PHYSICAL SCIENCE

Core Subject

Class No.: Date:

Name: Module 1 – 3rd Quarter – SY20212022
Grade and Section: Teacher:

I. Title: Origin of the Elements, Atomic Number and Atomic Mass

II. Objectives:
After accomplishing this module, you must be able to:
1. point out the main ideas in the discovery of the structure of the atom and its
subatomic particle,
2. describe the nuclear model of the atom and the location of its major components
(protons, neutrons, and electrons)
3. value the contributions of atomic theories in the progress of Science, and
4. compute for the atomic mass, mass number of a given element.

III. Material/s:
1. Lecture Notes about the Origin of the Elements, Atomic Number and Atomic Mass
2. For Reference(s):
a. YouTube videos for review –
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMW_0Ro6b5c
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yooYnW8uhHk

IV. Time Frame: Week 1

V. Concept:
The smallest piece of an element that maintains the identity of that element is called
an atom. Individual atoms are extremely small. It would take about fifty million atoms in a
row to make a line that is 1 cm long. The period at the end of a printed sentence has
several million atoms in it. Atoms are so small that it is difficult to believe that all matter is
made from atoms—but it is.

The concept that atoms play a fundamental role in chemistry is formalized by the modern
atomic theory, first stated by John Dalton, an English scientist, in 1808. It consists of three
parts:

1. All matter is composed of atoms.

2. Atoms of the same element are the same; atoms of different elements are different.
3. Atoms combine in whole-number ratios to form compounds.

These concepts form the basis of chemistry.

Although the word atom comes from a Greek word that means “indivisible,” we understand
now that atoms themselves are composed of smaller parts called subatomic particles. The
first part to be discovered was the electron, a tiny subatomic particle with a negative
charge. It is often represented as e−, with the right superscript showing the negative
charge. Later, two larger particles were discovered. The proton is a more massive (but still
tiny) subatomic particle with a positive charge, represented as p +. The neutron is a
subatomic particle with about the same mass as a proton but no charge. It is represented
as either n or n0. We now know that all atoms of all elements are composed of electrons,
protons, and (with one exception) neutrons. (Refer to table 1)

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 Table 1 – Properties of the 3 Subatomic Particles
https://opentextbc.ca/introductorychemistry/chapter/atomic-
theory-2/

How are these particles arranged in atoms? They are not arranged at random.
Experiments by Ernest Rutherford in England in the 1910s pointed to a nuclear model of
the atom. The relatively massive protons and neutrons are collected in the center of an
atom, in a region called the nucleus of the atom (plural nuclei). The electrons are outside
the nucleus and spend their time orbiting in space about the nucleus. (Refer to Figure 1)

Figure 1 – The Structure of the Atom

https://opentextbc.ca/introductorychemistry/chapter/atomic-
theory-2/

Atoms have protons and neutrons in the center, making the nucleus, while the electrons
orbit the nucleus.

An atom is the smallest unit of matter that retains all of the chemical properties of an
element. Atoms combine to form molecules, which then interact to form solids, gases, or
liquids. For example, water is composed of hydrogen and oxygen atoms that have
combined to form water molecules. Many biological processes are devoted to breaking
down molecules into their component atoms so they can be reassembled into a more
useful molecule.

Atomic Particles
Atoms consist of three basic particles: protons, electrons, and neutrons. The nucleus
(center) of the atom contains the protons (positively charged) and the neutrons (no
charge). The outermost regions of the atom are called electron shells and contain the
electrons (negatively charged). Atoms have different properties based on the arrangement
and number of their basic particles.

Atomic Mass
Protons and neutrons have approximately the same mass, about 1.67 × 10-24 grams.
Scientists define this amount of mass as one atomic mass unit (amu) or one Dalton.
Although similar in mass, protons are positively charged, while neutrons have no charge.
Therefore, the number of neutrons in an atom contributes significantly to its mass, but not
to its charge.

Electrons are much smaller in mass than protons, weighing only 9.11 × 10 -28 grams, or
about 1/1800 of an atomic mass unit. Therefore, they do not contribute much to an
element’s overall atomic mass. When considering atomic mass, it is customary to ignore

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 the mass of any electrons and calculate the atom’s mass based on the number of protons
and neutrons alone.

Electrons contribute greatly to the atom’s charge, as each electron has a negative charge
equal to the positive charge of a proton. Scientists define these charges as “+1” and “-1. ”
In an uncharged, neutral atom, the number of electrons orbiting the nucleus is equal to the
number of protons inside the nucleus. In these atoms, the positive and negative charges
cancel each other out, leading to an atom with no net charge.

