atomic structure Flashcards
what is chemical symbol
The big letter or 2 letters that signify a certain element. (Ex; C for carbon)
where is the atomic number located
bottom left of chemical symbol
how is a elements atomic number determined?
the number of protons in the nucleus.
what charge do protons have
+1
what is a protons mass
1 atomic mass (amu)
how is nuclear charge determined
total number of protons
what does the number of protons in a element’s nucleus determine
The number of protons will determine what specific element is. (Ex; iron, gold)
where is a elements atomic mass number
top left above symbol
how is mass number calculated
protons + neutrons in the nucleus.
what is the mass of a neutron
1 amu
what is the charge of a neutron
0
what is an isotope
atoms with the same amount of protons but diffrent amounts of neutrons.
how is a elements charge calculated
protons - electrons
where is an elements charge located
top right above symbol
what is a electrons charge
-1
how much is a electrons mass
0 amu (not used when calculating mass of element)
what is a element with a positive charge called
cation
what is an element with a negative charge
anion
What are the 2 nuclear forces in a nucleus
Electromagnetic force, strong nuclear force
Electromagnetic force
Electric force that causes positive charged protons to separate from each other due to magnetic forces.
The strong nuclear force
Attractive force that pulls neutrons and protons together
How is an atoms nucleus not blown apart from electromagnetic force?
The strong force that attracts protons and neutrons together must be stronger than the electromagnetic force in order to hold the nucleus together.
Mass defect
The mass of a nucleus is always less than the sum of the individual protons and neutrons
What is the mass in mass defect turned into
Energy
Exothermic process
A process that releases energy
Endothermic processes
Requires energy
Nuclear binding energy
Energy required to split atom into protons and neutrons
What kind of process is nuclear binding process and what kind of charge does it require
Endothermic, which means it requires energy. This means the charge will always be positive.
Nuclear fusion
Two reactant atoms fuse nucleuses together to form one larger nucleus. Is exothermic
Nuclear fission
The nucleus of a reactant atom splits into two smaller nuclei. Is exothermic
What element has the highest binding energy per nucleus
Iron
What happens to a nucleus’s binding energy as we go up the periodic table towards iron?
The binding energy increases and maxes at iron
What happens to nuclear binding energy at the atom number increases higher than iron
The nuclear binding energy decreases
Change to elements numbers due to alpha decay
-2 to atomic number
-4 to atomic mass
Beta minus decay
A neutron emits a electron and becomes a proton. Atomic number +1 but mass stays the same
What kind of element is likely for beta- decay
Unstable nuclei with high neutron to proton rations
Beta + decay
Proton emits a positron and is converted to a nucleus. Atomic number decrease but mass stays the same.
Beta + decay most common in
Unstable elements with high proton to neutron ration
Electron capture
Similar to beta+ decay, proton absorbs an electron and become a neutron. Atomic number decreases by 1 but mass stays the same. Common in unstable elements with high proton to neutron ratio.
