Chapter 4 Chemistry

1. What are the most common elements in most living

things?

a.
2. What is the nucleus made up of?
a. An atoms protons and neutrons tightly packed together

b.
3. What are radioactive isotopes?
a. An isotope in which the nucleus decays (breaks down) over
tie, giving off radiation in the form of matter and energy.
4. What is an ion? How do atoms become ions?
a. Atoms (or groups of atoms) that have become electrically
charged as a result of gaining or losing electrons.
b.

i. Look at how the balance of electric charges has

changed. One unit of negative charge (1 electron)
moved from sodium to chlorine.
ii. Losing an electron leaves the sodium ion with a
charge of 1+, while gaining an electron gives

chlorine (now called chloride) a charge of 1-.

5. What happens when an atom loses or gains an atom?
When does it become positive or negative?
a. Cation: an ion that lost an electron and is partially positive
b. Anion: an ion that gained an electron and is partially

c.
i. They become positive or negative when they loose
an electron.