Chemistry Tutorial: Chemical Elements (2-2)

The chemistry tutorial video pulls apart the 92 chemical elements into their atoms and puts them back together to form other more complex substances in the Universe.
These rearrangements of atoms between elements and more complex substances is repeated to show how our world can be transformed from a state of simplicity to complexity, and then in reverse.
The difference between the tiny world of atoms which we cannot see- the microscopic world- is contrasted to the large scale world of objects that we can see and touch- the macroscopic world.
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About Atomic School:
Atomic School supports the teaching of Atomic Theory to primary school & science students.
We provide lesson plans, hands-on classroom resources, demonstration equipment, quizzes and a Teacher's Manual to primary school teachers. Animated videos that clearly explain the scientific ideas supports learning by both teachers and students. As a teacher, you don't have to look anywhere else to implement this program.
Our work has been verified by science education researchers at the University of Southern Queensland, Dr Jenny Donovan and Dr Carole Haeusler, who confirm that primary students are capable of learning much more complex scientific concepts than previously thought, and crucially, that they love it. Students run to class!
The program has been trialed in Australian schools as well as schools in the Philippines, Iran and India. It is conducted as holiday workshops at the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, the Queensland Museum as well as the World Science Festival.
It has attracted wide media interest, including TV, radio and print, and the research data has been presented at prestigious American Education Research Association and Australian Science Education Research Association conferences.
Atomic Theory underlies all the other sciences- genetics, electronics, nanotechnology, engineering and astronomy- so an early understanding will set them up for a more successful learning sequence for all their science subjects, and support their mastery of mathematics as well. We also have extension programs that cover Biology, Physics and Astronomy to an equal depth.
About Ian Stuart (Email: [e-mail]):
The founder of Atomic School, Ian Stuart, taught Chemistry and Physics for 25 years at senior levels before he realized that his 8-year old son, Tom, could understand Atomic Theory at a much deeper level than he expected. After visiting Tom's class at school, he discovered that his peers could also grasp the abstract scientific concepts, as well as apply it usefully to the real world.
Ian then developed a program to teach the advanced concepts of high school Chemistry, Physics and Biology to students 10 years younger than they normally would. He found that this engaged their interest in modern science early, and sustained it through to high school and beyond. It also sets them up for future success in their academic and career paths.
Ian has a Bachelor's Degree in Chemistry from the University of Queensland and a Master's degree in Electrochemistry from the University of Melbourne.
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Video transcript:
In this video, we're going to pull atoms apart and put them back together a few times. We'll start with the 92 substances that we saw in the last video, each made from only one kind of atom. That means that they're all elements. Can you recognise any names? Can you say any?
Now, if we pulled all 92 elements apart into their atoms, we could put them back together in different combinations to make everything in the universe again, including the things on the desk from before. Let's make their atoms big enough to see again.
Except for one, they're now made from more than one kind of atom, so they aren't elements any more. But we can turn them back into elements by putting their atoms into separate piles again- wood's atoms can be put into 3 element piles, hydrogen, carbon and oxygen. Glass into 2, and water also into 2 piles.
These new atom piles are also substances that we can see and touch. They're as simple as possible, because they can't be separated any more into any more kinds of atoms. That makes them elements again.
Copper is the only one of the original substances that is already as simple as it can get. When we pull copper's atoms apart and put them back together, we make copper again. Copper is already an element because it's made of only one kind of atom.
When scientists discovered that copper WAS made of only one kind of atom, they named them "copper atoms", not surprisingly.
From then on, the word "copper" could be used for either an atom of copper, or the substance, copper.