Prepared by:

ANDRINA B. TOCGONGNA
Science Teacher
 Atom
▪ the basic unit of matter
▪ very small that they cannot be seen with
the naked eye
▪ mostly empty space
Subatomic particles

Protons (p+)

▪ positively charge subatomic

particles
▪ discovered by German
physicist Eugene Goldstein
in 1886.
Subatomic particles

Electrons (e-)

▪ Negatively charge
▪ Discovered by English physicist
J.J. Thomson in 1897
Subatomic particles

Neutrons (n0)

▪ No charge
▪ Discovered by James
Chadwik in 1932
Mass Number and Atomic Number
All atoms or element are made up of the three subatomic particles, except hydrogen which
does not have a neutron. Elements differ from each other based on the number of protons or
atomic number(Z). In a neutral atom, the number of electrons is equal to the number of protons.
The mass number (A) tells the number of protons and neutrons in an atom.

Mass Number

X
A (number of protons + number of
neutron)
Element Symbol

Z
Atomic Number
(number of protons)

To get the number of neutrons, subtract the

atomic number from the mass number or
simply:

A – Z = number of neutrons
Hydrogen has an atomic number of 1 and a mass number of 1. This means that
hydrogen has one proton, one electron, zero neutron.

Element Symbol

H1
1 Atomic Number

Mass Number
Hydrogen Element Name
Let’s practice!
ELEMENT ATOMIC MASS PROTONS ELECTRONS NEUTRONS
NUMBER NUMBER
LITHIUM 3 7 3 3 4

SULFUR 16 32 16 16 16

FLOURINE

XENON

CHLORINE

BERYLLIUM

ARSENIC
Isotopes
Isotopes are elements that have the same number of protons but have different number of
neutrons.

The elements listed in the periodic table is the most common isotopes of the elements. Below
are the three isotopes of hydrogen: protium, deuterium and tritium. The most common
isotope of hydrogen is the one which has no neutron (protium)

Isotopes may be stable or unstable. The unstable isotopes are those that emit radiation
while the stable ones do not. Unstable isotopes undergo radioactive decay or spontaneous
disintegration.
ISOTOPES ARE USED IN VARIOUS FIELDS LIKE ARCHAEOLOGY AND MEDICINE

Carbon-14 is used in determining the age of fossils or radiocarbon dating

Cobalt-60 is used in radiotherapy or in damaging cancer cells without surgery

Iodine-131 is commonly used in the treatment of hyperthyroidism

Where are the Electrons?
Electrons orbit around the nucleus in the electron shell. Each electron shell correspond to a specific
energy level and can hold a certain number of electrons.

The first shell. The closest to the nucleus, has the lowest energy level. It is also the shell that is filled
up first and can hold only up to a maximum of two electrons. Moving to the second and third, the
energy level increases. The third shell will only be filled up once the second shell is fully filled. The
second shell can accommodate eight electrons while the third shell can hold a maximum of 18
electrons.
Electronic Structure
The electronic structure or electronic configuration shows how electrons are
arranged in an atom. Dots are used to represent the electrons.

A chlorine atom has an atomic number of 17. It

will occupy
Two electrons in the first shell
Eight electrons in the second shell
Seven electrons in the third shell

Thus, it electronic configuration can be written

as 2, 8, 7.
Valence Electrons
Electrons found in the outermost shell of an atom are called valence electrons or outer
electrons. An easy way to identify an atom’s valence electrons is by looking at the periodic
table of elements.

The periodic table has eight groups and seven periods. The group number tells the number of
valence electrons while the period tells the number of shells.

Elements belonging to Group 1A like sodium and potassium have one valence electron, while
elements in Group 7A like fluorine and iodine have seven electrons.
END OF THE LESSON