Middle School Science Lessons

Objectives: Students will be able to use a model and demonstrate how atoms are arranged to create elements, compounds, and mixtures.

Materials

• 12 Legos – 3 different colors and sizes with 4 of each kind
  • Lego Bricks must be the same size for each color (see photo above)
  • stored in sandwich sized zip-top bags
  • 1 set per 2 students
• colored pencils
  • I placed 3 crayons in each bag along with the Lego pieces
• Student worksheet (pdf)

Background Information

• Each Lego Brick represents one atom
• Each colored Lego Brick represents one atom for each element
  • example: 4 blues = one element, 4 oranges = second element, 4 greens represent a third element
• When Lego Bricks are snapped together, that represents a chemical bond and one compound
• Lego Bricks that are not snapped together are not chemically bonded to each other
• For mixtures, you can have combinations of single bricks (elements), bonded bricks (compounds), or a mixture of both elements & compounds