Atomic Structure

• All material things are made from atoms. There

are just over one hundred different types of
atom, called elements. Atoms can join together
in millions of different combinations to make all
the substances on Earth and beyond.
• Every atom is made of a nucleus consisting of
protons and neutrons. The nucleus is
surrounded by electrons.
Atom
• Protons and electrons are oppositely charged.
Neutrons have no charge. This means the
nucleus of an atom is always positively charged.
Isotopes
• The full chemical symbol for an element shows
its mass number at the top and atomic number
at the bottom
For example:
Here is the full symbol for an isotope of carbon

It tells us that a carbon atom has:

-Six protons (because its proton number, at the bottom, is 6)
-Six electrons (because the number of protons and electrons in an atom is the same)

The symbol also tells us that the total number of protons and neutrons in a carbon atom is 12. Note that you can work out the number of neutrons from the mass number and atomic number. In this example, it is 12 - 6 = 6 neutrons.
• The atomic number (also called the proton
number) is the number of protons in an atom.
• The mass number (also called the nucleon
number) is the total number of protons and
neutrons in an atom.
• The net charge is how protons and electrons
balance out
Isotope Notation
For example:

protons:

neutrons:

electrons:
For example:

protons:

neutrons:

electrons:
For example:

protons: 15

neutrons: 17

electrons: 18
For example:

protons: 18

neutrons: 22

electrons: 18
End