Homeschool Curriculum in History, Science, Creative Writing and the Arts for students ages 9-adult!

On this site, we'll offer you FREE SAMPLES of a proven home school curriculum unlike any other, one that home school students are excited to do, and which truly educate a student. We email you your home school courses within one working day, as MS Word documents. Great home school courses await you in world history, American civics, sciences, creative writing and the arts, designed to make your home school student truly win at education.WE KNOW YOU OR YOUR STUDENT WILL SUCCEED WITH OUR HOME SCHOOL CURRICULUM! WE'RE SO CERTAIN, WE WILL EMAIL YOU OUR HOME SCHOOL CREATIVE WRITING STARTER COURSE, A $60.00 VALUE, FOR FREE, TODAY! JUST GO TO THE TOP RIGHT CORNER OF THIS SITE, CLICK THE LINK THERE, FILL IN THE CONTACT INFO AND UNDER COMMENTS, TELL US "SEND ME MY FREE CREATIVE WRITING COURSE!" WE BELIEVE THAT, AFTER YOU DO A CONNECT THE THOUGHTS HOME SCHOOL COURSE, YOU'LL COME BACK TO US FOR YOUR HOME SCHOOL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS!_______________ AN OPEN LETTER TO PARENTSIS THERE ANYTHING A PARENT HAS TO GET RIGHT THAT IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN THEIR CHILDREN'S EDUCATION? That's why you've come to this site, isn't it? You're looking. Many of you are looking because you're unhappy with schools or curricula you've used. Many of you have decided you want more control over what your children are learning. In many cases, your children have not been challenged or assisted by available curricula, or were not taught or expected to think for themselves, a skill they will have to master to survive. We understand.For those of you who have decided to home school, we commend you. Home schooling is a big job! CONNECT THE THOUGHTS is a curriculum that was written just for you. It consists of over 100 specialized study guides in Creative Writing, History, Science, various arts and related areas. These were authored over a five year period, over 8,000 hours of painstaking research and labor. This curriculum has, over the past five years, been thoroughly piloted in home school and school situations, and has been used successfully by hundreds of students, ages nine to adults. It is based on ancient and proven ideas in education (many abandoned by educators today), but is current and entirely "of this world". It is a curriculum that constantly asks the student to evaluate the information for themselves, and USE the information in life, so it has immediate application. Please, take us up on our FREE OFFER of a Home School Creative Writing I Course. Hundreds of students have successfully done this same course, and for many, it opened the door to their creativity and desire to write! Have your student do this free home school course for two weeks, an hour a day. Watch them start to write, to brighten up and get excited! We think you'll be pleased with the results. ___________________TO PURCHASE THE FIRST SEMESTER OF HOME SCHOOL COURSES FOR LOWER SCHOOL (Ages 9-10) OR UPPER SCHOOL (Ages 11-Adult), PLEASE GO TO THE UPPER LEFT CORNER OF THIS SITE. TO DISCOVER MORE ABOUT THE MANY COURSES WE OFFER, PLEASE READ ON OR USE THE LINKS BELOW.OUR FALL SPECIAL, AVAILABLE NOW!A FULL FIRST HOME SCHOOL SEMESTER AND MORE OF COURSES, INCLUDING HISTORY, SCIENCE, CREATIVE WRITING, SPELLING AND READING, FOR LESS THAN HALF PRICE! Click here to order Lower School (ages 9-10) courses for home school use!Click here to order Upper School (ages 11-adult) courses for home school use!______________WELCOME TOCONNECT THE THOUGHTS! TM These students are each holding a Presidential Recognition for Academic Achievement Award, presented to them in 2003. They won this award in the first year of Connect The Thought’s existence, doing home school. This is an award sponsored by the Department of Education, intended to recognize academic accomplishment. HERE’S WHAT HOME SCHOOL PARENTS, TEACHERS AND STUDENTSHAVE TO SAY ABOUTCONNECT THE THOUGHTS™! 15-year-old Home School Student: I have been going to private schools all my life. About one year ago, I was four grades behind. I knew I wasn’t getting a real education. I stopped going to school and felt completely apathetic about education. One day, my mom told me that there was a curriculum that was amazing, and that it was a real answer to an education. I thought ok, If I don’t like this curriculum, I give up. But the more I did it, the more it made me want to study, and the more I felt I had a future, a good one. I was actually winning in school. Wow! I think that knowing what I now know helped save my life. I have never been so enthusiastic about learning! I think if anybody wants a real education, they should do this curriculum. Home School Mom: My daughter has been studying the Connect the Thoughts Upper School curriculum for over 3 years. She is nearly done with the science courses and 2/3rds of the way through the history program. This curriculum is a dream come true. Not only has my daughter gained a basic college level understanding of the sciences including geology, oceanography, meteorology, biology, chemistry and physics and the entire time line of history, geography, government, religion, philosophy and art, but she can also think on her own, form her own conclusions and research any subject imaginable. She has become an independent student. Connect the Thoughts graduates will make a difference because they can understand problems and envision solutions. The Connect the Thoughts curriculum is making this world a better place. 