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4 Atoms - The Inside Story

This document provides an overview of atomic structure and subatomic particles. It discusses how scientists have learned that atoms can be broken down into protons, neutrons, and electrons. Protons and neutrons are located in the nucleus, while electrons orbit around the nucleus. The document defines key atomic concepts like atomic number, mass number, and standard atomic notation. It also introduces Bohr-Rutherford diagrams for visualizing atomic structure.

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89 views4 pages

4 Atoms - The Inside Story

This document provides an overview of atomic structure and subatomic particles. It discusses how scientists have learned that atoms can be broken down into protons, neutrons, and electrons. Protons and neutrons are located in the nucleus, while electrons orbit around the nucleus. The document defines key atomic concepts like atomic number, mass number, and standard atomic notation. It also introduces Bohr-Rutherford diagrams for visualizing atomic structure.

Uploaded by

pianosheet123
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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SOME USEFUL EXPERIMENTS

 Since the 1800s, scientists have been trying to


figure out the “inside scoop” about the atom
 For centuries, we (we humans) thought that the
atom was the smallest, indivisible unit.
 We now know that is not true – the atom can be
broken down into smaller bits called “sub-atomic
particles”
 These are:
ATOMS- THE INSIDE STORY
 Protons
 Neutrons
 Electrons

PROTONS NEUTRONS
 Are found at the nucleus of the atom (this is the  Are also found in the nucleus
core)  They are neutral, which means they have no
 They have a positive charge charge
 Each proton has a relative mass of 1  They also have a relative mass of 1

 PROTONS AND NEUTRONS DO NOT MOVE!


ELECTRONS
 Not found in the nucleus – they orbit around the
nucleus and move very quickly
 Have a negative charge

 Are very light – they have a mass of about


1/2000th of the mass of a proton or neutron

2000
1 proton
electrons

IMPORTANT NUMBERS
 Atomic number
 This is the number of protons in the atom
 Each element has a different atomic number

 The number of protons in an atom is equal to the


number of electrons in an atom (an atom has no
charge)
 Mass Number  If you know the mass number and the atomic
 This is the number of protons + neurons in the number, then it is really simple to find out the
nucleus number of neutrons:
 On your periodic table, it is located at the bottom
underneath the symbol
Mass # - Atomic # = # of Neutrons

(p+n) – (p) = (n)

STANDARD ATOMIC NOTATION


 Just to make things REALLY confusing for you....
 On the periodic table, the atomic number is on
Mass Number
the top and the mass number is on the bottom. 35
Easy
 But we use something called “Standard Atomic
Notation” to communicate information about an
Cl
17 Atomic Number
atom.
 For this, the mass number is on the top, and the
atomic number is on the bottom
OH WHAT A BOHR.... BOHR – RUTHERFORD DIAGRAMS
 Niels Bohr did a lot of research with electrons  We use these to visualize the atoms.
and their orbits. He concluded that:  Simple to draw!
 Electrons orbit around the nucleus 1. Draw a circle to represent the nucleus
 The orbits are at certain distances from the nucleus
2. Draw in the amount of protons and neutrons
 Electrons cannot exist between the orbits, but they
can change levels 3. Add the electrons in orbits around the nucleus

 The maximum amount of electrons for the first three


orbits is 2, 8 and 8 Let’s try!!!!
 The electrons that are closer to the nucleus are more
stable
 NOTE: orbits are also called shells

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