What is a proton?
A proton is an electrically charged particle with a charge of +1. A proton has a mass of about 1.0 atomic mass unit (amu).
What is an electron?
An electron is an electrically charged particle with a charge of -1. An electron has a mass of about 1/1800 of an atomic mass unit (amu).
What is a neutron?
A neutron is a particle with a mass like a proton; however, a neutron does not have an electrical charge. A neutron has a mass of about 1.0 atomic mass unit (amu).
What is an atom?
An atom is the smallest unit of matter in a pure substance. Atoms do not have a net electrical charge.
What is the nucleus of an atom?
The nucleus is the central core of an atom. In the simulation, the nucleus is represented by the orange “X.”
What are the orbits or electron clouds of an atom?
The electron orbits or clouds are the regions in space around an atom where electrons are likely to be found. In the simulation, the electron orbits are represented by the blue dashed lines.
What is an element?
An element is a substance that cannot be broken down by ordinary chemical processes.
What are element symbols?
An element symbol is a one or two-letter abbreviation for a chemical element.
What is an ion?
An ion is an atom that has either gained or lost an electron or electrons resulting in a net charge on the ion.
What is a net charge?
A net charge is the total charge after considering both the positive and negative charged particles that make up an atom or ion.
What is an atomic number?
The atomic number is the number of protons in an atom.
What is a mass number?
The mass number is the sum of the number of protons and neutrons in an atom.
What is an isotope?
An isotope is a form of an element that has the same number of protons, but a different number of neutrons.
What is atomic weight?
Atomic weight is the weighted average of all naturally occurring isotopes of an element.
What does it mean for an atom to be stable?
An atom is stable if the atom has a “correct” number of protons and neutrons with the ratio being 1:1 or slightly greater. The atom is not likely to break apart via nuclear decay.
What does it mean for an atom to be unstable?
An atom is unstable if there is an unbalance in the number of protons and neutrons in an atom. The atom is likely to break apart via nuclear decay.
How is the Periodic Table arranged?
The Periodic Table is arranged by increasing atom number going from left to right across the table and then moving down to the far left of the next row.
Atoms consist of various building blocks. These include protons, electrons, and neutrons. Can you create different species of atoms and ions using only these building blocks? Get started now making atoms.