12-year-old Home School Student: I’ve been having a lot of fun with Connect The Thoughts. Not to mention learning way, WAY more than I ever learned! Before doing this, I was barely learning anything about religion and history. Right now, I’m studying Confucius, and the Tao. I’m enjoying the way I’m learning these things, too. We define words first and then read up on it. That makes it easier to understand the reading. I like the fact that my vocabulary is increasing, because of the words defined on this course. ____________________________________________________________READY TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT CTT? CONNECT THE THOUGHTS HOME SCHOOL CURRICULUM IS DIVIDED INTO LOWER SCHOOL COURSES FOR 9-10 YEAR OLDS, AND UPPER SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS AGES 11-ADULT.To find out more about our Home School Upper School Courses, click CTT Upper School Courses.To order Home School Upper School Courses, click CTT Order Page Upper School.To find out more about Home School Lower School Courses, click CTT Lower School Courses, and you'll be sent to our main site.To order Home School Lower School Courses, click CTT Order Page Lower School.To read lots more success stories doing Home School with CTT, click CTT Success Stories.To see how a student age 9-adult can program Home School courses to get an amazing education, click CTT OverviewTo go to our main site's home page click Connect The Thoughts.org_____________________________ WHAT IS CONNECT THE THOUGHTS™? Connect The Thoughts (CTT) is a comprehensive home school curriculum for students, ages 9-adult. We offer 3-6 year-long programs in history, science, creative writing, various arts and other areas of study. We also offer 1-2 year-long limited programs. Individual courses may be purchased by a student interested in a particular area of study. CTT is divided into LOWER SCHOOL for students ages 9-10, and UPPER SCHOOL for students ages 11-adult. Students start with the first semester in either Upper or Lower School regardless of age or grade level, as the information presented is unique and cumulative. Each area of study starts with the simplest information, and builds into complex, rich understandings. An example: In Science Basics, we begin with "what is observation". From this humble starter datum, which forces students to look and think for themselves (often for the first time in their education), we work into advanced areas of science. For example, one of many tests in Upper School Physics covers Quantum Principle, Particle Physics, String Theory, Black Holes and Chaos Theory. 14 and 15 years olds regularly pass this test with 100% comprehension. All the courses we offer in science and the arts, including creative writing, acting, and music, thoroughly cover their subjects in the same “from the ground-up” manner. Another example: The second Upper School history course starts by defining what civilization is. It then teaches the student in detail, about historic civilizations in Sumeria, Egypt, The Middle East, India and China. A representative test on India asks the student detailed questions about Hinduism and Buddhism, India’s geography and political history. 11-12 year olds regularly pass with flying colors, thanks to their good work and the innovative, effective methods employed in Connect The Thoughts courses. All CTT history courses cover politics, religion, economics, geography, philosophy, culture, science, and art as aspects of history. Once studied, through carefully designed tests we locate exactly which materials the student mastered, and which need to be restudied. We test in CTT to discover what needs to be restudied to perfect the student’s understanding. We then quickly work students up to 100% comprehension of the materials.