Fundementals Flashcards
What is an element?
A substance that is composed of the same atoms and cannot be broken down by chemical means
What defines an element?
the amount of protons, also denoted by atomic number
What is an isotope?
An element with a varying amount of neutrons (thereby different mass)
What is atomic mass and unified atomic mass?
atomic mass refers to the mass of the neutrons and protons within an atom, a unified atomic mass is a weighted average of atomic mass in an element
What is an ion?
An element with varying amonts of electrons
What are valence electrons?
the electrons on the outermost shell, which are responsible for most reactions
What is the difference between a cation and anion?
cations are positivley charged while anions are negativley charged
How many electrons can each shell hold? (up to 4 shells)
2, 8, 8, 32
What is ionization energy?
the amount of energy it takes to ionize (remove or add an electron) an atom
Describe the trend of ionization energy across the periodic table and explain
As you go down, the ionization energy decreases
This is because the larger the atomic radius, the less attraction the electrons are experiencing with the nucleus
As you go right, the ionization energy increases
the more protons, the more attractive force there is to the nucleus
What is a period and group in a periodic table?
Period is the horizontal axis
Group is verticle axis
Describe atomic radii trends
Radius increases down a group
(new valence shells added)
Radius decreases across a period
this is because the protons added are pulling the electrons closer
