Atoms, elements and compounds
Every substance around you is built from around 100 kinds of atom, combined in patterns represented by neat chemical shorthand.
Part of your national curriculum
- Chemistry: the particulate nature of matter: Understand atoms, elements and compounds, and the use of chemical symbols and formulae
Lesson overview
What you'll learn in this lesson
Understand atoms, elements and compounds, and the use of chemical symbols and formulae
Key learning points
- • Atoms and elements
- • Compounds
- • Symbols and formulae
This lesson at a glance
- 26 minutes
- 14 parts to scroll through
- 3 quick checks
- Marked quiz at the end
- Gentle pace: short sittings with pauses
Words to know
Scroll down — the lesson carries on below
Watch & discover
Part 1 of 14
Watch first
Atoms, elements and compounds
An English teaching video on this topic from James and Chris Science Videos. Watch it, then scroll down for the lesson.
In a nutshell
Understand atoms, elements and compounds, and the use of chemical symbols and formulae
Learning cycle
Part 2 of 14
Learning cycle 1 of 2
Part 1 · Atoms and elements
A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.
Explore the idea
Part 3 of 14
Learn
Atoms and elements
An atom is the smallest part of an element that still has the properties of that element. An element is a substance made of only one type of atom — for example, oxygen (O) or iron (Fe). There are about 118 known elements, listed on the periodic table.
Explore the idea
Part 4 of 14
Learn
Compounds
A compound forms when two or more different elements chemically combine in fixed proportions, creating a new substance with different properties from its elements. Water (H2O) is a compound of hydrogen and oxygen; sodium chloride (NaCl) is a compound of sodium and chlorine.
Quick check
Part 5 of 14
Quick check
What is an element?
Reset break
Part 6 of 14
Pause
That's sitting 1 of 2 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Quick check
Part 7 of 14
Quick check
What does the formula H2O tell you?
Learning cycle
Part 8 of 14
Learning cycle 2 of 2
Part 2 · Symbols and formulae
A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.
Explore the idea
Part 9 of 14
Learn
Symbols and formulae
Each element has a one- or two-letter chemical symbol, for example C for carbon and Mg for magnesium. A chemical formula shows the ratio of atoms in a compound: CO2 means each molecule has 1 carbon atom and 2 oxygen atoms.
Quick check
Part 10 of 14
Quick check
Why is water's formula different from a mixture of hydrogen and oxygen gas?
Challenge round
Part 11 of 14
Game · Sort it
Which of these are true?
Drag each card into the right column. Tap a card first if dragging is fiddly.
True
Not true
Challenge round
Part 12 of 14
Game · Fill the gaps
Finish the sentences
Choose the word that belongs in each gap.
There are about 118 known ____, listed on the periodic table.
Each element has a one- or two-letter ____ symbol, for example C for carbon and Mg for magnesium.
Mastery quiz
Part 13 of 14
Marked quiz
End of lesson quiz: Atoms, elements and compounds
3 questions, marked with the reasoning shown. No timer.
1. What is an element?
2. What does the formula H2O tell you?
3. Why is water's formula different from a mixture of hydrogen and oxygen gas?
Lesson round-up
Part 14 of 14
Lesson round-up
Ready when you are
Quiz score
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Games
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Points this lesson
0
Best run
0 in a row
Luna: 0 out of 3 on the practice checks. Only if you feel up to it — one more?
Ask LunaDo the work
Your written work for this lesson
This is the part you'd do in your book at school. Pick the pieces below, write here or on paper, and photograph anything you draw or work out.
Why the school greenhouse failed
A science club grew tomato plants in the school greenhouse. In June the plants grew well: leaves were dark green and the fruit set quickly. In July the club went away for two weeks and left the greenhouse door shut. When they came back, the leaves were curled and pale and most of the fruit had dropped.
The club had a data logger inside. It showed the temperature reached 46 °C on several afternoons and the soil moisture fell close to zero. The club knew photosynthesis needs light, water and carbon dioxide, and that enzymes in a plant work best in a narrow range of temperature. Above that range the enzymes stop working properly.
The club repeated the summer with the door propped open and a water bottle drip on each pot. Temperature peaked at 31 °C and the plants survived.
Written for Good Learning Co.
Reading questions
- Name the variable the club changed the second time, and one variable they kept the same.
- Explain, using the words photosynthesis and enzymes, why the plants were damaged in July.
- Write a conclusion for the club's report, saying how far the evidence supports it.
Method and results
WritingWrite the aim, what you changed, what you measured and what you kept the same, then record your results in a table.
1 page + results table
Conclusion
WritingExplain what your results show and why, using the scientific words from the lesson. Say how you know you can trust them.
6–8 sentences
Labelled diagram
DiagramDraw the apparatus or the process in pencil, label it fully, and photograph it.
1 labelled diagram
Reading and notes
ReadingRead the lesson text again and write the key ideas in your own words.
Half a page of notes
Saved as you type.
Part 1 of 14 · Watch & discover
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Understand atoms, elements and compounds, and the use of chemical symbols and formulae