________________________SAMPLE FROM CREATIVE WRITING IThis course contains the most basic information on what writing is. 1. FULLY UNDERSTAND THE WORD: Symbol - When you read or hear the word “cat”, what do you think of? Do you think of the letters in that word, C-A-T? Do you think of the sound of the word? Or does the word “cat” remind you of the actual thing, an animal with a tail and whiskers? And yet, the word CAT is only three letters, sounds which have been put together. The WORD “cat” is not a cat, though it reminds us of one. It’s just a bunch of letters, a sound. Why does it remind us all of a cat? Because we all agree that this word “CAT” will represent or remind us of that animal. Now use the word “CAT” in two sentences. These can be spoken aloud, or written. When you read or hear the word “freezing”, what do you think of? The letters in the word? The sound? Or what a really cold day feels and looks like? Again, the word “freezing” is just a bunch of letters or sounds. Why do we hear or see that word, and think of cold winds, snow, ice? We think of these things when we see or hear “freezing” because we’ve all agreed that’s what this word will mean. Now use the word “FREEZING” in two sentences. These can be spoken aloud, or written. The word “cat”, the word “freezing”, like every word, is a SYMBOL. A symbol is anything which stands for something else. A symbol is NOT the thing itself, but any object or sound or word that makes you think of, or remember something else.A symbol is ALSO AN AGREEMENT that a certain thing will represent something else, usually a big idea, something bigger than the symbol itself.”) WHO makes this agreement? Everyone who speaks your language! EXAMPLES OF SYMBOLS: 1. The American flag is a symbol of America. You think of the United States of America when you see our flag. The flag is not America itself. It is a small piece of cloth. But we AGREE that it represents America, and all the ideas that make America a great nation. The word “flag” is a symbol for the actual thing, a “flag”. The word flag is not a flag, itself. The word is just a word, a collection of letters and sounds. But you think of a flag when you see or hear the word “flag”, because we all AGREE that is what the word represents. Now use the word “FLAG” in two sentences. These can be spoken aloud, or written.2. A pen used by a great writer could be a symbol for the writer himself. You would think about the writer when you saw the pen the author touched, and wrote with. For instance, a pen that was used by William Shakespeare, the man who wrote many great plays such as “Romeo and Juliet”, and “Hamlet”. If I handed you a pen and said Mr. Shakespeare used it, you would think of his creations, and of him. The pen is not Shakespeare himself, it’s only a pen, and in fact, he used a bird’s feather dipped in ink, called a “quill pen”. That quill pen would make us think of Shakespeare. We would AGREE that this pen makes us think of Shakespeare and all his works. Now use the word “PEN” in two sentences. These can be spoken aloud, or written. 3. A stop sign is a symbol, understood by all drivers to mean “stop your car”. A stop sign isn’t actually a wall that your car runs into, which stops your car whether you want to stop or not. It’s a symbol. It represents the idea that “you should stop your car, here and now.” Because we ALL AGREE that this is what a stop sign means, we all stop at stop signs. Now use the words “STOP SIGN” in two sentences. These can be spoken aloud, or written. 4. The word “sandwich” is a symbol for the object, “sandwich”, and the thing you can actually eat. When you hear the word sandwich, you understand what a sandwich is. But you can’t eat the word. You can only eat the object the word represents, a real sandwich, made of bread and other stuff. We AGREE that this is what the word “sandwich” means. Because we agree on this symbol, when you tell someone you want a “sandwich”, they know exactly what you’re talking about. Now use the word “SANDWICH” in two sentences. These can be spoken aloud, or written. 2. EXERCISE: Draw five of your own examples of symbols. First write a word down. Then, an equal sign next to the word. Then, DRAW THE OBJECT OR IDEA THE WORD STANDS FOR. The word is, each time, the SYMBOL of the object or idea. 3. FULLY UNDERSTAND THE WORD: Word - Either a spoken or written symbol, made up of agreed-upon sounds and letters. Now use the word “WORD” in five sentences. These can be spoken aloud, or written. 4. EXERCISE: To a parent, teacher or another student, the student offers five spoken words. (Spoken means “out loud”.) The student then writes down each of the five words, and again, draws an equal sign, and a picture of what each word is a SYMBOL for.To order a Creative Writing Course, click here.____________________THE FOLLOWING IS A SAMPLE FROM UPPER SCHOOL SCREENWRITER'S MASTER (VI) COURSE: DATE: LESSON # 11: (This is a long lesson, about 3 hours.) 