3.2.1.1 Constituents of the Atom

Question 1

What are atoms made up of?

Answer 1

Protons, Neutrons and Electrons.

Question 2

Which subatomic particles are inside the nucleus of the atom?

Answer 2

Protons and Neutrons.

Question 3

Which subatomic particle is found orbiting the nucleus in shells?

Answer 3

Electrons

Question 4

What is the charge of a proton? (In coulombs and Relative Charge)

Answer 4

Relative Charge = + 1

Charge in Coulombs = + 1.6 x 10^-19.

Question 5

What is the mass of a proton? (In Kg and Relative Mass)

Answer 5

Relative mass = 1

Mass in kg = 1.67 x 10 ^-27

Question 6

What is the charge of a neutron? (In coulombs and Relative charge)

Answer 6

Relative Charge = 0

Charge in Coulombs = 0

Question 7

What is the mass of a neutron? (In kg and relative mass)

Answer 7

Relative mass = 1

Mass in kg = 1.67 x 10^-27

Question 8

What is the charge of an electron? (In Coulombs and relative charge)

Answer 8

Relative Charge = - 1

Coulombs = - 1.6 x 10^-19

Question 9

What is the mass of an electron? (In kg and relative mass)

Answer 9

Relative mass = 0.0005

Mass in kg = 9.11 x 10^-31

Question 10

What is the proton number of an atom?

Answer 10

The number of protons in the nucleus of the atom.

Question 11

What is another name for the proton number of an atom?

Answer 11

The atomic number, symbol Z, is another name for the proton number.

Question 12

What defines each element and why?

Answer 12

The proton number defines the element, because no two elements will have the same number of protons.

Question 13

What is special about a neutral atom?

Answer 13

A neutral atom has the same number of protons and electrons.

Question 14

What is an ion?

Answer 14

An ion is an atom that has lost or gained electrons.

Question 15

How does an atom become a positively charged ion?

Answer 15

An atom must lose electrons to become a positively charged ion.

Question 16

How does an atom become a negative ion?

Answer 16

An atom must gain electrons to become a negatively charged ion.

Question 17

What is the nucleon number of the atom?

Answer 17

The nucleon number is the total number of protons and neutrons in the nucleus of the atom.

Question 18

What is another name for the nucleon number of an atom?

Answer 18

The nucleon number is also called the mass number, symbol Z.

Question 19

What is nuclide notation?

Answer 19

Nuclide notation is the form of which the atom is written.

The nucleon number (A) goes in the top left, and the proton number (Z) goes in the bottom left of the symbol.

Question 20

What is an isotope?

Answer 20

Isotopes are atoms with the same number of protons, but different number of neutrons.

Question 21

How does changing the number of neutrons affect the atom?

Answer 21

Doesn’t affect the chemical properties

Affects the stability of the nucleus.

Question 22

What is the specific charge of a particle?

Answer 22

The specific charge of a particle is the ratio of its mass to its charge.
It is the amount of mass per unit charge.

Question 23

What is the unit for the specific charge of an atom?

Answer 23

Coulombs per kilogram - C/kg

Question 24

What is the equation used to calculate the specific charge of an atom?

Answer 24

Specific charge = Charge / Mass

Question 25

What is a fundamental particle? Give an example.

Answer 25

A fundamental particle is one that cannot break up into anything smaller. For example, an electron.