S1 lessons on elements, atoms, the periodic table, metals, compounds and extracting metals. Tap a lesson to open it.
Elements are the simplest substances. There are over 100 different elements. Each element is made up of very tiny particles called atoms, and each element is made up of just one particular type of atom which is different from the atoms in every other element.
The diagram below shows the abundance (how much there is) of some of the elements in the human body. Convert this information into a bar graph.
Elements are arranged in a table called the periodic table. Every element has its own atomic number. Elements are arranged in the Periodic Table in order of their Atomic Number. Each element is represented by a chemical symbol. There are over 100 known elements.
Copy the table below into your jotter.
Fill in the table using the display of elements and your copy of the periodic table.
| Element Name | Element Symbol | Appearance |
|---|---|---|
Click the picture of the interactive periodic table below.
The interactive periodic table can be used to find out more information about the elements you have been looking at.
The symbol for many common elements uses just the first letter of the name, for example H = hydrogen. Other elements use the first two letters, for example Li = lithium.
However, some of the symbols are not always as you might expect, for example Pb = lead
Elements are the simplest substances. There are about 100 different elements.
Each element is made up of very tiny particles called atoms, and each element is made up of just one particular type of atom, which is different to the atoms in any other element.
Gold is an element made up of only gold atoms.
Carbon is an element made up of only carbon atoms.
John Dalton had the first ideas about the existence of atoms over 200 years ago.
However, it is only relatively recently that special microscopes (called electron microscopes) have been invented that can actually 'see' atoms.
Electron microscopes produce images similar to this one. What could it be showing?
The grey blobs are individual lead atoms.
Atoms are very small - they are about 0.00000001 cm wide.
Think about the thickness of a crisp.
The number of atoms you would need to stack up to make the thickness of a crisp, is approximately the same number of crisps you would need to stack up to make the height of Mount Everest!
That's roughly 7 million crisps!
For some time, people thought that atoms were the smallest particles and could not be broken into anything smaller.
Scientists now know that atoms are actually made from even smaller particles known as sub atomic particles. There are three types:
Protons, neutrons and electrons are not evenly distributed in an atom.
The protons and neutrons exist in a dense core at the centre of the atom. This is called the nucleus.
The electrons are spread out around the edge of the atom. They orbit the nucleus in layers called shells.
| Charge | Mass (a.m.u.) | Location | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proton | +1 | 1 | nucleus |
| Electron | -1 | negligible / 0 | shell / orbital |
| Neutron | 0 | 1 | nucleus |
An atom is neutral because the number of protons (+ve) = number of electrons (-ve)
Atomic number gives the number of protons in an atom. In an atom this is also the number of electrons (but not in an ion).
Mass number = protons + neutrons in an atom
Use the steps below and the atom builder to make an atomic structure poster for one of the first 20 elements.
Dmitri Mendeleev created the first modern version of the periodic table in 1869. A few years earlier, John Newlands had noticed 'the law of octaves': every eighth element had similar chemical properties. Mendeleev arranged the elements into groups with similar chemical properties, and left gaps for elements that hadn't been discovered yet.
Columns in the periodic table are known as groups.
Rows in the periodic table are known as periods.
1. John Newlands noticed that there was a gap of how many elements before chemical properties repeated themselves?
2. Who created the first modern version of the periodic table?
3. Where are metal elements found on the periodic table?
4. Where are non-metal elements found on the periodic table?
5. Which elements are liquids?
Elements are arranged in the Periodic Table in Groups (columns). Elements in the same group have similar chemical properties.
Other ways of classifying elements are as:
The alkali metals, halogens and noble gases have been highlighted in the copy of the Periodic Table below.
Update your copy of the periodic table from Lesson 1 to show this.
Remember:
Group 1 = alkali metals
Group 7 = halogens
Group 8/0 = noble gases
Copy the table below into your notes.
| Element | Conductor or insulator? |
|---|---|
Collect the equipment below
Watch the clip below and answer the questions that appear throughout it.
Watch the clip and answer the questions that appear throughout the video.
Collect the equipment below:
The clip below shows the properties of malleability and ductility.
Watch your teacher demonstrate ductility.
Metals are said to be malleable. This means that they can be beaten into shape. You can test this with a coin and some aluminium foil. You should be able to press the foil over the coin. This will imprint the design of the coin onto the foil. This demonstrates malleability.
Metals are also ductile. This means that they can be stretched out into wires.
Elements are materials made up of one type of atom only.
The element, hydrogen, exists as molecules.
Each hydrogen molecule is made up of two hydrogen atoms joined together.
Compounds contain two or more different types of atom.
The compound, water, exists as molecules.
Each water molecule consists of two hydrogen atoms joined to one oxygen atom.
A compound has very different properties to the elements from which it is made because the atoms are joined differently.
A compound is made when atoms of different elements react and join together.
For example, water is produced from the chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen.
Two hydrogen molecules react with one oxygen molecule to produce two molecules of water.
Why does water have different properties to its elements?
In lesson 4 we learned that elements in the periodic table are arranged in groups. Group 1 is known as the Alkali Metals.
The alkali metals are soft (can be cut with a knife), are light (float on water) and are very reactive, so they are stored in oil for safety reasons.
Watch the video below to learn about the properties of the Alkali Metals.
Copy the table below into your notes.
| Name | Symbol | Appearance | Reactivity | uses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| fluorine | ||||
| chlorine | ||||
| bromine | ||||
| iodine |
Click on the picture below to take you to the interactive periodic table.
Use the interactive periodic table to find out information about the Halogens and to help you to fill in your table.
Copy this table into your notes
| Name | Symbol | Appearance | Reactivity | uses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| helium | ||||
| neon | ||||
| argon | ||||
| krypton | ||||
| xenon | ||||
| radon |
Click on the picture below to take you to the interactive periodic table.
Use the interactive periodic table to find out information about the Noble Gases and to fill in your table.
The transition metal elements are found in a block in the Periodic Table between Groups 2 and 3. They are all metals, with the typical properties of metals. The transition metals and their compounds have a wide range of uses. Their compounds are often coloured.
Watch the video below about the transition metal elements and their properties.
The transition metal elements have been highlighted in the copy of the Periodic Table below.
Update your copy of the Periodic Table to show the Transition Metal Elements.
Some very unreactive transition metals, like silver, gold and platinum can be found as pure metals in the Earth's crust. However, most transition metals have to be extracted from compounds called ores which are found in rocks and minerals. Metals can be extracted from their ores by:
a) heating the ore with carbon
b) dissolving the ore and passing electricity through it (electrolysis).
Watch the clip below on extracting metals from their ores. Answer the questions that appear throughout the video.
Watch your teacher demonstrate this experiment, then follow the steps below to do the experiment yourself.
Answer the following questions in sentences.
1. What colour was the copper(II) oxide before the experiment?
2. What colour was the copper after the experiment?
3. What signs were there that a chemical reaction had taken place?
Aluminium, calcium, sodium and magnesium are all produced from their compounds by using electricity. A reaction in which electricity is used to break up a compound is called electrolysis.
Watch the clip below on extracting metals by electrolysis. Answer the questions that appear throughout the video.