What is stuff made of? Exploring matter, atoms and elements | 11–14 years

In this activity, learners watch a simple demonstration and carry out a practical task in small groups to develop their thinking about atoms as a basic unit of matter.

Learning objectives

• Recall that matter is made from atoms
• Compare the size of atoms with small objects that we can see and other objects which are too small to see with the naked eye
• Describe that atoms are the smallest parts of an element and that they retain the properties of that element using observations from a demonstration
• Make deductions about the nature of atoms from a series of observations

Introduction

This resource introduces learners to the idea that all matter is made from tiny particles called atoms. It begins by connecting the concept of matter to learners’ everyday experiences, encouraging them to recognise that everything around them is made up of matter.

The resource then develops the idea that matter is made from atoms, the extremely small building blocks that make up everything in the universe. Because atoms are far too small to see with the naked eye, learners are supported to think about their scale through comparisons with familiar, visible objects as well as other entities that cannot be seen directly but are known to exist. Learners are also introduced to the concept of elements as different types of atoms, each with their own properties.

Through these activities, learners will develop an appreciation of the tiny scale of atoms and begin to build a conceptual understanding of how different atoms combine to form the wide range of materials found in the world around them.

Scaffolding

There are two versions of the student worksheet: scaffolded (two stars) and unscaffolded (one star). The scaffolded sheet offers more support to allow learners to access the questions.

For example, learners are asked to choose from a series of prepopulated answers or to fill in gaps in questions that require longer answers. Some questions have more information to aid learners’ understanding.

Sequence of activities

Introduction and demonstration (slide 3)

Introduce the topic and the purpose of the session, using a 1 kg bag of rice. Ask the students to guess how many grains of rice there are in the bag. After a few suggestions, give a clue – that there are about 1000 grains in 25 g. (1 million grains would be 25 kg, so 1 kg is 1 million / 25 = 40 000.)

Say that rice grains are ‘small’ and ask, ‘how much smaller are atoms?’

Activity 1: It’s a small world! (slide 5)

Ask learners to answer the questions in the ’It’s a small world!’ section of the worksheet. Organise the learners into pairs and support them with prompts as they complete the worksheet. 

After a couple of minutes, invite learners to share their responses to question 1 before giving them the actual answer (the number of hydrogen atoms in 1 cm is 1.35 × 10⁶). Again, give learners time to answer question 3 before displaying the completed table (slide 7). They need this to be able to answer the rest of the questions. Introduce units for measuring small items, in particular the nanometre.

Allow about 15 minutes for the task.

Activity 2: Atomic paper clips

Introduce the next activity, to find out more about what atoms are like. Carry out the demonstration ’Atomic paper clips’.

Allow about 5 minutes for the demonstration.

Give learners time to complete the questions related to the demonstration (slide 9). Allow learners to peer- or self-assess their answers. While they are doing this, reinforce the idea that atoms are very small and retain the property of the element, but the subatomic particles do not.

Allow about 15 minutes to complete the task.

Activity 3: Tasty particles

Introduce the next activity ‘Tasty particles’, which enables learners to find out more about how particles behave. Set the scene by telling learners that they are going to add sugar and lemon juice to water to see how the taste changes. Give each learner the worksheet ‘Tasty particles’ and give each group a set of equipment.

After the practical, allow learners time to complete the follow-up questions (slide 13). When learners are peer- or self-assessing their answers, reinforce the idea that particles can move through water and that not all particles are the same.

Practical notes

Read our standard health and safety guidance and carry out a risk assessment before running any live practical.

Safety and hazards

• The class practical should be completed in a classroom that is not a laboratory. There should be no drinking in a science laboratory.
• Each group may designate a single ‘taster’ if they do not wish to taste from the same cup. Each individual ‘taster’ should have their own straw.

Method

Further preparation and guidance, including a written method of the ‘Atomic paper clips’ demonstration and ’Tasty water’ class practical are given in the technician notes section of the teacher guidance.

Answers

Answers to the follow-up questions for all three activities can be found in the teacher notes and answers.