Exploring the Building Blocks of Matter: How Small Are Atoms?

Atoms are incredibly small, invisible to the naked eye and even to microscopes. To illustrate their size, a piece of paper's thickness is made up of thousands of atoms. A small coin contains billions of atoms. Atoms can join to form molecules, such as water, which consists of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom. A single drop of water contains trillions of molecules, highlighting the vast number of molecules in larger bodies of water like lakes.

How many atoms are needed to match the thickness of a piece of paper?

• 1,000

• 10,000

• 1,000,000

• 100,000

What is the approximate number of atoms in a small coin?

• 2 billion

• 20,000 billion

• 2,000 billion

• 200,000 billion

What elements make up a water molecule?

• One hydrogen and two oxygen

• Two hydrogen and two oxygen

• Two hydrogen and one oxygen

• Two oxygen and one hydrogen

How many molecules are in a single drop of water?

• Millions

• Billions

• Trillions

• Quadrillions

What happens when two or more atoms join together?

• They form a new atom

• They create a molecule

• They become visible

• They lose their properties