Atoms and Atomic
Structure
Learning objectives
• Define the terms atom, proton, neutron and electron
• Describe what an atom is made up of
• State the relative charges and approximate relative masses of
protons, neutrons and electrons
• Describe the arrangement of subatomic particles in an atom
• Define proton number (atomic number)
• Define nucleon number (mass number)
• Describe the buildup of electrons in ‘shells’ (rules for filling up
electron shells) and practice drawing electronic structures
Atoms
Textbook readings
• pp.94-95
If you cut a magnesium ribbon by scissors,
what will you get?
You will get smaller pieces of magnesium.
What if you cut it again and again?
You will get even smaller pieces of magnesium. Its size is
changed but its chemical property (composition and
associated characteristics) does not change.
In terms of particles, after each cutting, there are
fewer particles in each piece but the particles in each
piece are not affected by cutting (remain unchanged).
At last, there will only be one particle in each piece.
We call each particle an atom. “Atom” in ancient
Greek means indivisible (atomos).
What is an atom?
• An atom is the smallest,
indivisible unit of all matter
• Different atoms make up the
chemical elements that exist in
nature or created in the
laboratory
• An atom of an element is the
smallest particle that retains all
the physical and chemical
properties of that element
Video – what is an atom?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzGhi_KC7Ec
This is not only a theory. For example, we can now really
see carbon atoms using a very powerful microscope.
(Note: The atoms do not appear in the color shown. It is
only a computer generated image.)
Why do we care about atoms if we
cannot even see them?
Because atoms are...
Structure of an atom
An atom is made up of smaller particles
called subatomic particles. These cannot
exist by themselves.
The centre of the atom is
called the nucleus. It is made
up of protons and neutrons
Moving around the
nucleus are electrons
This type of diagram is
commonly drawn to
explain the atomic
structure.
In the centre of an atom is the nucleus, which consists of
one or more protons typically with one or more neutrons.
On the outside we can find electrons.
A proton carries a positive electric charge and has a mass
of 1.7x10-27 kg (designated 1 unit).
In an atom, the number of protons ranges from 1 to 118
currently.
Because protons have positive charges, they repel each
other in the nucleus.
Neutrons are also found in the nucleus, have a
similar mass to protons, but have no charge
(they are neutral).
They help to minimize the repulsion between
protons to keep the nucleus stable.
Outside the nucleus, there are one or more electrons
carrying a negative electric charge.
Electrons are much lighter than protons.
The entire atom does not carry a positive or negative
charge. It is electrically neutral because the number of
protons equals the number of electrons.
Protons, neutrons and electrons
Subatomic particle Relative charge Relative Mass
Positive charge 1
Proton (+1)
No charge / 1
Neutron Neutral (O)
Negative charge (- very small
Electron 1) (about 0.0005)
What have you
learned?
Answer in the back of your book
1. How many types of subatomic particle are
there? Three (3)
2. Which particle has a positive charge? Proton
3. Which particle is not located in the centre
of the atom? Electron
4. Where are protons and neutrons located? Nucleus (centre of the
5. Which particle has no charge? Neutron atom)
6. Which particle has the smallest relative
mass? Electron
Video: Just how small is an atom?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQP4UJhNn0I
Much of what is inside an atom is actually empty space.
Chemical elements
• Atoms with different numbers of protons
make up the 118 chemical elements that exist
in nature or created in the laboratory.
• Atoms of the same element have the same
number of protons.
Summary of atomic structure
Sub- Symbol Mass Electric Location Importance
atomic charge
particle
Proton p 1 unit Positive Inside • Defines the element
nucleus • Protons repel each other
• Attracted to electrons
Neutron n 1 unit Neutral Inside • Stabilize the nucleus by
nucleus minimizing repulsion
between protons
Electron e- 1/1840 Negativ Outside • Electrons repel each
unit e nucleus other
• Attracted to protons
• Involve in chemical
reactions
Reminder: Atoms are electrically neutral
(i.e. # of protons = # of electrons)!
Atomic number / proton number
• The atomic number of an atom is the number of
protons in the atom.
• You can identify an atom by the number of protons
it has.
Atom with 6 protons is carbon. Atom with 12 protons is
Atomic number of carbon is 6 magnesium. Atomic number of
magnesium is 12
• Any atom with 1 proton is called hydrogen.
• Any atom with 47 protons is called silver.
• Any atom with 94 protons is called plutonium.
Mass number / nucleon number
• The mass number of an atom is the sum of the
number of protons and neutrons in the atom.
• It indicates the approximate mass of one atom.
A sodium atom has 11 protons and 12 neutrons
Mass number of sodium
= 11 + 12
= 23
Atomic symbol
mass number
He
4
atomic number 2
Symbol of atom
Try it yourself!
Number of protons, neutrons and electrons in the 20 simplest atoms.
Atom Symbol Number of
protons neutrons electrons
Hydrogen H 1 0 1
Helium He 2 2 2
Lithium Li 3 4 3
Beryllium Be 4 5 4
Boron B 5 6 5
Carbon C 6 6 6
Atom Symbol Number of
protons neutrons electrons
Nitrogen N 7 7 7
Oxygen O 8 8 8
Fluorine F 9 10 9
Neon Ne 10 10 10
Sodium Na 11 12 11
Magnesium Mg 12 12 12
Aluminium Al 13 14 13
Silicon Si 14 14 14
Phosphorus P 15 16 15
Sulphur S 16 16 16
Atom Symbol Number of
protons neutrons electrons
Chlorine Cl 17 18 17
Argon Ar 18 22 18
Potassium K 19 20 19
Calcium Ca 20 20 20
An atom always has equal numbers of protons and
electrons. Therefore, they are all electrically neutral.