20. READ AND FULLY UNDERSTAND: 1939 was probably Hollywood’s greatest year. The technicians and writers had mastered the use of sound, and the stories told became complex and fascinating. Additionally, a new element had made its way into film, which opened up even broader possibilities for story telling…color. This led to the making of perhaps the most popular film of all time, one that used sound, music, color, special effects, and Judy Garland to ride into immortality. The Wizard of Oz has songs by Harold Arlen (music) and E.Y. Harburg (lyrics). The songs cannot be removed from the movie without destroying it. The use of color versus black and white is clever, and again, carefully integrated into the story telling. This is truly a great film. 21. WATCH: The Wizard of Oz (1939) As you watch it, write down 250 words covering your observations on: -The Plot -The Message of the movie. -The way actors help communicate the movie. -The way the camera is used to help communicate the movie. -The way sound is used (or not used) to help communicate the movie. -The way lighting is used to help communicate the mood of the movie. -Your reaction to the movie, when it’s done. Write 50 words or more on how color is contrasted with Black and White in the film to help tell the story.To order a Creative Writing Course, click here.___________________HERE IS AN EXCERPT FROM LOWER SCHOOL (AGES 9-10)HISTORY III, MESOPOTAMIA(The text referred to as "SOM" is "The Story of Mankind") CHAPTER SEVEN – MESOPOTAMIA DATE: LESSON # 1: 1. LOCATE: on a map and a globe: Armenia Iraq (which is where Mesopotamia was.) The Tigris River The Euphrates River The Persian Gulf 2. FULLY UNDERSTAND AND USE IN SEVERAL SENTENCES: Mesopotamia- “Between the rivers”. (It’s a Greek term.) Possessed- To own a thing, to have it. Situated- Placed, located. Paradise- A perfect place. The Old Testament- The first part of the Bible, which tells the story of the ancient Hebrew (Jewish) people. The Tigris- A river. The Euphrates- A river. Course- The path a thing goes on, like the path of a river. Amidst- In the middle of. Armenia- A country southwest of Turkey, in Asia. Noah’s Ark- From a story in the Old Testament. God asks a man named Noah to build a huge boat, called an “ark”, which Noah does. This boat is used to save two of every kind of animal from a great flood which destroys the world. The Persian Gulf- A body of water near the Middle East, in Asia. Inhabitants- People who live in a place. Mountaineers- People who either live in, or who climb mountains. Tribes- Groups of people, usually organized around a few families. Nomads- People who do not live in a single place, but who instead roam from place to place. 3. READ: in SOM, Chapter 7, Mesopotamia, pages 29-31. DATE: LESSON # 2: (Note – You’ll need binoculars.) 4. DRAW: why living between two rivers (which flood every year, and cover the land between them with water) was a good idea, especially if you’re growing crops. 5. EXERCISE:Hawks are supposed to have much better eyes than human beings. If you had “the eyes of a hawk”, how far could you see. Take a pair of binoculars, and stand on a hill (if possible). Look out as far as you can, and write down descriptions of three things you can see that you could not see with your eyes alone. 6. EXERCISE:On a map of Asia and the Middle East, follow the course of the two rivers, as they’re described in the chapter. 7. EXERCISE:If you were part of a “tribe”, how big would it be? Who would be in it? Take a piece of paper, and write down “The ______ Tribe”. Write your last name into the blank. Now, with the help of your parents, write a list of every one of your relatives that you can. How big would your tribe be? DATE: LESSON # 3:(Note – This is done at night, for two nights. Continue with the next lesson while doing this at night!) 8. EXERCISE:What would it be like to be a nomad, and move from place to place often? Let’s take a simple experiment. For two nights in the next week, sleep somewhere other than in your own bed. Sleep in other rooms, or at friends houses. Make a list of all the things you had to do, to take with you, or to change, in order to do this. Was it easy or hard? Did you like it? Were you glad to get your own bed back again?To find out more about Lower School Courses, click CTT Lower School Courses, and you'll be sent to our main site.To order Lower School Courses, click CTT Order Page Lower School. ___________________THE FOLLOWING IS A SAMPLE OF OUR CIVICS COURSE,UPPER SCHOOL HISTORY VIIThis sample deals with several articles in the Constitution. DATE: LESSON # 29: 149. FULLY UNDERSTAND THE WORDS: Prescribed- To lay down rules in a written manner. Alter- Change. Regulations- Rules, laws. Assemble- Get together in one place. Appoint- To officially select. Majority- More than ½ of a group. Quorum- The number of people needed for voting and any other actions taken to be official. Adjourn- Leave. Compel- Force. Proceedings- Actions, methods, what is done and how it’s done. Expel- Kick out. Journal- A diary, a running record from one person’s point of view of what has occurred. Yeas and neas- Yes and no votes. Compensation- Pay. Ascertained- To find something out with certainty. Treasury- The collected money (an other valuable resources) of any company or nation. Felony- A serious crime. Breach- A breaking of. Civil- Having to do with the running of a nation. Emoluments- Payments