Atoms and Molecules: 1
Atoms and Molecules
Have you ever built something from building blocks or Legos? You
used small blocks of different shapes and sizes to make something bigger.
Atoms and molecules are the same thing. They are the building blocks that
make up all the things we see and feel around us.
The smallest drop of water you can get and still have it be water is
called a molecule. If you break it up anymore, it won’t be water anymore,
just like if you break a cup of ice water into ice, water, and a cup, and then
took away the ice and cup, it isn’t a cup of ice water. Molecules must be very
small, because all you can see is water, right? Right!
As small as molecules are, they can still be broken up into smaller
pieces called atoms. There are lots of different kinds of atoms. Imagine
having a large tub of building blocks. There are all different kinds of
blocks- different sizes, colors, and shapes. These atoms go together in all
kinds of different ways to make molecules. When you get enough molecules
together, you have something you can see, like water.
TRY THIS QUICK EXAMPLE: Take the index card from your kit and cut it
in half. Then cut one piece in half, then cut another piece in half, and so on
and so on. If you could cut the paper into small enough pieces you would get
down to a molecule and then if you could keep cutting you would get an atom.
Here are the activities we’ll do as we investigate atoms and molecules:
1. A quick example (see above)
2. States of Matter
3. Let’s Make a Molecule!
4. What A Change Cold Makes
5. What Is That Goop??
6. Molecules On The Move
The experiment kit contains:
1. An index card
2. A black sipper stick and 2 colors of modeling clay
3. 3 plastic bags and a glow-in-the-dark ball
4. 3 balloons
5. A cup, a craft stick and ¼ cup of cornstarch
6. 2 tea bags
Atoms and Molecules: 2
States of Matter
Atoms and molecules make up something called matter. Matter is the stuff
you see all around you- air, water, paper, just to name a few. They are all
made of something.
So water is matter. Water can be made into ice by making it really cold in
the freezer. You can turn it into steam when you get it really hot in the
shower. What is different about water that is ice and water in your glass
you can drink- they are both water, right? The difference is called the
state of the matter. The ice is a solid, while the water you can drink is a
liquid. The steam you get in the bathroom is a gas.
What you need:
1. An empty cup
2. 3 plastic bags
3. A pencil
4. A ball
What to do:
1. Put the ball in one of the plastic bags and close it. The ball is a “solid.”
2. Put about ¼ cup of water into one of the plastic bags. Water is a
"liquid".
3. Blow air into the third empty baggie and close the bag. Air is a “gas.”
4. Look at each bag, and answer these questions:
Does what is inside the bag-
a. Take up space?
b. Can you see it?
c. Does it have weight? (Is it heavy?)
5. Now open the bags, one at a time, and pour what is inside into the cup.
Does what is inside the bag it keep its shape if you pour it into the
cup? (Be sure to empty the cup after you test each thing!)
6. Use your answers to fill out the chart.
Atoms and Molecules: 3
Properties of Matter
Holds its shape Takes up space I can feel its I can see it
when I pour it in weight
a cup
Solid
Liquid
Gas
What is going on? So why are there different states of matter?
There are different states of matter because the atoms and molecules that
make up the matter are actually moving around. When they got hot, they
move around a lot faster and push each other around. When they cool down,
they slow down, and they can get closer together because they aren’t
pushing so much. A gas has molecules that move around a lot and push each
other around. A liquid has molecules that still move around a lot, but not as
much as a gas. The molecules of a solid don’t move around all that much.
Atoms and Molecules: 4
Let’s Make a Molecule!
There are lots of different kinds of atoms. Just like building blocks, they
join together to make different molecules. Let’s make a molecule of our own.
What you need:
1. 2 colors of modeling clay
2. A brown sipper stick
What to do:
1. With one color of modeling clay, make two balls about the size of nickels.
2. With the second color of clay, make one larger ball- make sure it is
bigger than the other two!
3. Now, cut your sipper stick into two pieces the same size. Put one on each
side of the large ball of clay.
4. Now put a small clay ball on the end of each of the stick pieces coming
out of the large ball. It should look something like this:
You just made a model of a water molecule! Your water molecule has two
different kinds of atoms- called hydrogen and oxygen. A water molecule has
2 hydrogen atoms (the two small balls) and one oxygen atom (the larger ball).
When you get enough of these molecules together, you have a glass of water!
Each type of atom has its own symbol, usually a letter or two from the atoms
name. Scientists use the symbols for hydrogen (H) and oxygen(O) to write
the recipe for water like this: H2 O
This means there are 2 hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom (they just don’t
write the 1).
Atoms and Molecules: 5
What a change cold makes!
What happens if you stop the molecules in a gas from moving around so
much? How can you do that? Let’s find out.
What you need:
1. Water
2. 3 balloons
3. One small empty bowl or cup
What to do:
1. Fill two balloons with water and have a grown-up tie them. Put one
water-filled balloon in a small bowl or cup and put them into the
refrigerator overnight. Put the other one in the freezer for at least
one night.
2. Blow up the last balloon and have a grown-up tie it. Put this balloon in
the fridge too. (This balloon is full of the gas you breathed out, and
that gas has tiny bits of water in it.)
3. What do you think will happen to each balloon overnight?
a. Balloon in the freezer:
b. Balloon with water in the fridge:
c. Balloon with air (gas) in the fridge:
4. After one night, take the balloons out of the fridge and freezer.
What do they look like? How does each one feel?
a. Balloon with water in the freezer:
b. Balloon with water in the fridge:
c. Balloon with air (gas) in the fridge:
5. Compare your predictions with your observations.
Atoms and Molecules: 6
What is that goop??
Not all matter does what we think it should. It isn’t always easy to tell if
something is a liquid, a solid, or a gas. Have you ever turned a liquid into a
solid just by tapping on it? In this experiment you make just such a liquid.
