So now you know the definition of an atom..but that's far from having knowledge of an atom! Atoms are extremely important structures that make up all of the materials on earth. Atoms are in our bodies and they bond together to form molecules, which make up matter.
Matter is any substance that takes up space, meaning it has mass and volume. The three main forms of matter are solid, liquid, or gas.
The Atomic Theory
In the history of atoms we will go more in depth about Dalton's atomic theory. But as an introduction, the Atomic Theory was a theory that justified the idea that all matter is made up of atoms. This means that mostly anything in the world is made up of atoms.
Atomic Bonding
In order to create the matter that exists on the earth, atoms must be held together by something. The atraction that keeps atoms bonded to each other is called chemical bonding.Chemical bonding keeps atoms together by the postive charge from one atom and the negative charge from another forcing together. The positive charge comes from the nucleus of an atom and the negative charge comes from the electron cloud of another atom. The bond of two atoms isn't the atoms themselves, but the force between them. The four main, most common types of bonding are molecular covalent, network covalent, ionic, and metallic.
Covalent Bonding: Covalent bonds occur when atoms bond together by sharing electrons. The two types of covalent bonding are
Molecular Covalent: These bonds are created by nonmetal atoms and they are either gases or liquids. Molecular covalent bonding occurs when atoms share valence eltectrons between each other. As a ressult of sharing valence electrons, a molecule is created. These types of bonds do not conduct electricity, and they may or may not dissolve in water.
Network Covalent:These bonds are created by nonmetal atoms just like molecular covalent bonding, but they are made of solids. Instead of the valence electrons being shared between the atoms, in network covalent bonding the electrons are shared amongst the entire atoms. These types of bonds do not conduct electricity, nor do they dissolve in water.
Ionic Bonding:Ionic bonds are metal and nonmetal atoms joined together and they form solids. Ionic bonding occurs when the
nonmetal atom receives valence electrons from the metal atom due to the transportation of valence electrons. Ionic bonds dissolve in
water, and once dissolved they can conduct electricity.
Metallic Bonding: Metallic bonds are created by metal atoms and they form solids. Metallic bonds occur when valence electrons
have the ability to move around the atoms and the bond. Metallic bonds can conduct electricity, but they cannot dissolve in water.
The Importance of Atoms
In the most simple terms, without atoms there would not be a functioning world. Atoms make up matter, and matter makes up everything in the world, with a few exceptions. Here are some examples of how atoms affect the world:
-Oxygen atoms are in the air and keep up alive because we need oxygen in order to breathe
-Carbon dioxide atoms are released from our bodies and plants take in the CO2 so that they can photosynthesize
-Hydrogen atoms and oxygen atoms bond togther to form H2O which is water. Water is so important in the world because it has a
multitide of uses (drinking, cleaning, cooking, transportation). Without water we would not survive.
-Lead atoms bond together and they make up the lead that we use as a pencil.
-Copper atoms, aluminum atoms, nickel atoms, etc., all make up metal which is used for a variety of things in everyday life.
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