ATOMS
"'Atom.' The word comes from the Greek a-tamos, meaning 'indivisible.' At the time these particles were named, scientists thought that atoms were the smallest bits of stuff existing in nature. We now know differencly, but the name stuck. About one hundred different kinds of atoms exist. Most are found in nature. Scientists makes others in a laboratory."

ELECTRICITY
"Flip on a light switch. Now flip it off. That simple action -- On/Off -- helps show electricity's power. Turn on a computer or a TV or a hair dryer. They show electricity's power, too. Most of the time, though, electricity can't be seen. In fact, you can't smell it, feel it, or hear it. But, it's hard at work. Some scientists feel that the word electricity is misused. To them . . . "

ENERGY
"Brrrrrraaaaa! The alarm clock sounds. Do you leap out of bed already in high gear? Or do you bury your head under the pillow and go back to sleep? No matter what you do, you're using energy. Scientists define energy as the ability to get work done. The work can be anything from breathing to giving a party to building a pyramid-to taking a nap. But where is energy? Can you touch it? No, but you can. . . "

MATTER
"The air you're breathing. The magazine you’re reading. The orange juice you may have had for breakfast. You. All these things have something in common. They are all examples of matter. Most of the matter you see every day comes in one of three forms. It may be a solid, like grains of sand. It may be a liquid, like the water in the ocean. It may be a gas, like the air that’s helping a kite stay aloft."