1. Systems and Scale Unit Activity 2.3 Zooming Into Air
Carbon: Transformations in Matter and Energy
Environmental Literacy Project Michigan State University
Systems and Scale Unit Activity 2.3 Zooming Into Air
Image Credit: Craig Douglas, Michigan State University

2. Unit map
You are here
Use the instructional model to show students where they are in the course of the unit.
Show slide 2 of the 2.3 Zooming Into Air PPT.

3. Does air have mass? Is it empty? OR Is it full?
Photo Credit: Hannah Miller, Michigan State University
Show students Slide 2 of the 2.3 Zooming Into Air PPT. Ask students to discuss what is air made out of, and vote on whether air has mass, and whether air is made of atoms. Note students’ ideas and discuss them as they go through the activity.
Is it full?

4. Zoom into Air Scale: 103 meters = 1000 meters Benchmark Scale
Power of Ten
Decimal Style
Large scale
Larger
Larger 100,000 10,000 1,000
Macroscopic
meter
Microscopic
Atomic-molecular
Smaller
Smaller
Photo Credit: Hannah Miller, Michigan State University
Powers of Ten Graphic Credit: Michigan State University
View slides 4-8 to zoom into air from large scale down to the smallest droplets so students can see air at the macro and micro scales. While zooming in, discuss how each scale is measured, and if you can see each scale with the naked eye.
Note: Slides 4-10 use animations. View in “Presentation Mode” to see the animations.
Scale: 103 meters = 1000 meters

5. Clouds contain air... Zoom into Air Scale: 10-1 meters = 0.1 meters
Benchmark Scale
Power of Ten
Decimal Style
Large scale
Larger
Larger 100,000 10,000 1,000
Macroscopic
meter
Microscopic
Atomic-molecular
Smaller
Smaller
Photo Credit: Hannah Miller, Michigan State University
Powers of Ten Graphic Credit: Michigan State University
View slides 4-8 to zoom into air from large scale down to the smallest droplets so students can see air at the macro and micro scales. While zooming in, discuss how each scale is measured, and if you can see each scale with the naked eye.
Note: Slides 4-10 use animations. View in “Presentation Mode” to see the animations.
Scale: 10-1 meters = 0.1 meters
Scale: 10-2 meters = 0.01 meters
Scale: 100 meters = 1 meters
Scale: 102 meters = 100 meters
Scale: 101 meters = 10 meters
Scale: 103 meters = 1000 meters
Scale: 10-3 meters = meters

6. Clouds contain air... ...and water droplets
Benchmark Scale
Power of Ten
Decimal Style
Large scale
Larger
Larger 100,000 10,000 1,000
Macroscopic
meter
Microscopic
Atomic-molecular
Smaller
Smaller
Photo Credit: Hannah Miller, Michigan State University
Powers of Ten Graphic Credit: Michigan State University
View slides 4-8 to zoom into air from large scale down to the smallest droplets so students can see air at the macro and micro scales. While zooming in, discuss how each scale is measured, and if you can see each scale with the naked eye.
Note: Slides 4-10 use animations. View in “Presentation Mode” to see the animations.
Scale: 10-5 meters = meters
Scale: 10-3 meters = meters
Scale: 10-4 meters = meters

7. Scale: 10-5 meters = 0.001 meters Scale: 10-6 meters = 0.0 001 meters
...and water droplets
Zooming in to the edge of a water droplet
Benchmark Scale
Power of Ten
Decimal Style
Large scale
Larger
Larger 100,000 10,000 1,000
Macroscopic
meter
Microscopic
Atomic-molecular
Smaller
Smaller
Photo Credit: Hannah Miller, Michigan State University
Powers of Ten Graphic Credit: Michigan State University
View slides 4-8 to zoom into air from large scale down to the smallest droplets so students can see air at the macro and micro scales. While zooming in, discuss how each scale is measured, and if you can see each scale with the naked eye.
Note: Slides 4-10 use animations. View in “Presentation Mode” to see the animations.
Scale: 10-5 meters = meters
Scale: 10-6 meters = meters

8. Zooming in to the edge of a water droplet
Showing individual water and air molecules
Benchmark Scale
Power of Ten
Decimal Style
Large scale
Larger
Larger 100,000 10,000 1,000
Macroscopic
meter
Microscopic
Atomic-molecular
Smaller
Smaller
Photo Credit: Hannah Miller, Michigan State University
Powers of Ten Graphic Credit: Michigan State University
View slides 4-8 to zoom into air from large scale down to the smallest droplets so students can see air at the macro and micro scales. While zooming in, discuss how each scale is measured, and if you can see each scale with the naked eye.
Note: Slides 4-10 use animations. View in “Presentation Mode” to see the animations.
Scale: 10-8 meters = meters
Scale: 10-6 meters = meters
Scale: 10-7 meters = meters

9. Showing individual water and air molecules
Water molecules inside the drop
Benchmark Scale
Power of Ten
Decimal Style
Large scale
Larger
Larger 100,000 10,000 1,000
Macroscopic
meter
Microscopic
Atomic-molecular
Smaller
Smaller
…. we still see water!
Photo Credit: Hannah Miller, Michigan State University
Powers of Ten Graphic Credit: Michigan State University
Use Slides 9-10 to continue to zoom down to the atomic-molecular scale. Ask students if this matched their initial ideas about what air is made out of.
Note: Slides 4-10 use animations. View in “Presentation Mode” to see the animations.
Scale: 10-8 meters = meters
Scale: 10-9 meters = meters

