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6.PS.1: Matter is made up of small particles called atoms.
Matter has mass, volume and density and is made up of particles called atoms.
Elements are a class of substances composed of a single kind of atom.
Molecules are the combination of two or more atoms that are joined together chemically.
Grade 6 Concepts
Matter is made of atoms, which are particles that are too small to be seen, even with a lightmicroscope. Matter has properties of mass and volume. Mass measures the amount of matter in anobject (e.g., a wood block) or substance (e.g., water), and volume measures the three-dimensionalspace that matter occupies. Mass can be measured with a balance. The volume of solids can bedetermined by water displacement or calculated from the dimensions of a regular solid.Equal volumes of different substances usually have different masses. Some materials, like lead or gold,have a lot of mass in a relatively small space. Other materials, like packing peanuts and air, have asmall mass in a relatively large amount of space. This concept of comparing substances by the amountof mass the substance has in a given volume is known as density. While the mass and volume of amaterial can change depending upon how much of the material there is, the density generally remainsconstant, no matter how much of the material is present. Therefore, density can be used to identify amaterial. Mass vs. volume graphs can be constructed and interpreted to determine which material hasthe greater density. Mathematical calculations of density are not the focus at this grade level andshould be delayed until students have a conceptual understanding of density.
An element is a chemical substance that cannot be broken down into simpler substances. There areapproximately 90 different naturally occurring elements that have been identified. There are additionalelements that were made in a laboratory, but these elements are not stable. All atoms of any oneelement are alike but are different from atoms of other elements. Atoms of elements can join togetherto form molecules.
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