1
Links to Curriculum Standards ...........................1
Summary of the Video ..........................................1
Pretest ......................................................................2
Video Quiz ..............................................................2
Instructional Notes ................................................2
Student Preparation...............................................3
Introducing the Video ...........................................3
Student Objectives .................................................3
View the Video .......................................................4
Safety .......................................................................4
Discussion Questions ............................................4
Blackline Masters ...................................................5
Extended Learning Activities...............................6
Answer Key ............................................................7
Script of Video Narration ...................................13
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CLASSROOM/LIBRARY
VIEWING CLEARANCE
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Introduction
Pretest
Video Quiz
Instructional Notes
Student Preparation
Student Objectives
Safety
FOLLOW-UP ACTIVITIES
Discussion Questions
Blackline Masters
Answer Key
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Nearly 2000 years after the ancient Greeks made their initial theories
of the atom, an English chemist by the name of John Dalton conducted
an experiment in the early 1800s leading to the widespread acceptance
of the idea of the existence of atoms. Conducting experiments with
gases, he decided that elements have particles that combine in simple
ways. He pictured that particles as simple spheres.
Dalton’s theories had the following parts: First, all matter is made of
atoms that can be combined. Second, atoms of the same element are
exactly alike. Third, atoms of different elements are different. Fourth,
atoms of two or more elements can be combined to form new sub-
stances. Dalton made tremendous contributions to the understanding
of the atom, but his discoveries were not complete.
Toward the end of the nineteenth century, J.J. Thompson, an English
scientist, found that atoms were not simple solid spheres. He discov-
ered a very important component of the atom that we put to use every-
day in the form of electricity and in magnets. He discovered electrons.
Electrons are small particles located outside the nucleus that have a
negative charge - and cause the magnetic needle in the compass to
point north.
In 1911, Ernest Rutherford added more to our understanding of the
atom. He fired a stream of positively charged particles at a thin sheet
of gold foil. He found that most particles passed right through the gold
atoms in the sheet of foil. He concluded that the atoms were mostly
made of space. Some particles, however, were deflected by the gold
foil. He concluded that the atom had a small dense positively charged
center that repelled the positively charged “bullets.” He called the
center of the atom the nucleus. The nucleus is very tiny compared to
the atom as a whole, equivalent in ratio to a marble in a stadium. Ruth-
erford stated that all of an atom’s positively charged particles were in
the nucleus and negatively charged particles were scattered outside
the nucleus around the perimeter of the atom.
A couple of years after Rutherford’s contributions to the understand-
ing of the atom, Niels Bohr proposed that electrons orbit around the
nucleus. He stated that each electron has a fixed amount of energy,
and that the electrons orbit within energy levels. forming rings around
the nucleus, similar to the layers of skin around an onion. The energy
levels in Bohr’s model can be compared to a ladder with rungs. As you
climb the rungs of the ladder away from the nucleus, the amount of
energy increases. By absorbing or releasing energy, an electron can
move between energy levels, similar to climbing up or down a ladder.
While today scientists agree that electrons orbit the nucleus in energy
levels, they do not do so in regular paths. Instead, electrons dart in
ever-changing paths within energy levels. They form what is referred
to as an electron cloud. The electron cloud represents the region where
electrons would probably be found swirling around the nucleus of an
atom.
This bright flame in this flare is generated by a combination of ele-
ments. The active ingredients are a blend of more than one element. A
compound is a pure substance that is made of more than one element.
Nearly everything you come in contact with is made of different com-
binations of elements, or compounds. There are millions of compounds!
While some compounds, such as water, are made of hydrogen and
oxygen, others are quite complex, such as plastics, made of dozens of
compounds. Compounds are made of molecules. If we were to break
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down this piece of salt into the smallest piece of matter that still had
the properties of salt we would have a molecule. A molecule is two or
more atoms with specific properties that have bonded together. It is
the smallest piece of a compound that still has the properties of a com-
pound. These are salt molecules with a large atom of chlorine and a
small atom of sodium. If we were to break apart this salt molecule, we
would have sodium and chlorine atoms, but we would not have a salt
molecule.
It is possible to separate a molecule of water. For example, by passing
an electric current through this blue-colored water, the water molecules
are separated into oxygen and hydrogen gas, as seen by these rising
bubbles.
In order to work more easily with elements, scientists have developed
a system of letters and numbers or chemical symbols used to repre-
sent elements. Chemical symbols use one or two letters from the name
of the element. For example, the element sulfur, shown here, is sym-
bolized by the letter “S.” Sometimes two letters are used. Such is the
case with copper, symbolized by the two letters “Cu.” Sometimes the
chemical symbols are derived from the Latin word for the element, as
is the case with lead, which has the chemical symbol “Pb,” from the
word “plumbonium.”
As we discussed earlier, elements can be represented by chemical sym-
bols. Chemical symbols can be placed together to make a chemical lan-
guage. Different chemical symbols can be placed together to make a
chemical formula which can represent a compound, such as copper
sulfate. A chemical formula is an abbreviated way of symbolizing
chemical substances. For example, you may already be familiar with
the chemical formula for water - H2O. The “H” stands for hydrogen
and the “O” stands for oxygen. What does the “2” stand for? The “2”
means that there are two atoms of hydrogen. The small “2” is called a
subscript. A subscript is a small number written below a letter or num-
ber. It indicates the number of atoms in the compound.
Here you can see sulfuric acid reacting with a piece of metal. Sulfuric
acid is important in making fertilizers, fabrics, and plastics. The chemi-
cal formula for sulfuric acid is H2SO4. It is made of two atoms of hy-
drogen, one atom of sulfur, and four atoms of oxygen.
In summary, we have explored how all matter is made of elements,
and how each element has a definite atomic structure In many cases,
elements combine to form compounds that can be represented with
chemical symbols and chemical formulas So next time you see some
interesting matter, think about the elements and compounds which
make it up. You might just look at your world a little differently.
Fill in the correct word when you hear this tone. Good luck and let’s
get started.
1. A pure substance is the _______ throughout.
2. An ________ is a simple pure substance that cannot be changed into
a simpler substance.
3. An _____ is the smallest piece of matter that cannot be commonly
broken down.
4. _________ are the negatively charged particles in the atom.
5. The ________ is the center of an atom.
6. The electron _______ is the region where electrons would probably
be found.
7. A _________ is a pure substance made of more than one element.
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