PARTICLES OF MATTER
Use pages 453-457 and pages #30-32 in your binder to answer these questions
1. The painting style by Georges Seurat on page 453 is called pointillism. Why is this
painting style a good analogy of how we view the world?
The world at the atomic level is fuzzy like the dots in pointillism paintings. In fact at the
atomic level particle positions and energies can never be known precisely.
2. What are atoms? Who was the first documented person to think of the idea of the
atom? How old is his idea? What did Democritus call the smallest particle? What
does this Greek word mean?
Atoms are the smallest indivisible pieces of matter; Democritus; over 2000 years old;
atomos; indivisible or uncuttable
3. What are the 5 main characteristics of atoms that Dalton found? Have scientists found
any exceptions to Dalton’s ideas.
Atoms can’t be broken into individual pieces, in any element all the atoms are exactly
alike, atoms of 2 or more elements can combine to form compounds, atoms of each
element have a unique mass, masses of elements in compounds are in a constant ratio;
yes
4. What is a molecule? What is a chemical bond. How many atoms are in a molecule of
water? Which is bigger a protein molecule or a molecule of water? What is the
molecular formula for water?
Smallest piece of a compound, it is when 2 or more individual atoms chemically
combine; electrons shared or swapped between atoms; 3; protein; H2O
5. How many atoms can one molecule contain?
Indefinite number, DNA contains hindered of millions or even a billion + atoms;
6. How many atoms thick is a piece of paper? How many atoms are in one drop of
water (write your answer in scientific notation!)
10,000 atoms thick; 2 x 1021 atoms;
7. What tool is needed to view atoms? What is a scientific model? Why is the particle
model a useful one?
Electron scanning tunneling microscope; something to help us understand a phenomenon
of nature; particle model mimics the nature of the real atom
8. A sample of a compound contains 64 grams of copper and 16 grams of oxygen. What
is the ratio of the mass of copper to the mass of oxygen? If another sample of this
same compound has 40 grams of copper, how much oxygen is in the sample?
4::1; 40/4 = 10 or 4/1 = 40/?, 40 = 4x, x = 10
9. What is the smallest piece of an ice cube?
A molecule of H2O
10. How many naturally occurring elements are there? What is the Table called that
lists all the known atoms? Where are elements 92-113 made? Are they found in
nature?
92; Periodic Table; in labs ; no
11. What is the smallest part of an element, of a compound?
Atom; molecule