 If matter can be separated, it is a mixture.  From there, if the composition is uniform, it is a homogeneous mixture (solution)  If the composition is not uniform, it is a heterogeneous mixture.

 Back to the beginning, if your matter cannot be physically separated, it is a pure substance.  From there, if it can be chemically decomposed, it is a compound.  If not, it is an element.

 Matter is everything made up of atoms  Everything you touch is made of matter  Your skin  Your wall  Your cell phone  The cash you get when working scandalously at late hours of the night (just kidding. But it really is made of matter.)

 Atoms are the smallest particle of an element that still has the properties of that element  You probably think you know what atoms are, that they’re somehow related to molecules or something (at least that’s what I knew from watching The Magic School Bus)  But I didn’t know…

 Atoms ARE related to molecules. But we’re not quite there yet.  The center of an atom is its nucleus  The nucleus contains protons, which have a positive charge, and neutrons, which have a neutral charge.  These are the two heavy subatomic particles in an atom.

 Scientists have found over 100 different types of atoms, or elements, in this context.  Atoms are what make matter  They are what make things what they are-the reason you can tell paper from metal, so on and so fourth.

 Molecules, like pretty much everything else ever, are made up of atoms  Atoms bond together through a fancy process involving ions, and voila. Molecules.

 A molecule is an electrically neutral group of at least two atoms in a definite arrangement held together by very strong covalent bonds  (Covalent means chemical in this context)

 Molecules store energy through ions  An ionic bond is some of what makes up a molecule.  Enzymes are also fun.  They are large molecules that help correct chemical reactions that take place

 Magnetic energy is one type of energy  As are heat  Light  Electrical  Solar  Nuclear  Mechanical  Chemical  Heat  And friction

 Energy in friction is how heat is created with friction and how you would get something like a rugburn.

 Energy can be converted and conserved, but never created or destroyed.  This is how we have electricity

 Potential energy is exactly what it sounds like- energy that has yet to be put into action, energy that is in store.  A roller coaster before it goes down a big hill has a lot of potential energy. The previous picture depicted not potential, but kinetic energy.

 Kinetic energy is active energy, as shown in the pretty picture.  energy cannot be created or destroyed.  It is either potential or kinetic.  It can only be transferred

 When energy needs in a human are high, work may then be done  When they are low, the body is usually sleeping or at rest.  Like in a coma.  But that’s not funny.

 Energy and matter are incorporated into all biological systems  You need energy to get energy-understand the circle of life. 

 It never hurts to watch The Lion King.  Energy and matter are in all plants and organisms  Look at photosynthesis-

 Photosynthesis is a process through which plants, some types of bacteria, and algae use light energy from the sun and synthesize bigger molecules, more full of energy.  It uses only certain wavelengths of light  And involves absorbtion of heat into energy  Conversion of light energy into chemical energy  And storage of potential energy in carbohydrates.

 Not only are matter and energy part of the circle of life, which makes up the Earth as it is today  But they also effect the Earth!  Matter piles up.

 See that?  Not a pretty picture.  That is all of our matter piling up in a landfill, which will take hundreds of years after we are gone to decompose.  Some styrofoam may be here as long as the Earth is here.

 Each person produces about 4.3 pounds of garbage in a day  This is serious stuff  That’s not to mention problems like global warming, which are the effect of….  Matter and energy!!  Well and humans.

 Global warming. It is real  And it is no fun  Warming is destroying ecosystems worldwide that you and other people depend on  Global warming has changed precipitation patterns around the world, disrupting traditional agricultural practices that you and the rest of the world depend on to live

 Still not fun.  Climate-related deaths will double in 25 years according to a 2005 report from the World Health Organization.  There has been a 20 Percent increase of America's carbon dioxide emissions from the burning of fossil fuels since 1990.

 Humans created or misused the matter and the energy that is creating every single world problem today.  That’s not the matter’s fault  And it’s not the energy’s fault  It’s not even the atoms’ fault.  It’s ours.

 So don’t get your panties in a knot, but this could be the future if we don’t do something about it.  Seriously.  I know we’re only human, but that means we have…  MATTER!!  AND ENERGY!!  So make it snappy, kids.

 So we have matter and energy  And atoms and molecules  And the Earth and its current (but not permanent) inhabitants. Us.  Use your matter and your energy and your atoms and molecules and all your little systems  Make our spaceship a better place