Science For The New Learner
Notes By A Student, Info From A Teacher
by: Sharon K Moran


ATOMS

SCIENCE- ATOMS

WHAT IS AN ATOM?
Composition of matter- matter is anything which has weight and occupies space. Matter is all things that we can see feel and smell in our daily living. Chemistry is the study of matter. Matter is the "stuff" around us. In order to understand the properties and reactions of matter, it must be divided into simpler, less complicated complex substances. It is easier to work with the definitions if we start with the smallest pieces and work up to the more complex matters. The development of this approach is called THE ATOMIC THEORY

ATOMIC THEORY OF MATTER HISTORY-
The earliest ideas about matter and atoms were developed by Greek philosophers between 450 and 380 BCE (before the common era). At that time the question under discussion was whether matter had the property of being continuous or discontinuous. This concept can be visualized if you took a pencil and broke off the graphite tip. Then you cut it in half and then cut that in half and continued this process as long as possible. If the matter was continuous then you could keep going and never run out. If the matter discontinued then at some point the dividing process would end when the last particle which could still be called graphite was still remaining and any further division would result in destroying the matter called graphite.

ATOMS
Democritus used the word "atomos" meaning "indivisible" or "un-cuttable" to describe the ultimate building blocks of matter. Atoms result from the repeated division of matter into very tiny permanent bits of matter with definite shape and size. This atom theory was applied in support of the discontinuous matter theory. Since there was no means to prove this theory other philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle argued for the continuous theory of matter. The continuous theory of matter received wide spread support until the 1800's when John Dalton recurved the atom concept to explain certain aspects of chemical reactions. The final division of matter is carbon.

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Tag der Veröffentlichung: 16.09.2010

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