MOLECULES MATTER

Molecules Matter

Atom – the smalles building block of matter

Molecule – two or more atoms connected together

We will represent atoms and molecules with circles for the time being.

What do you think the study of chemistry might be about? Chemistry is the study of matter and what

matter does. What are the three common types of

matter on Earth? Solid, liquid, and gas

What are some examples of matter? Matter is often defined as anything that has

mass and takes up space.

Does water have mass, and does it take up space? A bucket of water is pretty heavy to lift. So

it definitely has mass. It also takes up space in the bucket. Since water has mass and takes up space,

water is matter.

In chemistry we want to look deeper and find out more about what matter is made of and how it acts.

Get out the Molecules Matter Activity Sheet

Complete the activity and what did you observe sections.

You will have 15 minutes to complete this activity.

The water beads up on the wax paper and stays together when the wax paper is tilted and when the drop is moved around with a straw.

It is difficult to separate the drop into two drops.

When the drops touch, they combine quickly and easily.

Watch the Water Molecules in Motion Demonstration

The drops of food coloring slowly move and mix into the water. Eventually all the water in the cup will be evenly colored.

How do your observations support the idea that water molecules are moving?

The drop of food coloring mixes into the water because the water molecules move and push the color in all directions.

The molecules of food coloring themselves are also in motion.

Complete the demonstration portion of the activity sheet.

Let’s watch this animation of molecules in liquid water.

The little balls represent the particles of a liquid, in this case water molecules.

Make sure to focus on the motion of the molecules, how they interact, and their distance from one another.

Molecules of a liquid are in motion but they are attracted to each other. This is why they move past each other but don’t get very far apart.

Now you are going to draw your own model of water on the molecular level like the one on the next slide on your activity sheet.

Molecules Matter

The molecules are not any exact order but are near each other.

They have little curved “motion lines” to show that the molecues are moving.

This diagram shows water molecules enormously bigger than they actually are.

Watch the following video clip to see an example of how water molecules are attracted to one another.

Now you need to complete number 7, 8, and 9 on your activity sheet.