A Journey to the Microscopic World

What are Atoms? Atoms are very tiny particles that form the building blocks for all matter

What Does a Microscope Do? A microscope is used to look at very tiny objects by making them appear larger It is sort of like a telescope or binoculars

Just What Size Is an Atom? Let’s do a little exercise!! What you’ll need A strip of paper A pair of scissors What to do Take your strip of paper and cut it into equal halves Cut one of the remaining pieces of paper into equal halves Repeat!

Just What Size Is an Atom? Cut 1 Pocket Hand 14 cm

Just What Size Is an Atom? Cut 2 Finger Ear 7.0 cm

Just What Size Is an Atom? Cut 3 Watch Mushroom Eye 3.5 cm

Just What Size Is an Atom? Cut 4 Keyboard Key Ring Insect 1.75 cm

Just What Size Is an Atom? Cut 5 Keep going … atoms are much smaller! 0.88 cm

Just What Size Is an Atom? Cut 6 Tiny seeds on top of a Whopper bun 0.44 cm

Just What Size Is an Atom? Cut 7 Keep going … atoms are still much smaller! 0.22 cm

Just What Size Is an Atom? Cut 8 Thread 1.0 mm

Just What Size Is an Atom? Cut 9 It’s too difficult to keep cutting! Let’s just pretend from now on 0.5 mm

Just What Size Is an Atom? Cut 10 The size of one tiny light (pixel) on a computer screen 0.25 mm

Just What Size Is an Atom? Cut 11 Wow, I didn’t think anything was this small! 0.125 mm

Just What Size Is an Atom? Cut 12 A piece of hair 0.06 mm

Just What Size Is an Atom? Cut 13 Our meter has disappeared! ??? 0.03 mm

Just What Size Is an Atom? Cut 14 The width of paper 0.015 mm

Just What Size Is an Atom? Cut 15 We’re not done yet keep cutting! 0.007 mm

Just What Size Is an Atom? Cut 16 Bacteria 0.003 mm

Just What Size Is an Atom? Cut 17 We’re not done yet keep cutting! 0.0015 mm

Just What Size Is an Atom? Cut 18 Water filter 1.0 micron

Just What Size Is an Atom? Cut 19 We’re not done yet keep cutting! 0.5 micron

Just What Size Is an Atom? Cut 20 Tiny wires inside a computer chip 0.25 micron

Just What Size Is an Atom? Cut 21 We’re not done yet keep cutting! 0.13 micron

Just What Size Is an Atom? Cut 22 Virus 0.07 micron

Just What Size Is an Atom? Cut 23 We’re not done yet keep cutting! 0.03 micron

Just What Size Is an Atom? Cut 24 We’re not done yet keep cutting! 0.015 micron

Just What Size Is an Atom? Cut 25 We’re not done yet keep cutting! 0.008 micron

Just What Size Is an Atom? Cut 26 Almost there 5 Cuts left 0.004 micron

Just What Size Is an Atom? Cut 27 Almost there 4 Cuts left 0.002 micron

Just What Size Is an Atom? Cut 28 Almost there 3 Cuts left 0.001 micron

Just What Size Is an Atom? Cut 29 Almost there 2 Cuts left 0.0005 micron

Just What Size Is an Atom? Cut 30 Almost there 1 Cut left 0.00025 micron

Just What Size Is an Atom? Cut 31 H Ca He Atoms !!! Cl C Na O N 0.00013 micron

Periodic Table

How Many Atoms Are In A Person? Around … 8,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 that’s … eight million-million-million-million-thousand atoms Wow!

Molecules are very small objects that are made up of connected atoms What are Molecules? Molecules are very small objects that are made up of connected atoms

What Do Molecules Look Like?

Water H H O H2O

Air Nitrogen N Oxygen O

Sugar

Salt

Plastic

DNA

It depends on whether they are in a solid, liquid, or gas Do Molecules Move? Yes, they sure do! How do they move? It depends on whether they are in a solid, liquid, or gas