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What's all the matter? Atoms and molecules
Atoms, elements and molecules. Understanding the building blocks of matter. Created by MIT+K12.
Want to join the conversation?
How many types of atoms are there?(12 votes)
Another word for type of atom is Element. There are 118 different types of elements. We could discover more.(3 votes)
So you can never stop ripping that piece of paper?(4 votes)
does atoms and molucules create the world(2 votes)
Yes, atoms and molecules make up every physical thing in the Universe.(2 votes)
- Thank you for making this video. It was perfect for my daughter. She enjoyed it a lot and wants to see an atom with her new microscope. I only paid $15 for it so I don't think she'll see any atoms. Just how small is an atom? How many times magnification do you need to see one?(2 votes)
An atom is about 0.3 to 3 angstroms (that would be 10^−10 m, one ten-billionth of a metre) you would need to magnify it some 1,000,000 times to see it, so she definitely won't be able to see any atoms with a $15 microscope ;-) There are however plenty of other cool things to look at. Check out this link for some inspiration: http://www.examiner.com/article/50-things-to-look-at-under-a-microscope Have fun!(1 vote)
- Is there a way to measure bond strength?(1 vote)
Yes you want to know? Email me at Jonathan.harman@idahoartscharter.org(1 vote)
- so atoms have different shapes but does it have different texture(1 vote)
- what are the different types of atoms(1 vote)
- Let's say there is a molecule made of two atoms. And the two atoms share only one electron. I do not know if is possible, but we do not care about this right now. What i want to know is how will that electron travel. Surrounding the both nuclei or also passing between them and leaving a infinite-sign like path?
Thanks!(1 vote) - 1 - At what speed (relative to a point on earth) an electron moves while encircling the nucleus of an atom which is stationary (relative to the earth)?
2 - What would happen with the speed of that electron (relative to the earth) if that whole atom will accelerate and will try to leave the earth on a perpendicular path? Will decrease or will stay constant?
Thanks!(1 vote) 
what happens if you split a molecule?(1 vote)
Video transcript
(boppy music) - Hey, Ahmed! - Hey, Liz. - I'm going to teach you
something really cool. Are you ready? - Sure. - Okay, so what I want you to do is I want you to rip this paper in half every time I tell you to. - Okay, great. - Ready? Rip. Ready? Rip. (speedy music) - It's too small. I can't cut it anymore. - No, Ahmed, your
fingers are just too big. No, but you're right. At some point, you wouldn't
be able to rip it anymore. That smallest, unrippable
piece is called an atom. - I'm not quite sure I understand. Can you show me? - Well, and atom is really,
really, really small, so you can't see it with your naked eye, but to help us understand, I brought these blocks. What do you see? - [Ahmed] A bunch of blocks. - [Liz] Are they all the same? - [Ahmed] Yes, each
block has the same parts. - [Liz] Right. Each block is made up of a base and some number of bumps. This is true of every block. In the same way, an atom is made up of a
very specific set of pieces. An atom has a central core and an outer shell. We call the central core
of the atom the nucleus. The outer shell surrounding the nucleus is made of particles called electrons. So, we can represent the atom as a block whose nucleus is the base and electrons are the bumps. - [Ahmed] Okay, so the blocks are atoms. But some of the blocks
looks different from others. Is this true with atoms, too? - [Liz] Yes, and to
make this very obvious, we can organize the blocks by color. See how the ones with the same color have the same size and number of bumps? A block of a certain color is unique and has different properties
compared to other blocks of a different color. This is the same with atoms. There are different atoms, and each type of atom
is called an element, and it is unique and
has its own properties. - [Ahmed] Oh, I get it. - [Liz] But that's not all. The structure of the
atom, just like the block, is also important. Can you see why? - [Ahmed] Well, there are those bumps. - [Liz] And what do you think
it can do with these bumps? - [Ahmed] I guess they'll
let me connect them together. - [Liz] Right. Just like the bumps allow me to connect different blocks together, the electrons allow me to bring together different atoms to make
new, unique combinations. The electrons are shared
between the atoms, and the sharing of
electrons is called a bond. We can bond the blocks together with different number of bumps. The more bumps we use,
the stronger the bond. Here's a bond. Here's a stronger bond. And here's an even stronger bond. This is the same with atoms. There are different bond strengths depending on how many
electrons they share. - [Ahmed] Awesome! Bonding is fun! So is this still called an atom? - [Liz] No. When the atoms bond together they form what is called a molecule. A molecule is just more than
one atom bonded together. - [Ahmed] Wow! I'm learning a lot. - [Liz] But you're not done yet! There are many ways
atoms can come together to form different kinds of molecules. - [Ahmed] This is beginning
to sound complicated. - [Liz] It's okay. Let's recap what we learned. Simply, atoms are building blocks, and molecules are just two or more atoms bonded together. And although we can't
see atoms or molecules, we see and interact with the things that they are made from every day. (jazz music)