Little Scientist

A sample of the conversations D and I have had in the past week:

D: Mom, do you know what cars are made out of?
Me: Well, they are made out of lots of different things.
D: No, Mom, they are made out of atoms!
Me: You're right. Everything is made out of atoms, huh? Even the air you breathe is made out of atoms.
D: It is?!....I bet smoke is just gray colored atoms floating in the air!

Me: What do you think will happen when we put these ice cubes in the hot water and in the cold water?
D: I think the ice will melt in the hot water but it will not melt in the cold water.
After discovering that the ice melted in both kinds of water, just at different rates:
Me: Why do you think the ice melted in the cold water?
D: Well, it just wasn't, like, cold enough.

D: Mom, can you ever destroy atoms?
Me: No, you can't.
D: Then why does my book show them getting broken? (Points to an illustration of enzymes sawing molecules apart.)
We then had a conversation about chemical bonds and conservation of matter.

The way this kid's mind works scares me sometimes. He's sharp, that's for sure.