Empedocles (500 - 430 B.C) and Aristotle (384 - 322 B.C) suggested that all matter was made up of four primary elements fire, water, air and earth. Further, the properties of any particular substance were believed to be due to the composition ratio of these four primary elements. [Note the hint towards properties of elements].
Early Indian Concept
Around (600 - 500 B.C) the 'Samkhya' philosophy was popular. It asserted that matter was made up of five 'bhutas' or elements consisting of akasa (sky or space), vayu (air), tejas (fire), ap (water) and kshiti (the Earth). These bhutas, besides sharing common properties like colour, smell, taste and touch had distinguishing properties of their own. Some of the distinguishing properties are as follows:
One of the major impacts of these theories is the concept of an element having a distinct set of properties.
The Indian philosopher Kanad (600 B.C) was of the view that matter consists of eternal and imperceptible particles called parmanus. The combination of these parmanus in different proportions forms matter.
Democritus (400 B.C) a Greek philosopher proposed that matter was made up of very tiny particles,. The word 'atom' was later ascribed to them and is derived from the Greek word meaning 'indivisible'.
Particulate Nature of Matter
Intensive investigation by scientists over the years led to the development of a mental model (the minuscule particles couldn't be actually seen at that time) known as 'dynamic particle model'. All matter is assumed to be made up of particles that are very small, which may be atoms, molecules or ions.
