To understand the environment, we need to

know how energy and matter behave in the

environment and in living things
1
Anything that takes up space and
has mass
Atoms are the
smallest particles
that are
characteristic of
an Element
Matter is made
up of different
elements
a carbon atom
2
Elements are substances that cannot be broken
down into simpler substances by ordinary chemical
reactions

The Periodic Table of Elements shows all known
elements organized by their properties
Most matter can exist in three interchangeable
states:
solids, liquids, and gases
3
Periodic Table of Elements
The table is
organized by
similarity in atomic
structure and
characteristics
4
SODIUM
A charged atom
is an ion.

Na
+
5
Platinum
6
Sulfur
7
NEON
8
URANIUM
9

Conservation of Matter

Under ordinary circumstances,
matter is neither created nor destroyed.
It is recycled endlessly.
Where did the elements come from?
The phrase were all stardust is true!
10
Just four elements
carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen -
make up over 96% of the mass of most
organisms.
11
Chemical reactions, the breaking and forming of
molecular bonds, create the simple and complex
compounds and substances on which life depends.
Elements are joined by chemical bonds to form
molecules or compounds; molecules also react
to form new compounds
Reactants Products
Examples of
molecules
H
2
+ O
2



H
2
O
13
Water is a unique compound
Water:
- is the medium in which all of lifes chemical reactions
occur
- is a good electrical conductor (natural condition)
- has the highest surface tension of any common, natural
liquid
- is a liquid over a wide temperature range
- expands when it crystallizes, unlike most substances


14
The capacity to do work
heat, light, electricity, and chemical
energy are all types of energy
Energy can be:
Kinetic energy -- contained in moving objects or:

Potential energy stored energy (physical, chemical
or nuclear)
15
Potential Energy
Kinetic Energy
16
Food has chemical energy: calories
17
High-quality energy is concentrated
This is very useful for doing work
Examples: Hot fire, high voltage electricity, boiling water
Low-quality energy is diffused or dispersed
This is not very useful for doing work
A lake contains a lot of heat energy even if its cold, but that heat
energy is not very useful because its not concentrated

Low-quality energy sources must be transformed
to high-quality sources to be very useful
18
Two Fundamental Principles of Energy:
Energy is conservedit is neither created nor
destroyed but may be transferred or transformed
(First law of thermodynamics)

However, with each successive transfer or
transformation of energy, there is less energy
available to do work because it is dissipated and
disorder is increased
(Entropy increases ! (tendency of all natural
systems to move towards a state of increasing
disorder) - Second law of thermodynamics).
19