The size of an atom

This is the head of a pin.

Millions of atoms would fit onto it.
 A spoonful of sugar

A spoonful of sugar would contain about:

602,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 atoms!
An atom is the smallest particle of an element
that can exist.
Cut a diamond up with a “magic knife” until
you have the smallest piece possible, and
you have a ….

CARBON ATOM
So, atoms are
very, very,
small!
Atoms are composed of sub-atomic particles:
-protons – positively charged particles
-neutrons – neutral particles
-electrons – negatively charged particles

Protons and neutrons are located in the nucleus. Electrons are

found in orbitals surrounding the nucleus.
 Atoms
Atomic structure

The Protons

1) It’s in the middle of

the atom
2) It has a positive charge
3) The mass is 1 unit
 Atoms
Atomic structure

The Neutrons

1) It’s in the middle of

the atom
2) It has a no charge
3) The mass is 1 unit
 Atoms
Atomic structure

The Electrons

1) Move around the nucleus

2) They’re negatively charged.
3) They’re tiny, but they cover a lot of
space..
4) The volume their orbits occupy
determines how big the atom is.
5) The mass is negiligible (insignificant).
6) They occupy shells around the nucleus.
 Atoms
Atomic structure

The Nucleus

1) It’s in the middle of the atom

2) It contains protons and neutrons
3) Almost the whole mass of the atom is
concentrated in the nucleus.
Particle Mass Symbol Charge

Proton 1 p +1

Neutron 1 n 0
e-
Electron negligible -1
 FACTS ABOUT THE
ATOM!
1. NEUTRAL ATOMS HAVE NO CHARGE OVERALL

2. CHARGE OF THE ELECTRONS IS THE SAME SIZE AS THE

CHARGE OF THE PROTONS BUT OPPOSITE

3. IN A NEUTRAL ATOM, THE NUMBER OF ELECTRONS ARE

EQUALS WITH THE NUMBER OF PROTONS

4. ELECTRONS MAY BE LOST OR GAINED. THE ATOM THEN

BECOMES CHARGED, AND IS KNOWN AS AN ION

5. NEUTRON NUMBERS ARE USUALLY JUST A BIT HIGHER

THAN PROTON NUMBERS, BUT CAN CHANGE
 Atoms
We just need to know
Atomic Number and Mass Number these two simple numbers

THE MASS NUMBER 23

- Total of Protons and Neutrons
THE ATOMIC NUMBER
- Number of Protons (and electrons)
11
Na
1) The atomic number tells you how many protons there are.
2) This also tells you how many electrons there are.
3) To get the number of neutrons – just subtract the atomic number from the mass
number.
4) The mass number is always the biggest number. It tells you the relative mass of the
atom.
5) The mass number is always roughly double the atomic number.
6) Which means there’s about the same number of protons as neutrons in any nucleus.
 Atoms

Atomic Number and Mass Number

Also known as the

NUCLEON NUMBER (A)

Also known as the

PROTON NUMBER (Z)
 Atoms
We just need to know
Atomic Number and Mass Number these two simple numbers

THE ATOMIC NUMBER

or 11
PROTON NUMBER
THE MASS NUMBER
or
NUCLEON NUMBER
23
Na
 Exercise
Mass number = Nucleon
number = 23
23

11
Na Atomic Number = proton
number = p = 11

Electron number = e- = 11

neutron number = n = 23-11 = 12

 Exercise
Mass number = Nucleon
number = 31
31

15
P Atomic Number = proton
number = p = 15

Electron number = e- = 15

neutron number = n = 31-15 = 16

 Atomic Structure

- https://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulations/build-an-atom .