Figure 4-1

Many Greek philosophers

thought matter was formed of
air, earth, fire, and water. They W
t et
also associated properties with
each of the four basic compo-
Ho
nents of matter. The pairings of
opposite properties, such as hot
and cold, and wet and dry, mir- Air
rored the symmetry and bal-
ance the philosophers observed Fire Water
in nature. These early nonscien-
tific and incorrect beliefs were Earth
not completely dispelled until
the 1800s.

Dr
y ld
Co

It wasn’t surprising then, that many of them concluded that matter was com-
posed of things such as earth, water, air, and fire. See Figure 4-1. It was also
commonly accepted that matter could be endlessly divided into smaller and
smaller pieces. While these early ideas were creative, there was no method for
testing their validity.
The Greek philosopher Democritus (460–370 B.C.) was the first person to
propose the idea that matter was not infinitely divisible. He believed matter
was made up of tiny individual particles called atomos, from which the
English word atom is derived. Democritus believed that atoms could not be
created, destroyed, or further divided. Democritus and a summary of his ideas
are shown in Figure 4-2.
While a fair amount of Democritus’s ideas do not agree with modern
atomic theory, his belief in the existence of atoms was amazingly ahead of
his time. Despite this, his ideas did not turn out to be a major step toward our
current understanding of matter. Over time, Democritus’s ideas were met
with criticism from other philosophers. “What holds the atoms together?” they
asked. Democritus could not answer the question. Other criticisms came from
Aristotle (384–322 B.C.), one of the most influential Greek philosophers.
Aristotle is shown in Figure 4-3. He rejected the atomic “theory” entirely

Democritus’s Ideas
• Matter is composed of empty space through
which atoms move.
• Atoms are solid, homogeneous, indestructi-
ble, and indivisible.
• Different kinds of atoms have different sizes
and shapes.
Figure 4-2 • The differing properties of matter are due to
The Greek philosopher the size, shape, and movement of atoms.
Democritus (460–370 B.C.) pro- • Apparent changes in matter result from
posed the concept of the atom changes in the groupings of atoms and not
more than two thousand years from changes in the atoms themselves.
ago.

88 Chapter 4 The Structure of the Atom