WORK FROM HOME

Structure of an atom
9
❑ Learning Objective(s):
❑ Understand what an atom and element are

t e r : You have 5 minutes!

S tar
What’s a “science-y” name for water?

Compare how particles move in gases and solids

Is matter or energy created or destroyed when

a candle is burned? Why or why not?

Keywords: atom, element, molecule, particle

 How many different substances are there?

How many
different substances
can you think of?

There are millions of different substances!

What are they all made of?
 All substances are made of atoms
All substances are made of very tiny particles called atoms.
Many substances are made up of different types of atoms.

hydrogen and carbon and

oxygen atoms hydrogen atoms

iron, aluminium, carbon, nitrogen,

silicon, oxygen hydrogen, oxygen
and boron atoms and sulphur atoms
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-y9UOmchDQ to 8 minutes 54 sec
 What is an element?
All substances are made of very tiny particles called atoms.
There are about one hundred substances that are made up
of just one type of atom. These are the elements.

carbon
helium

copper

The elements are the simplest substances in the universe.

The elements are the building blocks of all other substances.
 Atoms in elements
An element is a substance made up of only one type of atom.

Copper is an Carbon is an Helium is an

element made up of element made up of element made up of
copper atoms only. carbon atoms only. helium atoms only.
 Atoms and molecules of elements
An element is a substance made up of only one type of atom.
In some elements, the atoms are joined in groups of two or more. A
particle containing atoms grouped in this way is called a molecule.

Oxygen is an
element made up of
oxygen atoms only.

How many atoms

are there in an oxygen
molecule?

Other elements, that contain atoms joined in molecules are hydrogen,

nitrogen, chlorine and bromine.
 Introducing chemical symbols
A standard set of symbols is used to represent elements:
● The symbol for many of the more common elements uses
just the first letter of the name.
H = hydrogen O = oxygen
C = carbon N = nitrogen
F = fluorine I = iodine
● Other elements use ● Some symbols are not
the first two letters. ● as you might expect.
Li = lithium Pb = lead
Al = aluminium Au = gold
He = helium Ag = silver
 How to write symbols for elements
Two important rules should be followed when writing the
symbols of elements so that there is no confusion.
1. The first letter of an element’s symbol is always
a capital letter.
e.g. N (not n) for nitrogen
2. If there are two letters in the element’s symbol,
the second letter is always a small letter.
e.g. Co (not CO) for cobalt

No, Watson! It was

carbon monoxide
poisoning – not cobalt.
 Symbols for molecules of elements
In some elements, the atoms are joined together and
form molecules. Combining the symbols of the atoms
in a molecule gives you the formula of the molecule.
What is the formula for the molecules in each element?

oxygen O2
There are
groups of
two atoms
in each
molecule.

nitrogen N2
Add the correct symbols to your sticker diagrams