for work that’s been done. 150. READ AND FULLY UNDERSTAND: from The Constitution, Article I, sections 4, 5, and 6. Section 4. The times, places and manner of holding elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each state by the legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by law make or alter such regulations, except as to the places of choosing Senators. The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and such meeting shall be on the first Monday in December, unless they shall by law appoint a different day. Section 5. Each House shall be the judge of the elections, returns and qualifications of its own members, and a majority of each shall constitute a quorum to do business; but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized to compel the attendance of absent members, in such manner, and under such penalties as each House may provide. Each House may determine the rules of its proceedings, punish its members for disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of two thirds, expel a member. Each House shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and from time to time publish the same, excepting such parts as may in their judgment require secrecy; and the yeas and nays of the members of either House on any question shall, at the desire of one fifth of those present, be entered on the journal. Neither House, during the session of Congress, shall, without the consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other place than that in which the two Houses shall be sitting. Section 6. The Senators and Representatives shall receive a compensation for their services, to be ascertained by law, and paid out of the treasury of the United States. They shall in all cases, except treason, felony and breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during their attendance at the session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and for any speech or debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other place. No Senator or Representative shall, during the time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil office under the authority of the United States, which shall have been created, or the emoluments whereof shall have been increased during such time: and no person holding any office under the United States, shall be a member of either House during his continuance in office. 151. DRAW:who decides when elections for the Senate and Congress are to take place. 152. DRAW: how often Congress must assemble. 153. DRAW: the date on which Congress must first assemble each year. 154. DRAW: who decides for the Senate whether an election has been held fairly, and the results are fair. 155. DRAW: who punishes a Congressperson who is disorderly. 156. EXERCISE:If the Senate and House each punish their own members who are “disorderly”, what’s to stop the entire Congress from being “disorderly”? Name three reasons order would still be kept. 157. EXERCISE:If you and ten of your friends were in a room together to play a game, and there was no “adult supervision”, would the game be played fairly? Would it even get played? Name 10 things that could go wrong. 158. EXERCISE:If Congresspersons make the laws, and the laws will determine what a Congressperson is to be paid, what’s to stop them from paying themselves huge salaries? Name three things that would stop them from doing this. To find out more about our Upper School Courses, click CTT Upper School Courses.To order Upper School Courses, click CTT Order Page Upper School._________________SAMPLE FROM LOWER SCHOOL SCIENCE BASICS PART ONE – OBSERVATION (Make sure while you’re doing this study guide that you use the definitions of words given here. Make sure you really understand each definition, and can use the word as easily as you’d use the words “table” or “chair”. ALSO – ALWAYS hang on to all your written work, and very carefully mark the exercise number on everything you do!) DATE: LESSON # 1: 1. FULLY UNDERSTAND AND USE IN SEVERAL SENTENCES: Observation- Really looking at a thing. Describing – Writing (or saying) what a thing looks like, what it feels like, sounds like, smells like, tastes like, what it is like. 2. EXERCISE:Pick one object, small enough for you to lift easily. Use something in your classroom. Sit next to it. Look at it. Really look. Pick it up, and look at all of its sides. What does it look like? What does it feel like? Is it cold or hot? Rough or smooth? Sharp? Round? Observe what it is, and if you can, observe how it’s put together. Then, write 25 words or more describing the object. 3. EXERCISE:Have another person look over the same object. Let them sit next to it, look at it, pick it up. Let them study it until they’re ready to write 25 words or more describing the object. Then, look at their description and at yours. Do both of you agree? Are there differences in your two descriptions of the same object? Do you agree on anything? What have you learned about people, and how good they are at observing things? 