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<h2 class="title">The Atom</h2>
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<p>You might have seen many examples of the types of matter and <a data-lesson="materials" data-subject="chemistry" data-tutorial="classification-of-matter" href="https://app.ulearngo.com/chemistry/classification-of-matter/materials">materials</a> that exist around us and we have investigated some of the ways that materials are classified. But what is it that makes up these materials? And what makes one material different from another? In order to understand this, we need to take a closer look at the building blocks of matter — the <strong>atom</strong>. Atoms are the basis of all the structures and <a data-lesson="nitrogen-fixation" data-subject="chemistry" data-tutorial="metals-metalloids-nonmetals" href="https://app.ulearngo.com/chemistry/metals-metalloids-nonmetals/nitrogen-fixation">organisms</a> in the universe. The planets, sun, grass, trees, air we breathe and people are all made up of different combinations of atoms.</p>
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<h2 class="title">Research: Models of the Atom</h2>
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<p>Our current understanding of the atom came about over a long period of time, with many different people playing a role. Conduct some research into the development of at least five different ideas of the atom and the people who contributed to it.</p>
<p>Some suggested people to look at are: JJ Thomson, Ernest Rutherford, Marie Curie, JC Maxwell, Max Planck, Albert Einstein, Niels Bohr, Lucretius, LV de Broglie, CJ Davisson, LH Germer, Chadwick, Werner Heisenberg, Max Born, Erwin Schrodinger, John Dalton, Empedocles, Leucippus, Democritus, Epicurus, Zosimos, Maria the Jewess, Geber, Rhazes, Robert Boyle, Henry Cavendish, A Lavoisier and H Becquerel. You do not need to find information on all these people, but try to find information about as many of them as possible. Make a list of five key contributions to a <a data-lesson="discussion-on-atomic-models" data-subject="chemistry" data-tutorial="chemistry-essential-ideas" href="https://app.ulearngo.com/chemistry/chemistry-essential-ideas/discussion-on-atomic-models">model</a> of the atom and then make a timeline of this information. (You can use an online tool such as Dipity (www.dipity.com) to make a timeline.) Try to get a feel for how it all eventually fit together into the modern understanding of the atom.</p>
<div class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 213px"><img alt="" height="320" src="https://data.ulearngo.com/assets/9b79afd8-8a8c-4737-8c61-29576136aa64" width="213"/><p class="wp-caption-text">A timeline of atomic theory.</p></div>
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<h2>Optional Video: What are Atoms and Isotopes?</h2>
<p><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/SeDaOigLBTU?rel=0&amp;modestbranding=1&amp;cc_lang_pref=en&amp;cc_load_policy=1" width="640"></iframe></p>
<h2 class="title">Models of the Atom</h2>
<p>It is important to realise that a lot of what we know about the structure of <a data-lesson="chemical-formulas" data-subject="chemistry" data-tutorial="atoms-molecules-ions" href="https://app.ulearngo.com/chemistry/atoms-molecules-ions/chemical-formulas">atoms</a> has been developed over a long period of time. This is often how scientific knowledge develops, with one person building on the ideas of someone else. We are going to look at how our modern understanding of the atom has evolved over time.</p>
<p>The idea of atoms was invented by two Greek philosophers, Democritus and Leucippus in the fifth century BC. The Greek word ατoμoν (atom) means <strong>indivisible</strong> because they believed that atoms could not be broken into smaller pieces.</p>
<p>Nowadays, we know that atoms are made up of a <strong>positively charged nucleus</strong> in the centre surrounded by <strong>negatively charged electrons</strong>. However, in the past, before the <a data-lesson="structure-of-the-atom-2" data-subject="chemistry" data-tutorial="chemistry-essential-ideas" href="https://app.ulearngo.com/chemistry/chemistry-essential-ideas/structure-of-the-atom-2">structure of the atom</a> was properly understood, scientists came up with lots of different <strong>models</strong> or <strong>pictures</strong> to describe what atoms look like.</p>
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<h3>Definition: Model</h3>
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<p>A model is a representation of a system in the real world. Models help us to understand systems and their properties.</p>
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<p>For example, an <em>atomic model</em> represents what the structure of an atom <em>could</em> look like, based on what we know about how atoms behave. It is not necessarily a true picture of the exact structure of an atom.</p>
<p>Models are often simplified. The small toy cars that you may have played with as a child are models. They give you a good idea of what a real car looks like, but they are much smaller and much simpler. A model cannot always be absolutely accurate and it is important that we realise this, so that we do not build up an incorrect idea about something.</p>
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Models of the Atom

Chemistry generally explores the substances of which matter is composed, the investigation of their properties and reactions, and the use of such reactions to form new substances. 

Chemistry

Explore the essential ideas in chemistry, including the scientific method, laboratory skills and safety, states of matter, measurement uncertainty, models of the atom, electronic configurations, and more.


Models of the Atom

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