Chemistry

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Atomic Structure

 Atoms are made up of electrons, protons and neutrons


 Each type of atom has a different amount of electrons, protons and neutrons
 118 elements
 Protons and neutrons make up the nucleus (centre of the atom)
 Electrons are found in orbitals / shells around the outside of nucleus
 Protons are positively charged (+1)
 Electrons are negatively charged (-1)
 Neutrons are neutral / have no charge (0)
 Equal number of positively charged protons and negatively charged electrons in atom to
create an overall neutral charge
 Atomic number is number of protons
 Atomic mass is number of protons + number of neutrons
 No. of protons / electrons = atomic number
 No. of neutrons = atomic mass - atomic number

Electron Configuration
 Electrons exist in different energy levels or shells
 Every electron in the same shell has the same amount of energy
 The electron shell with the lowest energy level is closest to the nucleus. The further away
from the nucleus, the greater the energy level it has
 The DIFFERENCE in energy levels of the shells decreases the further away the get from the
nucleus
 The arrangement of electrons can be shown using the electron configuration e.g. 2, 8, 5
 Electron subshells s, p, d, f (smart professors do fine)
 Aufbau Principle: electrons fill the lowest available energy level first, before filling higher
energy levels

Isotopes & Relative Atomic Mass
Isotopes: Atoms of the same element that have the same number of protons (same atomic number) but
different numbers of neutrons in their nuclei (different mass numbers)
 Same electron configuration
 Similar chemical properties
o How an element participates in chemical reactions
o When an atom reacts in a chemical reaction its behaviour is caused by the
arrangement and number of electrons
 Different physical properties
o Characteristics that can be observed or measured
 Different relative abundance on Earth

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