25 words or more. DATE: LESSON # 2: 4. EXERCISE:Pick another object, small enough for you to be able to lift easily. Use something in your classroom. Sit next to it. Look at it. Really look. Pick it up, and look at all of its sides. What does it look like? What does it feel like? Is it cold or hot? Rough or smooth? Sharp? Round? Observe what it is, and if you can, observe how it’s put together. Then, write 25 words or more describing the object. 5. EXERCISE:Have another person look over the same object. Let them sit next to it, look at it, pick it up. Let them study it until they’re ready to write 25 words or more describing the object. Then, look at their description and at yours. Do both of you agree? Are there differences in your two descriptions of the same object? Do you agree on anything? What have you learned about people, and how good they are at observing things? 25 words or more.To find out more about Lower School Courses, click CTT Lower School Courses, and you'll be sent to our main site.To order Lower School Courses, click CTT Order Page Lower School. _________________FOLLOWING IS A SAMPLE FROM OURUPPER SCHOOL CHEMISTRY COURSE: DATE: LESSON # 2: 4. FULLY UNDERSTAND THE WORD: Mass – A measure of how much matter is present in an object, or in a given space. The more mass an object has, the more it weighs, and the harder it will be to make it move, or to change its speed or direction once that object is already in motion. 5. EXERCISE: Find something lightweight. Move it with your hands. Find something very heavy, like a car. Try to move it (without hurting yourself.) Which of the two objects had greater mass? Which was easiest to move? 6. FULLY UNDERSTAND THE WORD: Particle – A very small (or the smallest possible) piece of matter. Element – A substance that cannot be decomposed, or changed into simpler substances, by any chemical means. (In other words, it cannot be turned into a simpler substance by exposure to other matter.) Property – An identifiable quality which all examples of a certain thing have. (Example – A quality of all samples of water is that they’re wet.) Atom – The smallest piece of an element that still has the properties of that element. Atoms are often called by people working in science “the building blocks of matter”. Microscopic – So small that one needs a scientific instrument which hugely magnifies images (called a “microscope”) to see it. Atoms are microscopic. Atomic Theory – The idea that all energy and matter is made (composed) of microscopic objects, such as atoms. Chemistry – The science which studies the composition of matter (what it’s made of), the structure of matter (how its put together and organized), and the reactions of matter on an atomic level (how one atomic particle or part of one responds to various forces or other atomic particles). Chemical Reaction – The changes which occur when different types or amounts of matter or energy are combined. (The matter or energy types being combined are each called “reactants”.) Product – The result of a chemical reaction. (Example – When one heats water enough, the product is steam. If one burns wood, the products include heat, smoke, and ash.) Chemist – A scientist who works in the area of Chemistry. Atomic Bomb – A bomb which, using the energy contained in atoms which have been split apart, when exploded, releases huge amounts of energy, capable of destroying entire cities and killing tens of thousands of people. Nuclear Power Plant – A huge series of buildings where electric energy is created by the splitting apart of atoms, releasing the energy they contain. Democritus; Leucippus – Two ancient Greek scientists who felt that all matter was made of tiny, indivisible (unable to be taken apart) particles. John Dalton – British chemist (1766-1844) who “rediscovered” the atomic theory and supported it with his discoveries. Antoine Lavosier - French Chemist (1743-1794) considered the founder of modern chemistry. 7. READ AND FULLY UNDERSTAND: WHAT IS CHEMISTRY? Chemistry is a branch of science. People who work in this area of science study matter. All physical forms, regardless of how large or small, are made of matter. Every rock you see is made of matter. The air you cannot see because the particles you breathe are too small to see without a microscope is made of matter. Water is made of matter. Your body is made of matter. Our planet is made of matter, the sun is made of matter, and the smallest particles we know of, the smallest parts of the smallest atoms, are made of matter. In fact, all these things are made of the same sorts of matter. So what is “matter”? Yes, it’s anything with a physical form. But how does matter come to be? To understand what matter is, according to science, you must discover what energy is, since science believes that all matter is actually