T1 - Atomic structure

Question 1

What does an atom contain?

Answer 1

An atom contains protons, neutrons and electrons.

Question 2

Where are the protons, neutrons and electrons found?

Answer 2

The protons and neutrons are found in the nucleus and the electrons move around the nucleus in electron shells.

Question 3

What are the relative charges and masses of neutrons, protons and electrons?

Answer 3

Particle : Mass : Charge
Proton : 1 : +1
Neutron : 1 : 0
Electron : 1/2000 : -1

Question 4

What is the number of protons equal to?

Answer 4

The number of protons = number of electrons

Question 5

What is the overall charge of an atom and why?

Answer 5

Atoms are neutral and have no overall charge, this is because the negative charge on the electrons cancels out the positive charge of the proton.

Question 6

What is an ion?

Answer 6

An ion is a charged particle formed when one or more electrons are lost or gained from an atom or molecule.
The number of protons does not equal the number of electrons.

Question 7

What is the top number on an atomic symbol and what does it represent?

Answer 7

The top number is the mass number and it tells you the total number of protons and neutrons are in the atom.

Question 8

What is the bottom number on an atomic symbol and what does it represent?

Answer 8

The bottom number is the atomic number and it tells you how many protons there are.

Question 9

How do you find out the number of neutrons?

Answer 9

Number of neutrons = mass number - atomic number

Question 10

What is an element?

Answer 10

An element is a substance made up of atoms that all have the same number of protons in their nucleus. They have the same atomic number.

Question 11

What is an isotope?

Answer 11

Isotopes are different forms of the same element which have the same number of protons but have a different number of neutrons.

Question 12

What is the relative atomic mass?

Answer 12

Relative atomic mass (Ar) is the average mass of all the isotopes that make up an element.

Question 13

What is the equation for relative atomic mass?

Answer 13

Relative atomic mass = sum of (isotope abundance x isotope mass number)

Question 14

What do isotopes have?

Answer 14

Isotopes have the same atomic number but different mass numbers.

Question 15

What is a molecule?

Answer 15

A molecule is a particle made up of 2 or more atoms held together by covalent bonds.

Question 16

What is an ion?

Answer 16

An ion is a charged particle formed when one or more electrons are lost or gained from an atom or molecule.

Question 17

What is a mixture?

Answer 17

A mixture is 2 or more substances not chemically bonded together.

Question 18

What is a compound?

Answer 18

Compounds are substances formed from 2 or more elements. The atoms of each are in fixed proportions throughout the compound and they’re held together by chemical bonds.

Question 19

What is ionic bonding?

Answer 19

Ionic bonding is a compound which is formed from a metal and non-metal consisting of ions. The metal atoms lose electrons to form positive ions. The non-metal atoms gain electrons to form negative ions.

Question 20

How many electrons are there in the shells?

Answer 20

2 electrons in the first shell.
8 electrons in the outer shells.