Pieces too small to see
Break a stick of chalk in two. Break the pieces again. Grind them to powder. Is each speck, a tiny bit, still chalk?
Step 1 of 4
- One stick of chalk.
- Break it. Each piece is still chalk.
- Grind it. Each speck is still chalk.
- Keep going. You reach the smallest pieces.
New word
- Constituent particle — the smallest piece a substance is made of.
The rule
Yes. Each speck is still chalk.
Every substance is made of tiny particles. They are too small to see. A piece of chalk is a huge number of chalk particles.
Sugar in tea works the same way. It dissolves and you cannot see it. The tea still tastes sweet. So the sugar particles are there.
Watch out!
A speck of dust is not a particle. It holds a huge number of particles.
Break the chalk, again and again.
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