made of energy. So what is energy? In the study of chemistry, energy is the capacity (the amount something is capable of either creating or containing) of an object or a system, to produce heat and to “do work”, or, in essence, to alter conditions. In other words, energy can be measured, just as matter can be. We measure many qualities of matter, including weight, height, depth, length, and even consistency. We measure energy’s heat, force (directed and concentrated motion) and movement. And what is it that is moving, creating heat? What is being condensed into matter? Democritus and Leucippus, two ancient Greeks, stated that all matter was made of atoms. They could not prove their theory as ancient Greece had no scientific instruments capable of looking into the world of the microscopic. Their theory remained untested for nearly 2,000 years. In the 18th century, through various experiments, Frenchman Antoine Lavosier discovered that the weight of the products of a chemical reaction are the same as (equal to) the weight of the substances which are reacting to each other as part of the chemical reaction. This, in science, is called the “Law of Conservation of Mass”. This law states that matter is never created or destroyed…only converted into other forms or into energy. In other words, if you put in two pounds of butter and two pounds of cream, you’ll end up with four pounds of a goo, which may or may not resemble either butter or cream. (Even this law was made to be broken, however, as you will study later.) This law made it clear that objects and energy interacting with each other were changing on a level too small to see…and that objects and energy were made of the same stuff. The world of science had arrived at the conclusion Democritus had arrived at. In other words, science moved backwards 2000 years…but finally proved its point, at least to the satisfaction of scientists. The universe, as science understands it, is made of atoms. In 1808, British chemist John Dalton created a series of rules, called Dalton’s Laws. As had Democritus, Dalton stated that all matter was made of microscopic particles called atoms, which could not be destroyed. (Both Dalton and Democritus were wrong; you can split an atom, releasing enormous amounts of energy previously trapped in the form of matter. This is the power behind the atomic bomb and nuclear power plants.) Dalton stated that all atoms of a given element are identical. (Example – Despite how you purify gold, it always has the same physical and chemical properties. It is always gold, and gold is always built in exactly the same way, of identical atoms; atoms all built exactly the same way. This is no longer believed to be true.) Dalton then looked at the other side of this law and said that the atoms which make up each element have different properties. Gold atoms are always different from silver atoms, or water atoms. 8. EXERCISE: Can you see atoms with your eyes? Get a rock. Really look at it for about five minutes. Can you see anything moving? (The entire rock is actually made of millions, billions of atoms, all in motion.) DATE: LESSON # 3: 9. EXERCISE: Chip the smallest piece of the rock that you can. Place it in your microscope and look at it. Can you see anything in motion? (Probably not. You’d need an incredibly high-powered microscope to see an atom, called an Electron Microscope.) What can you see that you could not see with your eyes alone? 10. EXERCISE: Stand near enough to a working heater that you can feel the heat coming off of it. Can you see the energy it’s releasing? Try to. After doing this, get a room thermometer. Look at the temperature it displays before being placed in a space with a working heater. Place it in a space with a working heater and look at the thermometer 30 minutes later. Did the temperature rise? What are you measuring? 11. EXERCISE: Get a dry stick of wood. Feel it. Is it hot? Is it solid? Weigh the stick on the best scale you can, try to get it as close to right as possible. Weigh it several times. Get a barbecue with a grate. (Make sure the grate is pretty clean.) Lay tin foil on the bottom of the barbecue to catch all falling ashes. Now lay the stick on the grate, and with a match, set it on fire. (GET HELP AS NEEDED!) Watch it. Does it release heat as it burns? How much matter is “going up in smoke?” How much of the sticks original matter is being converted to energy, released as heat? When the stick is done burning and the ashes have cooled, carefully collect all the ashes on the tin foil, and pour these onto your scale. Include any remnant you can find of the stick. What do they weigh? How much weight was lost, converted into smoke or heat?To go to our main site's home page click Connect The Thoughts.orgTo look at samples of home school courses for creative writing, science and history, click here.To purchase Upper School Courses (for 11 year-olds to adults), click here.