Sc.8.p.8.5 Students will be able to: • Recognize that there are a finite number of elements and that their atoms combine in a multitude of ways to produce compounds that make up all the living and nonliving things that we encounter. • Distinguish among mixtures (including solutions) and pure substances. • Recognize that elements are grouped in the periodic table according to similarities of their properties • Recognize that atoms are the smallest unit of an element and they are composed of sub-atomic particles (electrons surrounding a nucleus containing protons and neutrons) • Explain why theories may be modified but are rarely discarded Advanced Benchmarks: • Write chemical formulas for simple covalent (HCl, SO2, CO2, and CH4) and ionic (Na+ + Cl- + NaCl) and molecular (O2, H2O ) compounds. Predict the formulas of ionic compounds based on the number of valence electrons and the charges on the ions (912.P.8.7) • Use the periodic table and electron configuration to determine an element’s number of valence electrons and its chemical and physical properties. Explain how chemical properties depend almost entirely on the configuration of the outer electron shell (912.P.8.5) • Explain that electrons, protons, and neutrons are parts of the atoms and the nuclei of atoms are composed of protons and neutrons, which experience forces of attraction and repulsion consistent with their charges and masses (912.P.8.4)