1. Particles Atoms and Compounds and Molecules, Oh My!

2. (Gas) One Element (A) The Same Element (B) (Solid)

3. This one likes to go round in pairs as a gas (molecules) Another element (B) A mixture of two elements (A and B)

4. Compare it to the mixture of two different elements you drew before This is a COMPOUND of two different elements (A and B) ( not a mixture!)

5. Element, Compound or Mixture ?

6. Element

7. Element, Compound or Mixture ?

8. Element

9. Element, Compound or Mixture ?

10. Mixture

11. Element, Compound or Mixture ?

12. Mixture

13. Element, Compound or Mixture ?

14. Compound

15. Element, Compound or Mixture ?

16. Compound

17. Element, Compound or Mixture ?

18. A mixture of a compound and an element

19. What do we call these things? An Atom 3 Atoms

20. What do we call these things? 6 Atoms which happen to be of 3 different elements

21. What do we call these things? A Molecule Yes, it also happens to be 2 atoms joined together but we don’t call it “2 atoms joined together” we say it is one molecule

22. What do we call these things? A Molecule of a compound 2 molecules of a compound A compound has a definite ratio of atoms, e.g. H 2 O is 2 Hydrogens To 1 Oxygen, always

23. What about when all the atoms are stuck together like in a solid element?

24. This is just a load of atoms in a solid element, it is not a big molecule

25. Finally, just to confuse you even more, science teachers like talking about Particles Particle is just a fancy name for individual things. These individual things could be atoms, molecules, lumps of soil, grains of sand, bits of metal. It doesn’t matter because particle is just a general word which is used when we don’t (or can’t) want to be exact about the type of things being described.

26. A good example of when science teachers use the word particle is when talking about air. Air is a mixture of elements such as oxygen, argon and nitrogen mixed with compounds such as carbon dioxide

27. Some of the elements in air go around as single atoms (such as argon). Or as molecules such as oxygen. Compounds go around as molecules.

28. That’s why we talk about particles because it saves the bother of describing exactly what sort of things they are.