• 6-8: 4D/M1cd. Atoms may link together in well-defined molecules, or may be packed together in crystal patterns. Different arrangements of atoms into groups compose all substances and determine the characteristic properties of substances.
• 6-8: 4D/M6c. Carbon and hydrogen are common elements of living matter.
• 6-8: 4D/M11. Substances react chemically in characteristic ways with other substances to form new substances with different characteristic properties.
• 9-12: 4D/H7a. Atoms often join with one another in various combinations in distinct molecules or in repeating three-dimensional crystal patterns.
• 9-12: 4D/H8. The configuration of atoms in a molecule determines the molecule's properties. Shapes are particularly important in how large molecules interact with others.

• 6-8: 8B/M3. Advances in manufacturing processes can reduce costs and improve products.
• 6-8: 8B/M5. Efforts to find replacements for existing materials are driven by an interest in finding materials that are cheaper to obtain or produce or that have more desirable properties.
• 9-12: 8B/H4. Increased knowledge of the properties of particular molecular structures helps in the design and synthesis of new materials for special purposes.
• 9-12: 8B/H6. Groups of atoms and molecules can form structures that can be measured in billionths of a meter. The properties of structures at this scale (known as the nanoscale) and materials composed of such structures, can be very different than the properties at the macroscopic scale because of the increase in the ratio of surface area to volume and changes in the relative strengths of different forces at different scales. Increased knowledge of the properties of materials at the nanoscale provides a basis for the development of new materials and new uses of existing materials.

This 5-minute video adapted from NOVA scienceNOW explores the potential of carbon nanotubes, whose strength and unique properties make them useful for a variety of applications. See animations of how carbon atoms bond to one another in different ways to make diamond, graphite, buckyballs, and nanotubes. Consider how a seemingly impossible application, such as an elevator from the surface of Earth to space, is now theoretically possible.

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