• Atoms are the building blocks of?all matter
• They are incredibly small, with a radius of only 1 × 10^-10?m
  • This means that about one hundred million atoms could fit side by side across your thumbnail

   

• Atoms have a tiny, dense?nucleus?at their centre, with?electrons?orbiting around the nucleus
• The radius of the nucleus is over 10,000 times smaller than the whole atom, but it contains almost?all of the mass?of the atom

Diagram showing the structure of a Lithium atom. If drawn to scale then the electrons would be around 100 metres away from the nucleus!

Parts of the Atom

• The nucleus contains:
  • Protons?- positively charged particles with a relative atomic mass of one unit
  • Neutrons?– no charge, and also with a relative atomic mass of one unit

   

• Almost all of the atom is empty space, but moving around the nucleus there are:
  • Electrons?– negative charge with almost no mass (1/2000 the mass of a proton or neutron)

   

• The properties of each of the particles are shown in the table below:

Charge in the Atom

• Although atoms contain particles of different charge, the?total charge?within an atom is?zero
  • This is because the number of?electrons?is?equal?to the number of?protons

   

• The following table sets out the calculation of the total charge in the Lithium atom in the diagram above:

Total Charge Calculation Table

• If an atom loses electrons, then it is said to be?ionised
• Symbols are used to describe particular nuclear by their element symbol, atomic number and mass number
  • This notation is called?nuclear notation

   

Carbon 12 in nuclear notation

Step 1: Count the number of protons in the carbon nucleus

• • There are 6 protons in the carbon atom

   

Step 2: Determine the number of electrons

• • Remember, the number of electrons in an atom is?equal?to the number of protons
  • Therefore there must be?6?electrons in the carbon atom

   

Atomic Number

• The number of protons in an atom is called its?atomic number?(it can also be called the?proton?number)
  • Elements in the periodic table are ordered by their atomic number
  • Therefore, the number of protons determines which element an atom is

   

• The atomic number of a particular element is always the same
• For example:
  • Hydrogen has an atomic number of 1. It always has just one proton
  • Sodium has an atomic number of 11. It has 11 protons
  • Uranium has an atomic number of 92. It has 92 protons

   

• The atomic number is also equal to the number of electrons in an atom
  • This is because atoms have the same number of electrons and protons in order to have no overall charge

   

Mass Number

• The total number of particles in the nucleus of an atom is called its?mass number?(it can also be called the?nucleon number)
• The mass number is the number of protons?and?neutrons in the atom
• The number of neutrons can be found by?subtracting?the?atomic?number from the?mass?number

Number of Neutron = Mass Number – Atomic Number

• For example, if a sodium atom has a mass number of 23 and an atomic number of 11, then the number of neutrons would be 23 – 11 = 12

Nuclear Notation

• The mass number and atomic number of an atom are shown by writing them with the atomic symbol
  • This is called?nuclear notation

   

• Here are three examples:

Examples of nuclear notation for atoms of Hydrogen, Sodium and Uranium

• The top number is the?mass number
  • This is equal to the total number of particles (protons and neutrons) in the nucleus

   

• The lower number is the?atomic number
  • This is equal to the total number of protons in the nucleus

   

• The atomic and mass number of each type of atom in the examples above is shown in this table:

Number of Protons, Neutrons & Electrons Table

ANSWER:? D

Step 1: Determine the atomic and mass number

• • The gold atom has an atomic number of 79 (lower number) and a mass number of 197 (top number)

   

Step 2: Determine the number of protons

• • The?atomic?number is equal to the number of?protons
  • The atom has 79 protons

   

Step 3: Calculate the number of neutrons

• • The mass number is equal to the number of protons and neutrons
  • The number of neutrons is equal to the mass number minus the atomic number

   

197 - 79 = 118

• • The atom has 118 neutrons

   

Step 4: Determine the number of electrons

• • An atom has the?same?number of?protons and electrons
  • The atom has 79 electrons

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