The Atom

An Atom Is So Small
A penny contains 2 x 1022 atoms
Or
20,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 atoms!
It would take a stack of 50,000 aluminum
atoms to equal the thickness of a sheet
of aluminum foil!
How small?

BrainPOP
Atom

Whats Inside an Atom

Even

though an atom is tiny, it

consists of even smaller
particles:

Protons
Neutrons
electrons

Inside the Atom: Protons

Protons

are positively charged

particles of the nucleus

All

are identical

Each

proton has an amu (atomic

mass unit) of 1

Inside the Atom: Neutrons

Neutrons

are the particles of the

nucleus that have no charge

All

neutrons are identical

While

neutrons are a bit larger

than protons, they are not enough
bigger to have a larger amu.
Theirs is also =1.

Outside the Atom:

Electrons
Electrons

are the negatively

charged particles in atoms

Likely

to be found around the

nucleus within electron clouds

Charges

of protons and electrons

are opposite but equal in size

BrainPOP
Ions

Charge of An Atom
An

atom is neutral (has no overall

charge) because there are an equal
number of protons and electrons

If

there is an inequality between protons

and electrons, the atom becomes a
charged particle called an ion.

Charge of An Atom
If

protons > electrons = positive

charge

If

electrons > protons = negative

charge

Electrons

are tiny in mass

compared with protons and
neutrons

How Do Atoms of Different

Elements Differ?

Lets build the simplest atomthe

hydrogen (H) atom
Proton

Electron

Can we build bigger atoms?

Sure!

Try this on your own paper

carbon atom has 6 protons, 6

neutrons, and 6 electrons or

An

oxygen atom that has 8 protons, 9

neutrons, and 8 electrons

Next, lets build a Helium

atom
Protons

Neutrons

Electron

Are All Atoms of an

Element the Same?

Not necessarily. Some atoms have an

unequal number of protons and neutrons.
We call these atoms isotopes.

In an isotope, the number of protons in an

element always remains the same. The
neutrons change.

Do protons and neutrons

have to be equal?
Nope! However

The Number of Protons Determines the

Element

The number of protons in the nucleus of

an atom is the atomic number of that
atom.

How Can I Tell Which

Element is Which?

Lets review
What

is the charge, location, and

mass of a proton?

proton has a 1+ charge, is found

in the nucleus, and has a mass of
1 amu

Lets review
What

is the charge, location, and

mass of a neutron?

neutron has no charge, is found

in the nucleus, and has a mass of
1 amu

Lets review
What

is the charge, location, and

mass of an electron?

An

electron has a 1- charge, is

found in the electron cloud, and
has almost no mass.

Summarize 3 2 1 Review!
On

a sticky note write your name and:

3 parts of an atom
2 largest particles in the atom
1 particle with a negative charge

Place

it on the boardgently.