Atomic Structure

Question 1

What is matter made of?

Answer 1

Matter is built up from large number of small discrete particles called atoms.

Question 2

Atoms are made of sub-atomic particles, name the three

Answer 2

protons(p) , neutrons(n) and electrons(e).

Question 3

Where are these sub-atomic particles found?

Answer 3

Protons and Neutrons are found in the nucleus of the atom. While the electrons revolve around the nucleus at great speed.

Question 4

What is an atomic number?

Answer 4

The atomic number, or the proton number, is the number of protons in a nucleus of an atom.

Question 5

What is a mass number?

Answer 5

It is the total amount of protons and neutrons in an atom.

Question 6

What are the charges of sub atomic particles?

Answer 6

Protons are positively charged while neutrons are neutral charged and electrons are negatively charged.

Question 7

What are isotopes?

Answer 7

atoms of the same element, with the same number of protons but different amount of neutrons.
or
Atoms of the same atomic number, (proton number) but different mass number.

Question 8

What sub-atomic particles are involved in chemical reactions?

Answer 8

Electrons

Question 9

What attributes do the various sub-atomic particles give rise to?

Answer 9

Electrons give rise to chemical properties

Neutrons give rise to physical properties such as densities, melting and boiling points.

Question 10

What are the changes that isotopes cause?

Answer 10

Different physical properties due to the change of the number of neutrons

Question 11

What are radioisotopes?

Answer 11

Isotopes that emit high radiation. The radiations are dangerous because they can damage living cells and cause cancer.

Question 12

Name the conditions for the arrangement of electrons.

Answer 12

Maximum of 2 electrons on the first shell, maximum of 8 in the rest of the outer shells.

Question 13

Name the shell furthest away from the nucleus.

Answer 13

Valence shell.

Question 14

What happens to elements with atomic structures more than 20?

Answer 14

The group number is used to determine the number of valence electrons.

Question 15

Define electric configuration.

Answer 15

It shows how the electrons are arranged in different shells in an atom.
(Take the atomic number)

Question 16

What is the electric configuration of fluorine? (atomic number 9)

Answer 16

2,7

Question 17

What is the electric configuration of calcium? (atomic number 20)

Answer 17

2.8.8.2

Question 18

Difference between atomic structure and electronic structure?

Answer 18

For atomic structure, composition of the nucleus (mass number) needs to be shown. While drawing the electronic structure, the composition does not need to be shown.

Question 19

What do the different groups in the periodic table show?

Answer 19

Elements of the similar chemical properties.

Question 20

Where are noble gases found?

Answer 20

They are found on the extreme right of the periodic table. (Group 0)

Question 21

What elements are chemically unreactive?

Answer 21

Noble gases.

Question 22

What are the special properties of noble gases?

Answer 22

They have their outermost shell fully filled with electrons. This is a very stable structure and thus account for their INERT nature,

Question 23

Define inert.

Answer 23

Inert is used to describe substances that are chemically unreactive, such as noble gases.

Question 24

What do other elements do to try and achieve the noble gas structure?

Answer 24

They lose or gain electrons so that their electronic structure is same as that of a noble gas.

Question 25

Define ions.

Answer 25

It is a charged particle formed when an atom loses or gains electrons

Question 26

Define cation

Answer 26

A positively charged ion.

Question 27

Define anion

Answer 27

A negatively charged ion.

Question 28

What is a tendency of Metals from Group I, II, III?

Answer 28

They tend to lose electrons to form positively charged ions called cations

Question 29

What is a tendency of non-metals found in IV, VIII

Answer 29

Non-metals tend to gain electrons to form negative ions also known as anions.

Question 30

Do all elements have isotopes?

Answer 30

No

Question 31

What is relative atomic mass?

Answer 31

It is the average of the masses of the isotope, taking into account their relative abundance.

Question 32

What does the group number tell you?

Answer 32

It tells you the number of electrons in the outer shell.

Question 33

What ions do Non-metals form

Answer 33

They gain electrons to form negatively charged anions.

Question 34

What ions do metals form

Answer 34

They lose electrons to form postively charged cations.