Name ________________________ Atomic Structure

An atom is made of protons and neutrons, which are found in the nucleus, and electrons,
which are in clouds surrounding the nucleus. The mass of a proton is roughly equal to
the mass of a neutron (1 amu) and the electron has virtually no mass in comparison. The
proton is positively charged (+1 charge), the nutron is neutral (0 charge) and the electron
is negatively charged (-1 charge). The atomic number is equal to the number of protons
for a particular element. The mass number is equal to the sum of the number of protons
and neutrons in the nucleus of a particular atom. In a neutral atom (an atom without a
charge) the number of electrons equals the number of protons. If an atom has a charge,
the number of protons and electrons do not cancel each other and the charge must reflect
an excess of one or the other charged particle. If an atom is negatively charged, then
there must be more electrons than protons. If an atom is positively charged, then there
are fewer electrons than protons.

An atomic symbol is used to indicate the various possible combinations of subatomic

particles as shown below. Since the element is carbon, the atomic number (lower left) is
6, the mass number (upper left) is 13, and the overall charge (upper right) is 4+. This
means that there are 6 protons, 7 neutrons (12 – 6) and 2 electrons (6 – 2 = 4) in this
atom.

Mass number
13 4+ Charge
Atomic number 6 C
Complete the following chart.

Element Atomic Mass Protons Neutrons Electrons

or ion number number
1
1H
1 +
1H
12
6C
7 +
3Li
35 -
17Cl
39
19K
24 2+
12 Mg
75 3-
33As
107
47Ag
108 +
47Ag
238
92U

© Van Der Sluys, 2004 1

Name ________________________ Atomic Structure

Answers

Element Atomic Mass Protons Neutrons Electrons

or ion number number
1
1H 1 1 1 0 1
1 +
1H 1 1 1 0 0
12
6C 6 12 6 6 6
7 +
3 Li 3 7 3 4 2
35 -
17Cl 17 35 17 18 18
39
19K 19 39 19 20 19
24 2+
12Mg 12 24 12 12 10
75 3-
33As 33 75 33 42 36
107
47Ag 47 107 47 60 47
108 +
47Ag 47 108 47 61 46
238
92U 92 238 92 146 92

© Van Der Sluys, 2004 2