. 1. Think of the English alphabet. Millions of words can be made from only 26 letters! The same thing is true of elements and compounds. An elemer
is the basic form of matter which cannot be broken down any further. A few common elements make most of the planet's many compounds.
Different compounds combine to make all of the things around us. These include rocks, air, water, and even people.
2. Let's take a trip to Maul in the Hawaiian Islands. You must cross the Pacific Ocean. You travel over seawater made of hydrogen, oxygen, sodium,
chlorine, and traces of other elements. Pure water has only hydrogen and oxygen. When you get to the island, you walk on the sand. Sand is tiny
bits of worn-out rock made mostly of oxygen and silicon. A breeze hits your face. The air is made of nitrogen, oxygen, a little argon, and carbon
dioxide. There are also very small amounts of other gases.
3. As you walk around, you see volcanic rocks and mountains on the island. They are made of mixtures of oxygen and silicon, with magnesium,
aluminum, potassium, iron, and small amounts of other elements, Green volcanic rock is also common on the island. It has a heavy concentration
of iron and magnesium
4. You also see all the plants and animals. The Hawaiian Islands contain much diversity. You see many beautiful trees, bushes, and flowers. You see a
Hawaiian tree, an orchid on that tree, a beetle crawling on the ground, and a native Hawaiian. These are all examples of living matter made of the
elements hydrogen, oxygen, carbon, and nitrogen. Oxygen is the most abundant element in living matter.
5. As you leave Hawall, you marvel at what you've seen. You are amazed at how so many compounds can be made from so few elements. A few
simple elements can combine to make many, many different things.
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