Atoms Basics Flashcards
Name the 3 main subatomic that make up an atom, include their charge and relative masses:
Protons: Positively Charged - Relative Mass of 1 Neutrons: No Charge(0) - Relative Mass of 1 Electrons: Negatively Charged - Approx Relative Mass of 1/1800
Where are the 3 main subatomic particles located in an atom?
Protons and Neutrons are found in the Nucleus, and Electrons are found arranged in orbits (electron shells) around the nucleus.
What is the IUPAC arrangement for an elements’ mass number, atomic number and symbol?
A - Atomic Mass
X - Element Symbol
Z - Atomic Number
What factor does an element’s identity depend on (what makes it that specific element)?
The number of Protons.
What do we call an element with the same number of Protons but a different number of Neutrons? Provide an example:
An Isotopte. These be written in two ways, here is a Carbon isotope with 8 Neutrons: ¹⁴ C OR C-14
What charge does Carbon 12 (C-12) have?
It has no charge. Carbon 12 has 6 protons and 6 neutrons giving it the mass of 12 (hence the name). An atom’s charge is not affected by its’ protons or neutrons, thus its mass has no effect. C-12 has 6 electrons so it has no charge.
What are Valence Electrons?
Valence electrons are the electrons found in the outermost electron shell of an atom. For example, an atom with an elctron configuration of 2, 8, 3 has 3 valence electrons.
Write the electron configuration for a neutral atom of Chlorine (C):
2, 8, 7
In this case the first electron shell contains 2 electrons, the second has 8 and the third has 7.
What is an ion?
An ion is any element that has an unequal amount of protons and electrons.
How do we work out the number of Neutrons an atom has?
An atom’s atomic mass is the number of its’ protons + neutrons. To work out the number of neutrons we simply do:
Atomic Mass - Protons (Atomic Number)
What is the modern model of the structure of an atom known as?
The Rutherford-Bohr Model (or just the ‘Bohr Model’)
What is the difference between groups and periods in the Periodic Table?
Groups are columns moving up and down the table, while periods are rows moving left and right.
How many Valence Electrons does a group 2 element have? What about a group 14, or a group 16? Identify the pattern and any exceptions:
Group 2 elements have 2 Valence electrons, group 14 elements have 4 Valence electrons, and group 16 elements have 6 Valence electrons.
You can identify an element’s number of Valence Electrons by looking at the last number in its’ group number. (14 = 4)
Groups 3 - 12 (the transition metals) do not follow this rule, and have varying numbers of Valence electrons.
Helium also does not follow this rule, having only 2 Valence Electrons despite being in group 18.
True or false: The number of electrons is always the same as the number of protons in a neutral atom.
True!
What 2 forces contribute to holding an atom together? How do they work?
Electrostatic Attraction is the attraction between positive and negative particles, in this case between the positively charged nucleus and the negatively charged electrons. This force keeps the electrons in their orbits.
Strong Nuclear Force is an attractive force that occurs between all particles in the nucleus, but only over a short range. This means that despite the positively charged protons trying to repel each other, the nucleus’s particles stay clustered together.
