Open problems are the lifeblood of mathematics. The knot decomposition puzzles can be made even more challenging if more than two knots can be summed to make the puzzle. If students try to decompose the knots on the knot diagram into smaller knots, they will meet with quite a bit of difficulty. After much experimentation with the aid of computers, no one has succeeded in decomposing these knots, but this does not mean that there is not a decomposition waiting to be discovered. Identification of the ultimate building blocks of the universe is one of the quests of particle physics.
Amino acids are the building blocks of the proteins in all living things.
The DNA molecules of which our genes and chromosomes are made are built up from 4 basic building blocks. Chemists study molecules made of atoms, as well as how certain clusters of atoms are intermediate size building blocks for complex molecules. Students may be familiar with the concept of prime number , and how prime numbers are the building blocks of multiplication. Have students identify other topics of mathematics, science, and other disciplines where they have experienced the idea of building blocks.