IDEAS OF

ANCIENT GREEK
ELEMENTS
■The ancient Greeks believed that
there were four elements that
everything was made up
of: earth, water, air, and fire. This
theory was suggested around 450 BC,
and it was later supported and added
to by Aristotle.
■The idea that these four elements - earth,
water, air, and fire - made up all matter
was the cornerstone of philosophy,
science, and medicine for two thousand
years. The elements were "pure" but
could not be found in that state on earth.
Every visible thing was made up of some
combination of earth, water, air, and fire.
■ The four elements were even used to described the four
temperaments a person could have, and Hippocrates
used the four elements to describe the four "humors"
found in the body. These theories stated that the
temperaments and humors needed to be in balance with
each other in order for a person to be well both mentally
and physically. In a way the four elements do align with
the four states of matter that modern science has agreed
on: solid (earth), liquid(water), gas (air),
and plasma (fire). 
 ACCDG TO
ARISTOTLE
■ An Ancient Greek Philosopher , was born circa 384
B.C in Stagira Greece. He believed that matter is
a mixture of 4 natural elements; earth,water,air and
fire .And these 4 natural elements is made up of 4
properties Dry, cold ,wet,hot.
■ He also suggested that there was a fifth
element, aether, because it seemed strange that the
stars would be made out of earthly elements.
■ Aristotle did not believe in the atomic theory, he
thought that all materials on Earth were not made
of atoms but of the four elements, Earth, Fire,
Water and Air.
■ He believed that all substances were made of
small amounts of these four elements of matter.
Most people followed Aristotle’s idea, causing
Democritus idea (which was all substances on
Earth were made of small particles called atoms)
ACCDG TO ARISTOTLE
 ACCDG TO EMPEDOCLES
 a Greek philosopher, scientist and healer who lived
in Sicily in the fifth century B.C., all matter is
comprised of four  "roots" or elements of earth, air,
fire and water.   Fire and air are outwardly reaching
elements, reaching up and out, whereas earth and
water turn inward and downward.
  In his Tetrasomia, or Doctrine of the Four
Elements, Empedocles described these elements not
only as physical manifestations or material
 But the real thing is..
■ Although the Greeks believed that the four elements were unchanging in
nature, everything was made up of different elements, which were held
together or pushed apart by forces of attraction and repulsion, causing
substances to appear to change. This is similar to what really happens
with elements and all molecules at an atomic level.
■ Matter is anything that has mass and volume and is made up of atoms,
which are the smallest particles of matter. Bonding occurs among atoms
to make larger molecules.
■ Mass is how much matter is in an object whereas volume is how much
space the object takes up. How atoms are arranged in an object
determines whether it is a solid, liquid, gas, or plasma.
Earth, Water, Air, and Fire: Active
Role in Everyday Life
■ The Earth is full of a wide variety of rocks and
minerals which provides the soil to grow vegetation
and support life. The two most common elements in
the earth's crust are oxygen (46%) and silicon (28%).
Because of this, the most abundant mineral in the
earth's crust is silica (silicon dioxide). More commonly
known as sand, silica is a major component of glass.
How can glass be made out of sand? Interestingly,
when silica is heated, it melts and becomes glass,
hardening as it cools
EARTH
■ Empedocles- used the word meaning
land, soil and ground.
■ Hippocrates - Melacholic
■ Aristotle- dryness
■ Modern science- solid
■ Rich deposits of metal ores are found throughout the earth's
crust. While these metals are used in the production of
machinery, tools, buildings, and weapons, straight out of the
earth these metals are pretty useless. Fire is used to heat, refine,
and shape metal so that machines, hammers, and support beams
can be made from it.
■ It is easy to think of the earth as being solid dirt through and
through, but in reality it is made up of several layers. While
many of these layers are solid, the layer that surrounds the core
is called the liquid outer core. It is so hot inside the earth that
the rock at this layer has actually melted. The solid inner core is
just as hot as the liquid layer surrounding it, but the pressure on
the inner core is so great that scientists believe it is "pressed"
into a solid.
■ The chemical formula of Water is H20, meaning it is
made of two hydrogen atoms bonded to one oxygen
atom. The hydrogen atoms each attach to one side of
the oxygen atom and have a positive charge whereas
the oxygen atom has a negative charge. This polarizes
the water molecule, much like a magnet, giving a
water molecule positive and negative ends. Since
opposite charges attract, water molecules tend to
"stick" together. This gives water surface tension and
allows objects, such as paperclips, to float on it.
■ While it can't dissolve everything, water is known as the
universal solvent because it can dissolve more substances
than any other liquid. It can dissolve salt, sugar, acids,
alkalis, some gases, and organic material. Water traveling
through your body or through the ground takes chemicals,
minerals, and nutrients with it. Water's ability to dissolve
substances helps keep the planet healthy. For more than a
century, the burning of fossil fuels has pumped large
amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere. The
water in oceans have absorbed about half of this CO2 by
dissolving the gas from the air and processing it by sea
vegetation.
■ Air was considered a "pure" element, but in fact the
air that's all around us is made up of a variety of
gases: primarily nitrogen and oxygen, with almost
1% argon and even smaller amounts of carbon
dioxide and other elements such as krypton and
helium. The composition of air is just right for life
on Earth, though. We use a lot of the oxygen we get
from the air, then breathe out carbon dioxide -
which plants need to manufacture their food through
photosynthesis. Plants in turn give off oxygen
during photosynthesis.
■ Although air is invisible (and most of the time we forget it is
even there), it does take up space, it has volume, and it exerts
pressure. This can be seen when you take an "empty" glass,
turn it upside down, and try to push it down to the bottom of
a sink full of water. If the glass was truly empty, the water
would easily fill the inside of the glass. But air is in there,
and only a small amount of water can enter the glass. The air
in the glass was compressed, giving the water some space
that was previously occupied with air. It is a good thing that
air fills empty space because air all around us actually
presses down on us all the time. We would collapse under the
weight of the air, except air is also inside us and exerts
pressure that balances out the pressure exerted by the outside
air.
■ How does Fire work? It's closely linked to air.
Fire needs three things in order to exist: oxygen,
fuel, and heat. The intensity of a fire varies
because it is dependent on the oxygen, fuel, and
heat available to it. When all three of these things
are in a controlled situation, such as in candles or
a campfire, fires are considered helpful. But
when one or more of these things are not
controlled, such as in a wildfire or a burning
building, fires can easily become very dangerous.
■ To extinguish a fire, the oxygen, fuel, or heat needs to
be removed. "Smothering" a fire by placing a blanket
or dirt on it works because the fire goes out without
oxygen. The earth provides an abundance of fuel in
the form of wood and fossil fuels such as coal. When
the fuel is removed, the fire has nothing left to burn
and is extinguished. Water often serves as an effective
cooling source by removing the heat from a fire. This
is seen when hot lava from an erupting volcano enters
the ocean or when a bucket of water is dumped on a
campfire.
■ Fire creates light, heat, and smoke by a rapid
chemical reaction called combustion. Smoke is the
result of the incomplete combustion (burning) of a
fuel. Particles that were not burned become
suspended in the air. Smoke is often dangerous
because it contains harmful gases that can poison a
person who inhales too much smoke.
■ You might be surprised to know that our bodies also
use "combustion" to produce energy from oxygen and
food through metabolic processes. We need a steady
supply of oxygen to keep our bodies functioning
normally; if there's too little oxygen in the air, we'll
suffocate. At the same time, we can be thankful there's
not more oxygen in the air, or the chemical reactions in
our bodies would speed up, causing us to soon "crash
and burn"! Too much oxygen in the air would also
increase the risk of fires on the earth. Since nitrogen
and argon are not very reactive, air is pretty safe for us.
Fabulous Facts

