Unit Question

How do new substances form?

Chapter 1

Question: What is the reddish-brown substance in the water?

Investigations Questions: 

• How can you tell one substance from another? (1.3)

• Why do different substances have different properties? (1.4, 1.5, 1.6)

Key Concepts:

• Different substances have different properties. (1.3)

• Things that are too small (or too large) to see can be studied with models. (1.5)

• Substances have different properties because they are made of different groups of atoms. These groups vary in the type or number of atoms that make up the group. (1.6)

• Groups of atoms repeat to make up a substance. (1.6)

Chapter 2

Question: How did the rust form?

Investigations Questions: 

• Can substances change into different substances? (2.1)

• How do substances change into different substances during chemical reactions? (2.2, 2.3)

Key Concepts:

• During a chemical reaction, one or more starting substances (reactants) change into one or more different substances (products). (2.1)

• During a chemical reaction, atoms do not change from one type to another. (2.2)

• During a chemical reaction, atoms rearrange to form different groups of atoms. (2.2)

Chapter 3

Question: What was produced during the reaction between the iron pipes and the fertilizer?

Investigations Questions: 

• What happens to atoms during a chemical reaction? (3.1, 3.2, 3.3)

Key Concepts:

• During a chemical reaction, all of the atoms that make up the reactants rearrange to form the products. (3.2)

• During a chemical reaction, atoms cannot be created or destroyed. (3.3)

Chapter 4: Science Seminar

Question: Who might have used the unknown substance to steal the diamond?