Chapter 3: Elements, Atoms, and Ions

The search for the atom began a couple millennia ago. This chapter chronicles a portion of that story from ancient times up to our understanding of a nuclear model of the atom. The chapter discusses the work of Mendeleev and others in developing a periodic table. An emphasis is placed on understanding how the elements can be understood in terms of their subatomic particles. This chapter ends with a discussion of ions and the use of the periodic table in predicting ion charge.

Lesson 1: In Search of the Atom

  1. Democritus to Dalton
  2. The Inside Story of the Atom
  3. Subatomic Particles

Lesson 2: The Periodic Table Revisited

  1. Mendeleev and the Periodic Law
  2. Today's Periodic Table
  3. Isotopes and Isotope Symbols

Lesson 3: Ions

  1. Metals, Nonmetals, and Ions
  2. Transition Metal Ions
  3. Polyatomic Ions