How Atoms Interact to Make Everyday Materials

Atoms link together through bonds—covalent, ionic, or metallic—to form matter.
Metals are held by metallic bonds, giving them strength and conductivity.
Water’s special properties come from hydrogen bonds between its molecules.
Plastics are long chains of carbon atoms bonded into flexible polymers.
Glass forms when silicon and oxygen atoms arrange into a rigid network.
Salt crystals grow from ionic bonds between sodium and chlorine.
Wood and cotton are built from cellulose, a carbon-based molecule shaped by atomic bonds.
Steel’s toughness comes from iron atoms bonded with carbon and other elements.
Ceramics are made from atoms like aluminum, silicon, and oxygen locked into strong lattices.
From skyscrapers to smartphones, every material is simply atoms interacting in different ways.