10. Atomic-molecular Scale
Different kinds of molecules in air
Benchmark Scale
Power of Ten
Decimal Style
Large scale
Larger
Larger 100,000 10,000 1,000
Macroscopic
meter
Microscopic
Atomic-molecular
Smaller
Smaller
Oxygen O2
Water H2O
Molecules Credit: Craig Douglas, Michigan State University
Powers of Ten Graphic Credit: Michigan State University
Use Slides 9-10 to continue to zoom down to the atomic-molecular scale. Ask students if this matched their initial ideas about what air is made out of.
Note: Slides 4-10 use animations. View in “Presentation Mode” to see the animations.
Carbon dioxide CO2
Nitrogen N2
Atomic-molecular Scale

11. What’s in our atmosphere’s air?
Show students Slides 11-15, which are about atoms and molecules in air.
Show students slide 11 and compare percentages of gases in air. Explain to students that even though they are very important, CO2 and water vapor make up only a very small portion of the molecules in air. Tell students that Argon (Ar) is an inert gas - one of the few elements whose atoms do not bond to other atoms in molecules. Ask students if this matches their ideas about what air is made out of.

12. What is the difference between an atom and a molecule?1.
Oxygen 2.
Carbon dioxide 3.
Argon 4.
Nitrogen 5. 6.
Hydrogen 7.
Carbon 8. 9.
Water
Credit: Craig Douglas, Michigan State University
Display slide 12. Ask students to write the letter of each image in the either the “atoms” or “molecules” column. Then have them check their answers with a neighbor. Accommodation: Do this activity as a class discussion. Ask students what they think and place the letter into the two categories.
Check for understanding. Ask students if the word “nitrogen” refers to an atom, molecule, or both.
Ask students: “What is the difference between a nitrogen atom and a nitrogen molecule?”

13. Atoms and Molecules in Air
Oxygen molecules (O2) are made of 2 oxygen atoms
Nitrogen molecules (N2) are made of 2 nitrogen atoms
Water molecules (H2O) are made of 2 hydrogen and 1 oxygen atom
Carbon dioxide molecules (CO2) are made of 1 carbon and 2 oxygen atoms
Use slide 13 to discuss the four key molecules in air: N2, O2, H2O, and CO2, explaining both structures and formulas. Tell students that the four key atoms that are involved in carbon-transforming processes are: C (carbon), H (hydrogen), O (oxygen), and N (nitrogen). Describe how each of the key molecules in air is made of atoms bonded together.

14. Three Facts about Atoms
Atoms last forever (except in nuclear changes).
Atoms make up the mass of all materials.
Atoms are bonded to other atoms in molecules.
Show students Slide 14 and tell students that they will need to remember these three facts about atoms in all Carbon TIME units.
Tell students that nuclear changes include reactions at nuclear power plants and changes that occur in the interior of the sun, but do not happen to common atoms on the Earth’s surface. In Carbon TIME units we treat “weight” and “mass” as equivalent.

15. Apply the Three Facts About Atoms to Air
Atoms last forever (except in nuclear changes).
Will the carbon atoms that exist today in CO2 still be carbon atoms in a million years?
Will the CO2 molecules that exist today still be CO2 molecules in a million years?
Use slides to ask students to apply the facts about atoms to air. Ask students to write down their answers to the questions on the back of their T-chart, and then discuss their ideas in groups.

16. Apply the Three Facts About Atoms to Air
2. Atoms make up the mass of all materials.
Does air have mass?
Use slides to ask students to apply the facts about atoms to air. Ask students to write down their answers to the questions on the back of their T-chart, and then discuss their ideas in groups.

17. Apply the Three Facts About Atoms to Air
3. Atoms are bonded to other atoms in molecules.
What are some important atoms in air?
What are some important molecules in air?
Use slides to ask students to apply the facts about atoms to air. Ask students to write down their answers to the questions on the back of their T-chart, and then discuss their ideas in groups.

18. Check Your Understanding
Do you think that people are made of atoms? Do the three facts about atoms apply to the atoms that we are made of?
Do you think that ethanol is made of atoms? Do the three facts about atoms apply to the atoms that ethanol is made of?
Do you think that flames contain atoms? Do the three facts about atoms apply to the atoms in flames?
Use Slide 18 to ask students questions to make sure they understand that the facts about atoms apply to all materials, including the materials that people and other living organisms are made of.
Ask students whether they think that people are made of atoms.
Ask whether the three facts about atoms apply to the atoms that we are made of. Many students believe that living things in general and people in particular are “special,” not made of just ordinary atoms like non-living materials.
Ask students if they think that ethanol is made of atoms. Have students recall the lesson where they watched ethanol burn.
Ask students if the three facts about atoms apply to the atoms that ethanol is made of.
Ask students if these facts apply to ethanol when it is burned.
Ask students whether they think that flames contain atoms.
Ask students if the three facts about atoms apply to the atoms in flames. Use this question to assist students in making the connection between matter and energy.