THIRD QUARTER

LESSON 1: ATOMS: INSIDE OUT

Overview

In module 1, you learned that matter is made up of atoms which are too small to
see with the unaided eye or even with the use of the ordinary light microscope. When
the idea of the atom was conceived by the ancient Greek philosophers, they thought the
atom is indivisible, that it has no parts.

Scientists have proven, however, that the atom is composed of even smaller
particles. From experiments conducted in the latter part of the 19th century to the early
half of the 20th century, scientists collected evidence that atoms are composed of three
types of particles, namely, (1) protons, (2) electrons and (3) neutrons. These
components of the atom are collectively referred to as subatomic particles. In recent
years, scientists have discovered that protons and neutrons consist of even smaller
particles. There are still many things about the atom and what is inside it that scientists
are discovering.

These extremely small particles are being studied using an extremely big
structure that serves as their instrument. The thick black circle in Figure 1 is the entire
scientific instrument and its circumference is precisely 26.659 kilometers and its depth
is about 100 meters. To give you a better idea how big this structure is, find from the
map a place which is about 27 km from your own town. Working in a laboratory that
aims to uncover the tiniest bits of matter that make up all that we see around us must be
truly exciting

Objectives:

At the end of the lesson, you should be able to:

a. Discuss the physical changes and arrangement of atoms and molecules

b. Explain the arrangement and motion of atoms and molecules
c. Present how atoms and molecules physical changes in terms of the arrangement
of motion
Activity 1 “Charge” it to experience!

Objectives:

After performing this activity, you should be able to:

1. Observe that objects may attract or repel each other,

2. Infer that objects may carry positive and negative charges, and

3. Deduce that neutral objects contain positive and negative charges

Materials Needed:

Meter stick or any meter-long stick

Balloons string
Chairs or any stand for the stick
Glass (from a picture frame)
Cloth (flannel or silk cloth)
Procedure:

1. Inflate the two balloons. Tie each using a length of string. Place the meter-long stick
across two chairs. Suspend the two balloons so that they hang freely about two inches
apart.

2. With each hand holding one balloon, rub the balloons simultaneously against your
hair several times. Let go of the balloons.

Observe. Q1. What happened with the balloons?

Q2. Did the balloons acquire the same charge or different charges?

What made you say so?

3. Rub the piece of glass with a silk cloth. Bring the piece of glass between the two
balloons. Observe. Q3. What happened with the balloons?
Q4. Does the glass have a different or same charge as the balloon? What made you say
so?

From the activity above, you have “experienced” that objects, even they seem to
be neutral, can carry “charges”. In fact, you were able to charge the objects by rubbing
them against another object; just like when you rubbed the balloons onto your hair. You
can infer that after you have rubbed the balloons, they acquired a charge since they
pushed away each other. You can even say that the balloons acquired the same charge.
They have indeed! The balloon, or synthetic rubber, the material the balloon is made of,
acquire negative charges when rubbed. Have you experienced the same with your hair
after brushing it? Did you observe some unusual behavior, too? Was it a “hair-raising”
experience? Why do you think this happened?

Atoms and molecules

What is the physical change of atoms and molecules?

  Physical change, such as a state change or dissolving, does not create a new
substance, but a chemical change does.
 In a chemical reaction, the atoms and molecules that interact with each other are
called reactants.
 In a chemical reaction, the atoms and molecules produced by the reaction are
called products.
 In a chemical reaction, only the atoms present in the reactants can end up in the
products. No new atoms are created, and no atoms are destroyed.
 In a chemical reaction, reactants contact each other, bonds between atoms in the
reactants are broken, and atoms rearrange and form new bonds to make the
products.

Remember:
Remenber

Dear students in previous chapters you have been study the different aspects of
physical change. When atoms and molecules speed up or slow down, those are a
physical change, when the changes state from liquid to solid or from gas to liquid that
is physical changes. When a substance is dissolved by water or some other solvent, a
new substance has not really been formed. The ions or molecules can still come back
together to form the original substance.

What is an atom?

Atom is the smallest constituent unit of matter that possesses the properties of
the chemical element. Atoms don’t exist independently, instead, they form ions and
molecules which further combine in large numbers to form matter that we see, feel and
touch.

Atoms are much too small to be seen; hence experiments to find out their
structure and behavior have to be conducted with large numbers of them. From the
results of these experiments we may attempt to construct a hypothetical model of an
atom that behaves like the true atom.

What is a molecule?

Molecules consist of one or more atoms bound together by covalent (chemical)

bonds. Atoms may be depicted by circle shapes, each of which has a nucleus at the
center (containing protons and neutrons), surrounded by one or more concentric circles
representing the ‘shells’ or ‘levels’ in which the electrons surrounding the nucleus of the
atom are located and markings indicating the electron.at each level. A molecule is the
smallest thing a substance can be divided into while remaining the same substance. It is
made up of two or more atoms that are bound together by chemical bonding.

Activity 2, the big difference

Objectives:

After performing this activity, you should be able to:

1. Compare the masses of the subatomic particles using different ways of

Visual representation

2. Infer which subatomic particle contributes to the mass of the atom

Materials Needed:

Pencil/pen

Crayons or colored pencils

Procedure:

1. Refer to the masses of the subatomic particles in Table 2. Arrange the

Subatomic particles in increasing mass.

Q1. Which subatomic particle is the lightest?

Q2. Which subatomic particle is the heaviest?

Q3. Which subatomic particles have almost the same mass?

Subatomic

Particle (symbol) Charge Mass, grams Location in the Atom

Electrons (e-

) -1 9.109 x 10-28 outside nucleus

Protons (p+

) +1 1.672 x 10-24 Nucleus

Neutrons (n0

) 0 1.675 x 10-24 Nucleus

196

2. Show a comparison of the masses of the three subatomic particles using a bar

graph. Refer to Figure 2 in the next page, assuming that the first bar represents

the mass of the proton; draw the bars to represent the masses of the neutron

and the electron. Take note that the masses are expressed in the -28

exponent.

3. This time, using a pie chart, show the proportion of the masses of the

subatomic particles for an atom composed of only 1 proton, 1 neutron and 1

electron.

4. A seesaw can show a comparison between two masses of an

object. A seesaw goes up and down depending on the

mass it carries on each side.

Q4. How does the mass of the neutron compare

with the mass of the proton? Using circles to

represent the particles show the comparison

by drawing a seesaw with the particles on it.

Q5. How many electrons should be placed on one side of the seesaw to balance it

if the other side has 1 proton on it, like the one shown below? Write the number

on the space provided in the illustration below.

5. Take a look again at the different visual representations you have made.

Q6. Which subatomic particle/s make/s up most of the mass of the atom?