Geography 2153A/B Chapter Notes - Chapter 3: Conservation Of Mass, Phosphorus Cycle, Nitrogen Cycle
19 Dec 2013
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Matter and energy: basic building blocks of nature. Matter: the material of which things are made, the stuff of life. The earth is a closed system for matter we have all the matter we will ever have (except meteorites) Earth"s matter has two chemical forms: elements and compounds. Elements: the simplest building blocks of matter that make up all materials. Compounds: two or more different elements held together in fixed proportions by the attraction in the chemical bonds between their atoms. All matter is built from the 109 known elements (92 natural, 17 synthetic) All elements are made up of three types of building blocks: atoms, ions, and molecules. Atoms: smallest particles that exhibit characteristics of a particular element. Atoms consist of subatomic, electrically charged particles known as ions. Three types of ions: protons, neutrons, and electrons. Neutrons: uncharged or electrically neutral (very little mass) Set number of protons and neutrons having the same mass make up the atom"s nucleus.
