Day 1: Atoms

WELCOME! Introductions and about this class.

Question 1

You have a cup of water and pour half of it out. Then you pour out half of what's left. And again. Can you (in theory) keep doing this forever? Asked another way: is there a smallest piece of water?

Mini lecture on the idea of a "smallest piece" and how we might look for it.

Question 2

You drop some dye into the water. What can explain what happens next? What does the movement of the dye imply about the movement of the pieces of water?

Mini lecture on the fact that these pieces are moving and have space between them.

Question 3

Examine these blobs of liquid (water and ethanol). What properties of the small pieces could account for the differences?

Lecture on the properties of the smallest pieces and how they interact.

Question 4

You leave a cup of water outside on a hot day and notice, when you come back, that some of the water is gone. Where did it go? Is it still water?

Lecture on physical changes/phase changes.

Question 5

You water your crops and they take in water. Where does the water go now? Is it still water?

Lecture on the mutability of some "smallest" pieces (compounds) and the immutability of others (elements).

Question 6

Things that have mass... things that don't... can mass ever disappear?

Lecture on conservation laws -- the ability to find an answer to the question: Where did it go?

Afternoon task:

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