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Q: Do you know properties of any other elements? For example, what do you know about helium?A: Helium is a gas that has a lower density than air. That's why helium balloons have to be weighted down so theywon't float away.Q: Living things, like all matter, are made of elements. Do you know which element is most common in livingthings?A: Carbon is the most common element in living things. It has the unique property of being able to combine withmany other elements as well as with itself. This allows carbon to form a huge number of different work.History of ElementsFor thousands of years, people have wondered about the work that make up matter. About 2500 years ago,the Greek philosopher Aristotle argued that all matter is made up of just four elements, which he identified as earth,air, water, and fire. He thought that different work vary in their properties because they contain differentproportions of these four elements. Aristotle had the right idea, but he was wrong about which the work areelements. Nonetheless, his four elements were accepted until just a few hundred years ago. Then scientists starteddiscovering many of the elements with which we are familiar today. Eventually they discovered dozens of differentelements. You can read how and when the different elements were discovered at this URL: http://www.nndc.bnl.gov/content/origindc.pdf.Particles of ElementsThe smallest particle of an element that still has the properties of that element is the atom. Atoms actually consistof smaller particles, including protons and electrons, but these smaller particles are the same for all elements. Allthe atoms of an element are like one another, and are different from the atoms of all other elements. For example,the atoms of each element have a unique number of protons.Consider carbon as an example. Carbon atoms have six protons. They also have six electrons. All carbon atomsare the same whether they are found in a lump of coal or a teaspoon of table sugar (Figure 2.3). On the other hand,carbon atoms are different from the atoms of hydrogen, which are also found in coal and sugar. Each hydrogen atomhas just one proton and one electron.
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