Figure 5.1 represents a simple model of an atom. You will learn about more complex models in later lessons, but this model is a good place to start. You can see similar, animated models of atoms at this URL: [Link] At the center of an atom is the nucleus (plural, nuclei). The nucleus contains most of the atoms mass. However, in size, its just a tiny part of the atom. The model in Figure 5.1 is not to scale. If an atom were the size of a football stadium, the nucleus would be only about the size of a pea. The nucleus, in turn, consists of two types of particles, called protons and neutrons. These particles are tightly packed inside the nucleus. Constantly moving about the nucleus are other particles called electrons. You can see a video about all three types of atomic particles at this URL: (1:57). A proton is a particle in the nucleus of an atom that has a positive electric charge. All protons are identical. It is the number of protons that gives atoms of different elements their unique properties. Atoms of each type of element have a characteristic number of protons. For example, each atom of carbon has six protons, as you can see in Figure A neutron is a particle in the nucleus of an atom that has no electric charge. Atoms of an element often have the same number of neutrons as protons. For example, most carbon atoms have six neutrons as well as six protons. This is also shown in Figure 5.2. An electron is a particle outside the nucleus of an atom that has a negative electric charge. The charge of an electron is opposite but equal to the charge of a proton. Atoms have the same number of electrons as protons. As a result, the negative and positive charges "cancel out." This makes atoms electrically neutral. For example, a carbon atom has six electrons that "cancel out" its six protons. When it comes to atomic particles, opposites attract. Negative electrons are attracted to positive protons. This force of attraction keeps the electrons moving about the nucleus. An analogy is the way planets orbit the sun. What about particles with the same charge, such as protons in the nucleus? They push apart, or repel, each other. So why doesnt the nucleus fly apart? The reason is a force of attraction between protons and neutrons called the strong force. The name of the strong force suits it. It is stronger than the electric force pushing protons apart. However, the strong force affects only nearby particles (see Figure 5.3). It is not effective if the nucleus gets too big. This puts an upper limit on the number of protons an atom can have and remain stable. You can learn more about atomic forces in the colorful tutorial at this URL: . Electrons have almost no mass. Instead, almost all the mass of an atom is in its protons and neutrons in the nucleus. The nucleus is very small, but it is densely packed with matter. The SI unit for the mass of an atom is the atomic mass unit (amu). One atomic mass unit equals the mass of a proton, which is about 1.7 10 24 g. Each neutron also has a mass of 1 amu. Therefore, the sum of the protons and neutrons in an atom is about equal to the atoms total mass in atomic mass units. Two numbers are commonly used to distinguish atoms: atomic number and mass number. Figure 5.4 shows how these numbers are usually written. The atomic number is the number of protons in an atom. This number is unique for atoms of each kind of element. For example, the atomic number of all helium atoms is 2. The mass number is the number of protons plus the number of neutrons in an atom. For example, most atoms of helium have 2 neutrons, so their mass number is 2 + 2 = 4. This mass number means that an atom of helium has a mass of about 4 amu. Problem Solving Problem: An atom has an atomic number of 12 and a
Output: A neutron has the same mass as a(n)