The complexity of atoms, for kids, is made super simple in this unit, which traces them from their smallest components – quarks – through how they become elements, and delves into the transfer of energy between atoms.
What is so small that millions of them can fit on the head of a pin? No, it’s not angels – it’s atoms! Our world as we know it is broken down into its tiniest components in Atoms. For kids wondering what we are all made of, this issue fits the bill. Start your investigation by breaking down an atom into its even smaller particles: electrons. Even before the invention of electron microscopes, brilliant thinkers – like Democritus in Ancient Greece and Ernest Rutherford in the early 20th century – knew there was something more to matter than what the eye can see. Follow their search inward, and the searches of scientists after them, ending with – surprise! – an even smaller particle than the atom, the quark.
Read on to get an elementary view of – what else?– the elements, which are composed of clumps of identical atoms. Kids can then get answers to some of their common questions, such as: Why does a light bulb glow? And why is fire orange? (Hint: it all has to do with the energy of electrons.) Next up, it’s the periodic table; make sure to look closely for elements named after people, countries and even towns. The power of fission and fusion is dissected, along with nuclear energy and the lasers we encounter everywhere in daily life. Atoms, for kids, have never been more understandable.
8 Topics in this unit
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The Parts of an Atom
“Atom.” The word comes from the Greek a-tomos, meaning “indivisible.&rdq ...
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Major Discoveries About the Atom
Our understanding of atoms dates back to the Greek philosopher Democritus. Around 530 B.C. ...
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The Elements
Imagine burnt toast. The black particles you can scrape off the bread are actually clumps ...
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Atoms Explain Common Phenomena
Why do light bulbs glow? Why are the flames of fires different colors? How can scientists ...
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The Periodic Table
Just as the products in a supermarket are organized by similarities—cereals in one s ...
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Fission and Fusion
Consider the chair you are probably sitting on. The food you eat. The juices you drink. Ea ...
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Pros and Cons of Nuclear Energy
Why aren’t we building more nuclear power plants?
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A Laser World
In some ways, laser light is like every other kind of light. It is the result of atoms&rsq ...
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