Atoms Around Us

http://www.chem4kids.com/files/atom_intro.html

If you want to have a language, you will need an alphabet. If you want to build proteins, you will need amino acids. Other examples in chemistry are not any different. If you want to build molecules, you will need elements. Each element is a little bit different from the rest. Those elements are the alphabet to the language of molecules.

Why are we talking about elements? This is the section on atoms.

Let's stretch the idea a bit. If you read a book, you will read a language. Letters make up that language. But what makes those letters possible? Ummm... Ink? Yes! You need ink to crate the letters. And for each letter, it is the same type of ink.

Confused? Don't be. Elements are like those letters. They have something in common. That's where atoms come in. All elements are made of atoms. While the atoms may have different weights and organization, they are all built in the same way. Electrons, protons, and neutrons make the universe go.

If you want to do a little more thinking, start with particles of matter. Matter, the stuff around us, is used to create atoms. Atoms are used to create the elements. Elements are used to create molecules. It just goes on. Everything you see is built by using something else.

You could start really small...
- Particles of matter
- Atoms
- Elements
- Molecules
- Macromolecules
- Cell organelles
- Cells
- Tissues
- Organs
- Systems
- Organisms
- Populations
- Ecosystems
- Biospheres
- Planets
- Planetary Systems with Stars
- Galaxies
- The Universe
.And finish really big.

Wow. All of that is possible because of atoms.