Silicon

Silicon is found on the beaches in the form of sand. Well did you know that sand is an important ingredient in bricks and concrete? That means there is silicon inside all of those sidewalks and brick houses!

• Ceramics

• Computer Chips

• Rocks and Sand

• Construction Materials

• Glass

So you're in school and you have to make a pot. You usually start with a big lump of mud. That lump of mud is filled with silicon. The same way silicon is used to make glass, it is also used to make pottery.

• Computer Chips

• Ceramics

• Skeletal System

• Glass

• Construction Materials

Silicon is a big part of what makes computers work. Inside of your computer or maybe even your television set are little black boxes called chips. Scientists flatten silicon crystals into little circles called wafers. These wafers are then stamped with the image of a computer chip.

• Ceramics

• Construction Materials

• Computer Chips

• Skeletal System

• Glass

In the summer, when you go to the beach, look across all the sand. That sand is made up of silicon. Imagine how much sand is on all of the beaches of the world. Almost all of it is silicon.

• Rocks and Sand

• Glass

• Skeletal System

• Computer Chips

• Construction Materials

Guess what? All that glass you see is made from silicon. Scientists take sand and melt it down. When it has melted they take all that silicon and make glass.

• Glass

• Skeletal System

• Rocks and Sand

• Construction Materials

• Ceramics

Okay! Inside your body is your skeleton. You might not know that there is an element called calcium which is the main ingredient of your skeleton. Silicon is also inside your skeleton. Silicon keeps your skeleton strong and healthy.

• Skeletal System

• Glass

• Computer Chips

• Ceramics

• Construction Materials