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Structure of the atom

Dr Mya Thet Htar Swe/ IGCSE Chemistry/IIP

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Atomic number/Proton number

• The number of protons in the nucleus of an atom is called the atomic
number or proton number.

• Every atom of the same element has the same number of protons.

• In the periodic table,

– elements are arranged in order of their proton number.
– an element’s atomic number is indicated above the elemental symbol.

• It is also the number of electrons present in an atom and determines

the position of the element on the Periodic Table.
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Nucleon number/Mass number

• The total number of protons and neutrons in the nucleus of an atom
is called the nucleon number or mass number.

• Protons and neutrons can collectively be called nucleons.

• The nucleon number minus the atomic number gives the number of
neutrons of an atom.
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A/Z format
• The composition of any atom can be illustrated with A/Z format.
• Both the atomic number and mass number are written to the left
of the chemical symbol.
• The "A" value is written as a superscript while the "Z" value is
written as a subscript.
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Atomic Structure and the Periodic

Table

www.astro.virginia.edu
 Names and Symbols of Elements 6

• Each element has its own symbol

• Some elements use the first letter of the name: hydrogen (H),
Sulfur (S),Carbon (C)

• Other elements use the first letter of the name plus another
letter: aluminum (Al), Platinum (Pt), Zinc (Zn)

• The first letter is always capitalized and the following letters

are lower case.