PhET Teacher Activities: Molecules Are Made Up of Atoms

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published by the PhET
written by Jackie Esler

This is a set of packaged lesson materials for middle school, created for use with the PhET simulation Build A Molecule. It gives explicit guidance in using the simulation to construct simple molecules from atoms and build an understanding of chemistry nomenclature. Materials include complete lesson plan, warm-up questions, guided student activity sheet, and assessment.

The molecule building simulation, which must be open and displayed to complete this activity, is available from PhET at: Build A Molecule.

This lesson is part of PhET (Physics Education Technology Project), a large collection of free interactive simulations for science education.

Editor's Note: At the middle school level, children often confuse atoms with molecules. This activity will help them distinguish as they explore ways to combine atoms to build a variety of molecules, using the tools provided in the simulation. See Related Materials for a link to PhET's simulation "Build An Atom", also easily adaptable for middle school.

https://phet.colorado.edu/en/activities/3440

Subjects	Levels	Resource Types
Education Practices - Active Learning = Modeling Modern Physics - Atomic Physics = Atomic Models Other Sciences - Chemistry	- Middle School - High School	- Instructional Material = Activity = Interactive Simulation = Lesson/Lesson Plan = Student Guide - Assessment Material

Appropriate Courses	Categories	Ratings
- Physical Science - Physics First	- Activity	Currently 0.0/5 Want to rate this material? Login here!

Intended Users:: Learner
Educator
Formats:: text/html
application/pdf
Access Rights:: Free access
Restriction:: © 2011 University of Colorado at Boulder
Additional information is available.
Keywords:: chemical bond, diatomic, molecule, molecule simulation, structure of molecules
Record Cloner:: Metadata instance created October 8, 2012 by Caroline Hall
Record Updated:: February 22, 2025 by Lyle Barbato
Last Update when Cataloged:: July 30, 2011

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AAAS Benchmark Alignments (2008 Version)

4. The Physical Setting

4D. The Structure of Matter

6-8: 4D/M1a. All matter is made up of atoms, which are far too small to see directly through a microscope.
6-8: 4D/M1b. The atoms of any element are like other atoms of the same element, but are different from the atoms of other elements.
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/H7b. An enormous variety of biological, chemical, and physical phenomena can be explained by changes in the arrangement and motion of atoms and molecules.
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.

11. Common Themes

11B. Models

6-8: 11B/M1. Models are often used to think about processes that happen too slowly, too quickly, or on too small a scale to observe directly. They are also used for processes that are too vast, too complex, or too dangerous to study.
6-8: 11B/M4. Simulations are often useful in modeling events and processes.

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Record Link

<a href="https://www.compadre.org/precollege/items/detail.cfm?ID=12434">Esler, Jackie. PhET Teacher Activities: Molecules Are Made Up of Atoms. Boulder: PhET, July 30, 2011.</a>

AIP Format

J. Esler, (PhET, Boulder, 2011), WWW Document, (https://phet.colorado.edu/en/activities/3440).

AJP/PRST-PER

J. Esler, PhET Teacher Activities: Molecules Are Made Up of Atoms (PhET, Boulder, 2011), <https://phet.colorado.edu/en/activities/3440>.

APA Format

Esler, J. (2011, July 30). PhET Teacher Activities: Molecules Are Made Up of Atoms. Retrieved May 20, 2025, from PhET: https://phet.colorado.edu/en/activities/3440

Chicago Format

Esler, Jackie. PhET Teacher Activities: Molecules Are Made Up of Atoms. Boulder: PhET, July 30, 2011. https://phet.colorado.edu/en/activities/3440 (accessed 20 May 2025).

MLA Format

Esler, Jackie. PhET Teacher Activities: Molecules Are Made Up of Atoms. Boulder: PhET, 2011. 30 July 2011. 20 May 2025 <https://phet.colorado.edu/en/activities/3440>.

BibTeX Export Format

@misc{ Author = "Jackie Esler", Title = {PhET Teacher Activities: Molecules Are Made Up of Atoms}, Publisher = {PhET}, Volume = {2025}, Number = {20 May 2025}, Month = {July 30, 2011}, Year = {2011} }

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%A Jackie Esler %T PhET Teacher Activities: Molecules Are Made Up of Atoms %D July 30, 2011 %I PhET %C Boulder %U https://phet.colorado.edu/en/activities/3440 %O text/html

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%0 Electronic Source %A Esler, Jackie %D July 30, 2011 %T PhET Teacher Activities: Molecules Are Made Up of Atoms %I PhET %V 2025 %N 20 May 2025 %8 July 30, 2011 %9 text/html %U https://phet.colorado.edu/en/activities/3440

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