Atoms Flashcards
What is the radius of an atom?
about 0.1 nanometres.
Which types of particles does a nucleus contain and what is it’s charge?
It contains protons and neutrons and has a positive charge.
What fraction of the radius of an atom is the radius of a nucleus?
about 1/10,000.
What are the relative masses and charges of the different types of particles?
Protons have a relative mass of 1 and a charge of +1. Neutrons have a relative mass of 1 and a charge of 0. Electrons have a relative mass of 0 and a charge of -1.
What are the characteristics of electrons?
They move around the nucleus in shells. They are very small but cover a large amount of space. The size of the atom is determined by the volume of it’s orbit.
What is the correlation between the number of protons and electrons in an atom and why?
The number of protons equals the number of electrons. This is because the charge of an atom is neutral.
What is an ion?
An ion is an atom that does not have an equal amount of protons and electrons. Therefore it will have an overall charge.
What are the atomic number and mass number of an atom?
The atomic number is the amount of protons in an atom. The mass number is the sum of protons and neutrons.
