Chapter 3
What’s the Matter? Living and Nonliving Material
IN THIS CHAPTER
Realizing that matter makes up everything
Diagramming the atom and tracking atomic bonds
Discovering important properties of water
Exploring acid-base chemistry
Linking biological molecules into organic compounds
Comparing plant and animal cells
Before you can fully understand the interaction between visible things, such as plants and animals in the environment, you need to understand the very smallest bits of matter — the ones you can’t see — and the ways in which they interact with one another. After all, how these tiny bits of matter interact determines the structure and characteristics of the whole environment.
In this chapter, you find out how fundamental interactions between atoms and molecules lay the foundation for everything you see around you. Specifically, you find out which characteristics distinguish ...
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