Essay on Atoms and Molecules

First of all, what is chemistry? Chemistry is a science that deals with the composition, structure,
and properties of substances and with the transformations they undergo, according to the Merriam-
Webster dictionary. In other words, chemistry is the science of matter. The three main subatomic
particles come together in chemistry, forming virtually everything! From explosions, space, to biology,
and our earth, chemistry is at the base of everything!
What are the three subatomic particles? What do they do, and what are their properties? If we
never had one or more of them, how would it change our lives? The three most basic subatomic
particles are the electron, the neutron, and the proton. These three particles form atoms, which make
up everything! There are different atom types, and these types are called elements. The number of
protons, or the atomic number, determines which element is which. So a carbon atom can never have
seven protons, no matter how much you want it to, it will always have six. The amount of electrons an
atom has determines how reactive it is. Without chemical reactions there would only be pure elements,
and we would not even have a chance in a universe like that! Let’s say that we traveled into a fictional
universe without electrons, and all our ions still were bonded, we would eventually die from thirst. Okay
so it looks like we covered everything, why would we need another subatomic particle? Well first off,
you probably have not heard the phrase equals attract, right? So why would the protons, all positively
charged, stay right next to each other, in the nucleus. I mean there are some oppositely charged
electrons, so why don’t they bust out of the nucleus and meet the electrons? Because of a buffer
between the particles. It just so happens that the buffer is the neutron, an equally charged particle, that
hangs out with the protons in the nucleus. The neutrons determine the stability of the element, and
whether it is radioactive or not. Now let’s enter a different dimension, one that has no neutrons! We
enter the dimension and die from either radioactivity, or a lack of oxygen, whichever comes first.
Without the neutron, the only possible element would be hydrogen, since almost every atom has no
neutrons. The rest of the elements would have more than one neutron, causing them to rip apart
splitting the atoms. What if the atoms could stay together? We would die from radioactivity. Oh, and
remember we cant even enter a dimension without protons, because there would be nothing there.
After reading that giant paragraph, I bet you weren’t expecting more. However, we still haven’t
even scraped the surface of chemistry! Let’s talk molecules! Molecules are made up of atoms that are
held together by chemical bonds. Here are a few of the most common/known molecules, H2O, O2, and
CH4. In other words water, oxygen, and methane. How did these molecules form? We know that
already, the electron. As you may recall the electron determines the reactivity of the element. However,
these electrons go in these orbitals. Each orbital can hold a certain number of electrons. For example,
the first orbital can hold two, the next eight, and the one after that can also hold eight. If the orbital is
full, the element does not react. However, the less there is in an orbital, the more reactive the element
gets. There is a group of elements on the periodic table called the alkali metals. These metals only have
one electron in their other-most orbital, making them highly reactive! The amount of electrons in the
valiance shell (the last orbital), must be full in every element in the molecule. For example, water’s two
hydrogens need one more electron so they share it with the oxygen, and the oxygen needs two more
electrons so the two hydrogens share it with the oxygen.
Chemistry is a very complex branch of science, and atoms, along with molecules, are the basics.
However, that is not even close to all of chemistry! We haven’t even talked about organic, inorganic,
biological, physical, or even analytical chemistry, but who is to say we wont?