If Atoms Are Mostly Empty Space, Why Don’t We Fall Through the Earth? (Teach This Topic)

This plan helps you support a learner aged 11 to 16 through the lesson’s central puzzle: why solid objects do not pass through the ground even though atoms are mostly empty space. It uses a scale model, a safe investigation and force diagrams to connect atomic structure with electromagnetic interactions, quantum rules, deformation and the normal force. Encourage precise language: atoms are not hard balls, and “mostly empty” does not mean freely passable.