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26 Dec 2025

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Understanding Chemical Elements

Faye

@fayelongley

Everything around you is made of elements - from the... Show more

Year 8 Homework - Elements 12.9.22

Spellings:
1. Chemical
2. Molecule
3. Formula
4. Polymer
5. Compound

Definition:
Elements - What all su

Elements and Atoms - The Building Blocks of Everything

Elements are the pure substances that make up absolutely everything in the universe. Think of them as the ultimate Lego blocks - you can't break them down into anything simpler because they contain only one type of atom.

An atom is incredibly tiny - it's the smallest particle of an element that can still exist on its own. You literally can't see individual atoms even with the most powerful microscopes at school!

Here's the thing that might surprise you: most stuff around you isn't made of pure elements. Your water bottle, your trainers, even the food you eat - they're all compounds or mixtures made by combining different elements together.

Each element gets its own special chemical symbol - like a name tag that's recognised worldwide. These symbols follow simple rules: they're either 1 or 2 letters long, always start with a capital letter, and if there's a second letter, it's always lowercase.

💡 Quick Tip: Some symbols make perfect sense (H for hydrogen, O for oxygen), but others come from Latin names - that's why iron is Fe and sodium is Na!

The most common elements you'll see include hydrogen (H), oxygen (O), carbon (C), iron (Fe), and copper (Cu). Learning these symbols now will make chemistry lessons much easier later on.

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Chemistry

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26 Dec 2025

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1 page

Understanding Chemical Elements

Faye

@fayelongley

Everything around you is made of elements - from the air you breathe to your mobile phone! Understanding elements and their symbols is like learning the alphabet of chemistry, and it's easier than you think.

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Elements and Atoms - The Building Blocks of Everything

An atom is incredibly tiny - it's the smallest particle of an element that can still exist on its own. You literally can't see individual atoms even with the most powerful microscopes at school!

💡 Quick Tip: Some symbols make perfect sense (H for hydrogen, O for oxygen), but others come from Latin names - that's why iron is Fe and sodium is Na!

The most common elements you'll see include hydrogen (H), oxygen (O), carbon (C), iron (Fe), and copper (Cu). Learning these symbols now will make chemistry lessons much easier later on.