What you need:
• A plastic cup
• 1 craft stick
• ¼ cup of cornstarch
• Water
• Newspaper (a paper bag or a plastic bag are good substitutes)
LAB SAFETY: Do not wash the material you are about to make down
the sink. Throw it in the trash!!
1. Place a sheet of newspaper flat on a table. Put the cup in the middle of
the newspaper. Add ¼ cup of dry cornstarch to the cup. Add about 6
teaspoons (or just 6 spoonfuls) of water to the cornstarch and stir
slowly. Add water slowly to the mixture, with stirring, until all of the
powder is wet.
2. Your goal is to create a mixture that feels like a stiff liquid when you stir
it slowly, but feels like a solid when you tap on it or squish it with your
finger or the craft stick. If your mixture is too liquid, add more
cornstarch. If it is powdery, add water.
3. Scoop or pour the cornstarch mixture into the palm of your hand, then
slowly squeeze it into a ball. As long as you keep pressure on it by rubbing
it between your hands, it stays solid. Stop rubbing, and it “melts” into a
puddle in your palm. Can you think of other tests you can do with it?
Atoms and Molecules: 7
What is happening?
Why does the cornstarch mixture behave like this? Think of a busy
sidewalk. The easiest way to get through a crowd of people is to move slowly
and find a path between people. If you just took a running start and headed
straight for the crowd of people, you would slam into someone and you
wouldn't get very far. This is similar to what happens in the cornstarch
mixture. The solid cornstarch acts like a crowd of people. Pressing your
finger slowly into the mixture allows the cornstarch to move out of the way,
but tapping the mixture quickly doesn't allow the solid cornstarch particles
to slide past each other and out of the way of your finger.
We use the term “viscosity” to describe how easily a liquid can flow. Water,
which has a low viscosity, flows easily. Honey, at room temperature, has a
higher viscosity and flows more slowly than water. But if you warm honey up,
its viscosity drops, and it flows more easily. Most fluids behave like water
and honey- their viscosity depends only on temperature. We call such fluids
“Newtonian,” since their behavior was first described by a very famous
scientist called Isaac Newton. The cornstarch mixture you made is called
“non-Newtonian” since its viscosity also depends on the force applied to the
liquid (your tapping it) or how fast an object is moving through the liquid.
Other examples of non-Newtonian fluids include ketchup, silly putty, and
quicksand. Quicksand is like the cornstarch mixture: if you struggle to
escape quicksand, you apply pressure to it and it becomes hard, making it
more difficult to escape. The recommended way to escape quicksand is to
slowly move toward solid ground; you might also lie down on it, thus
distributing your weight over a wider area and reducing the pressure.
Ketchup is the opposite: its viscosity decreases under pressure. That’s why
shaking a bottle of ketchup makes it easier to pour.
NOTE: Isaac Newton was a member of a science club himself- The Royal
Society of London for the Improvement of Natural Knowledge, or just the
Royal Society. Look him up in your library or on the internet. You will find
out how many neat things he discovered by being interested in math and
science!
Atoms and Molecules: 8
Molecules on the Move
Let’s see what happens when molecules are heated up. We can actually see
the movement of molecules by watching the way a tea bag colors water in a
glass.
What you need:
• 1 clear glass
• 2 tea bags
• A cup of cold water
• A cup of hot water
Prediction: First, answer this question- do molecules move faster or slower
when they are hot? What do you think happens to the movement of
molecules in water when the water is heated?
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
Now test your prediction:
1. Fill a glass half way with cold water. Let it sit on the table a few
minutes until the water seems still.
2. Add one tea bag by gently dropping it into the water. Do not touch the
glass!
3. Time how long it takes for the tea to color the water in the glass. Do
this by counting or by using a clock, watch, or timer.
What happens to the water color- does the tea make a pattern or
color the water all at once?
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
How long did it take for the water to change color?
____________________________________________________
Atoms and Molecules: 9
____________________________________________________
4. Do you think there would be any difference if the water was hot?
____________________________________________________
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5. Try it. Rinse the glass then put some hot water in it. Let it sit on the
table a few minutes until the water seems still.
6. Add the other tea bag. Do not stir or shake the glass.
7. Time how long it takes for the tea to color the water in the glass. Do
this by counting or by using a clock, watch, or timer.
What happens to the water color- does the tea make a pattern or
color the water all at once?
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
How long did it take for the water to change color?
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
CONCLUSION- compare your answers with your prediction
What happens to the movement of molecules in a substance (the
water) when that substance is heated?
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
Atoms and Molecules: 10
Credit where credit is due….
The experiments, discussions, and pictures in this handout were taken or
adapted from the following websites and books:
1. The States of Matter activities were adapted from classroom activities
developed by:
Kathleen Moore O. W. Holmes
2304 N. Cleveland 955 W. Garfield Blvd.
Chicago IL 60614 Chicago IL 60621
(312) 327-8671 (312) 535-9025
Who used these references:
Science on a Shoestring
Scholastic's Big Science: Matter
Here is the website: [Link]
2. What is that goop?? Was only slightly modified from the “lumpy liquids”
experiment ([Link]
written by the master of chemical demonstrations, University of Wisconsin-
Madison Chemistry Professor Bassam Z. Shakhashiri. He shares the fun of
science through home science activities, demonstration shows, videos, and
books. Information about these and other science fun stuff is available
here: [Link] This is a great website!
3. The Molecules on the Move experiment was adapted from D. M. Candelora
(Copyright 1996. All rights reserved. Reproduction for educational use is
encouraged.) It was found at the following website:
[Link]
Special thanks to ORNL for contributing
financial support to Science Club this year!