Nature's Elements
Spending time outdoors is important for everyone. Exploring nature can be fun, exciting, calming, and giving us all a sense of wonder.
What on earth are elements, you may wonder? Elements are like the building blocks of all matter. They are pure substances that cannot be broken down into any other substance.
Start with the tiniest part of matter – the atom. When two or more of those are linked together, they form a molecule. And when molecules join with other molecules, they form cells. Cells are what make up all living matter on this planet, from the tiniest insect to a huge whale, and all plants, too. Cells form organisms. Every species on Earth is what’s called an organism. People, animals, plants, and all life around us, are formed by cells put together in different ways for different species. They’re tiny and can only be seen through a microscope. All living organisms on Earth together make what’s called a biosphere.
Let’s go from tiny to big: Atom – Molecule – Cell – Organism – Biosphere.
You can think of it in this way, perhaps? Imagine that atoms are ‘letters of the alphabet’. A molecule is a ‘word’. Cells make a ‘sentence’. Lots of sentences make up ‘a whole book’! Every single organism has sort of a ‘book’ or blueprint as to HOW and with WHAT it is put together! Planet Earth, a biosphere, can then be thought of as a ‘library’, holding trillions of ‘books’ with information about every species in the world!
This is a lot to think about, I know. But I, Thunk, think thoughts about lots of things. Let’s think about four elements that you know: WATER, FIRE, EARTH, and AIR. A few friends from some of our G-Crews can tell you a little about each one.
Elemental Kingdom
Let’s explore the four basic elements on our planet:
Water
Water covers about 71% of the earth’s surface. The oceans, seas, lakes, and rivers are filled with all kinds of different species of life. Continents and islands make up the other 29% as landmass.
Human beings and a huge number of other creatures live on land. ALL need water to exist.
Fire
Fire – oh wow! This is hot stuff! Take Magma, for example. Magma is a layer of extremely hot liquid rock that shows up like fire when a volcano erupts. How about Lightning? This is a giant spark of electricity that forms between the atmosphere and the ground. Thunder is the booming echo we hear when lightning strikes. Fire can be very beneficial, giving us heat and energy. It can be destructive, too, like forest fires and homes burning down. We all must be VERY careful with fire!
Earth
This is the fertile stuff for plants to grow in and for all beings to walk, crawl, slither, and move upon. Many creatures find places in the soil to make a home or habitat of some kind. Worms, grubs, and all sorts of little beings spend their lives tunneling around down there helping to bring air and nutrients into the making it healthy and fertile
Air
Air is part nitrogen and oxygen. Air is another necessary element no one can do without. Some of the oxygen comes from plant life in the oceans. Some of it comes from the trees in the forests. Trees and other plants release oxygen as a byproduct from process called photosynthesis. We all need air to live.