Atomic Number and Mass Number

The atomic number is the number of protons in an element, while the mass number is the
number of protons plus the number of neutrons. (Refer to Figure 2)

Atomic Number
Neutral atoms of an element contain an equal number of protons and electrons. The
number of protons determines an element’s atomic number (Z) and distinguishes one
element from another. For example, carbon’s atomic number (Z) is 6 because it has 6
protons. The number of neutrons can vary to produce isotopes, which are atoms of the
same element that have different numbers of neutrons. The number of electrons can also
be different in atoms of the same element, thus producing ions (charged atoms). For
instance, iron, Fe, can exist in its neutral state, or in the +2 and +3 ionic states.

Mass Number
An element’s mass number (A) is the sum of the number of protons and the number of
neutrons. The small contribution of mass from electrons is disregarded in calculating the
mass number. This approximation of mass can be used to easily calculate how many
neutrons an element has by simply subtracting the number of protons from the mass
number. Protons and neutrons both weigh about one atomic mass unit or amu. Isotopes of
the same element will have the same atomic number but different mass numbers.

Figure 2 – Atomic number, chemical symbol, and mass number: Carbon

has an atomic number of six, and two stable isotopes with mass numbers of
twelve and thirteen, respectively. Its average atomic mass is 12.11.

Scientists determine the atomic mass by calculating the mean of the mass numbers for its
naturally-occurring isotopes. Often, the resulting number contains a decimal. For example,
the atomic mass of chlorine (Cl) is 35.45 amu because chlorine is composed of several
isotopes, some (the majority) with an atomic mass of 35 amu (17 protons and 18 neutrons)
and some with an atomic mass of 37 amu (17 protons and 20 neutrons).

Given an atomic number (Z) and mass number (A), you can find the number of protons,
neutrons, and electrons in a neutral atom. For example, a lithium atom (Z=3, A=7 amu)
contains three protons (found from Z), three electrons (as the number of protons is equal
to the number of electrons in an atom), and four neutrons (7 – 3 = 4).

VI. Activity: Let’s try these!

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 A. Matching Type. Match column A with column B. Write your answer on the blank
provided before each number.

COLUMN A COLUMN B
F 1. Atoms A. Positively charged particle
E 2. Atomic mass B. Negatively charged particle
C 3. Atomic number C. Determines by number of protons
B 4. Electron D. Located at the nucleus and it has neutral charged
D 5. Neutron E. Sum of the number of protons and the number of
neutrons
F. Smallest unit of matter that retains all of the chemical
properties of an element

B. Completion. Fill in the table below with correct information about the 3 Subatomic
particles.
Proton Neutron Electron
Relative Charge +1 0 -1

Relative Mass 1 1 1/1840

Location Nucleus of an atom Inside the nucleus Outside the nucleus

Identity,
Significance Mass Charge
charge,
mass
Formula # p = mass- # n # n = mass – # #e=#p
p

VII. Evaluation: Let’s check your understanding!

A. Completion. Determine the atomic number, mass number, proton, electron and neutron
of the given element. (15 points)
Atomic Atomic Atomic
symbol number Protons Neutrons Electrons mass
5 5 6 5 11
B
Na 11 11 12 11 24
Ga 31 31 37 31 70
Y 39 39 89 39 89
Cu 29 29 35 29 64
Tc 43 43 55 43 98
Pb 82 82 125 82 207
Yb 70 70 102 70 173
Ac 89 89 138 89 225
M 42 42 54 42 96
o
Tl 81 81 123 81 206
Fm 100 100 159 100 257
N 102 102 159 102 261
o
Yb 70 70 103 70 172
Sg 106 106 159 106 266

B. Answer the following items by showing your complete solution. (3 points each)

16-19. Neon has an atomic number of 10. How many protons are there in an atom of
neon?
To find the number of protons in neon, first locate the element on the preriodic table.
Next find the atomic number which is located above the elements symbol. Since neons
atomic number is 10, Ne has 10 protons.

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 20-22. An aluminum atom has an atomic number of 13 and a mass number of :
20. How many protons are there in an atom of aluminum? 13
21. How many neutrons are there in an atom of aluminum? 14
22. How many electrons are there in an atom of aluminum? 13

23-25. A fluorine atom has an atomic number of 9 and a mass number of 19.
23. How many protons are there in an atom of fluorine? 9
24. How many neutrons are there in an atom of fluorine? 10
25. How many electrons are there in an atom of fluorine? 9

26-28. A carbon atom has an atomic number of 6 and a mass number of 12.
26. How many protons are there in an atom of carbon? 6
27. How many neutrons are there in an atom of carbon? 6
28. How many electrons are there in an atom of carbon? 6

29-30. An atom of sodium has a mass number of 23. What is the total number of
protons and neutrons in the nucleus of the atom?
23=no of neutron + 11

No of neutrons =23–11 =12

No of protons=11

No of electrons=11

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