■ Earth
■ Most gemstones contain several elements. The exception? The
diamond. It's all carbon.
■ Which of the 50 states has never had an earthquake? North Dakota.
■ The Earth's equatorial circumference (40,075 km) is greater than its
polar circumference (40,008 km).
■ The Earth is estimated to weigh 6.6 sextillion tons, or 5.97 x 1024
kg. To compare, a million is a 1 with 6 zeros following it - a
sextillion is a 1 with 21 zeros following it.  
(1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000)
■ Water
■ An inch of rain water is equivalent to 15 inches of dry,
powdery snow.
■ The deepest part of the ocean is 35,813 feet (10,916
meters) deep and occurs in the Mariana Trench in the
Pacific Ocean. At that depth the pressure is 18,000
pounds (9172 kilograms) per square inch.
■ The human brain is 80% water.
■ Air
■ 8-12 miles above the earth, rivers of air known as jet streams
move above us. Several miles wide and 1-2 miles deep, these
currents of air can have wind speeds as high as 250 miles per
hour. To contrast, the strongest hurricanes have wind speeds
between 150-200 miles per hour.
■ Fire
■ A bolt of lightning is about 5,000 °F (~2,800 °C).
■ The center of the Sun is about 27 million degrees Fahrenheit
(15 million °C)
 Elements combined

■ When hydrogen burns in the air, water is formed.

■ Oxygen is the most abundant element in the Earth's crust, waters, and
atmosphere (about 49.5%).
■ Sound travels about 4 times faster in water than in air.
■ Wind and water both cause erosion to the earth, moving large amounts
of sand and rock to tear down mountains and build new structures.
ACTIVITY…
■ Each group has 4-5 members
■ Do the activity at home video yourself while experiment is ongoing

CRITERIA
Correctness (Procedure) 10
Video is clear and with good audio 10
Resourcefulness 10
Answer is valid and reliable 10
Timeliness 10
Make a Fire Extinguisher

In order to put out a fire, one of three things must be removed from it: heat, fuel, or oxygen. Knowing this,
firefighters don’t always use water to put out a fire.
What You Need:

Empty soda bottle

5 tablespoons of vinegar
1/2 tablespoon of baking soda
Tea light candle

What You Do:

Light the candle.

Pour the vinegar into the bottle and add the baking soda. (You may want to use a funnel.) The mixture
should fizz.
Hold the bottle sideways over the lighted candle, making sure no liquid escapes
■ .What happens to the flame?
■ Make an evaluation of what you have observed during the activity. Write the
observations in order.
Put in 1 whole yellow pad (per group)
Traveling Nutrients
Water is often called the Universal Solvent because it can dissolve more substances than any other liquid, often carrying these
dissolved particles with it. When water travels through soil, nutrients (food) and dissolved particles travel with the water to be
deposited somewhere else. Here is an experiment to visually demonstrate how this process happens.
What You Need:
1/2 cup dry soil
1/2 teaspoon blue powdered tempera paint
Funnel
Wide-mouthed jar (that the funnel can rest in)
Coffee filter
Cups or containers
Water
Measuring cup

What You Do:

Mix the dry soil and tempera paint thoroughly. Place the funnel in the jar and place the coffee filter in the funnel. Pour the soil
mixture into the funnel.
Slowly pour 1/2 cup water into the funnel, watching as the water runs out of the funnel into the jar. Notice the color of the water.
Remove the funnel from the jar and pour the water into a cup or container. Replace the funnel over the jar, with the coffee filter
full of sand still in place.
Repeat steps 2 and 3 with a fresh 1/2 cup of water several times, saving the water in a new cup after each pouring.