Elements Elements are any pure substance. They are made of only one type of atom. Some examples of elements are gold (Au), calcium (Ca), and oxygen (O). Gold is a shiny yellow metal. Did you know that calcium is a metal? It is a very soft metal - so soft you can cut it with a butter knife! Your body needs calcium to have strong, healthy bones. It’s kind of hard to see oxygen because it is an invisible gas. You’re breathing it in right now as you read this!

 There are 92 natural elements that exist on the Earth.  Scientist have been able to make about 26 more elements.  Everything on Earth is made of elements.  The smallest piece of an element is an atom.

gold silver helium oxygen mercury hydrogen sodium nitrogen niobium neodymium chlorine carbon

 All of the elements can be found on the Periodic Table.  The Periodic Table is organized based on the mass (kind of like weight) of each element.

 Here is what an element on the periodic table looks like close up: C 6 Carbon 12 Chemical Symbol is an abbreviation for the element. It can be 1 or 2 letters. Atomic Number is the number of the element on the periodic table and tells you how many protons the element has. Phase of matter the element is at room temperature. Atomic Weight is the mass of the atom. It is the number of protons plus neutrons. Element’s Name

 A few more things: ◦ The atomic number tells you the number of protons. The number of protons also equals the number of electrons. ◦ To find the number of neutrons, take the atomic weight and subtract the atomic number.

2 electrons fit in the first shell around the nucleus. 8 electrons fit in the second shell. The nucleus contains the protons and neutrons. 18 electrons fit in the third shell, but it can be happy with 8.