What is Atoms?

~Atoms are the basic building blocks of ordinary matter. Atoms can join together to form molecules,
which in turn form most of the objects around you.

Atomic Structure
What are atoms made of?
~An Atom consists of 3 subatomic particles
*PROTONS: Protons carry a positive electrical charge.
:Protons make up the nucleus, held together by the strong force.
*ELECTRONS: Electrons carry a negative electrical charge
: It can be either free (not attached to any atom), or bound to the nucleus of an atom .
:Electrons in atoms exist in spherical shells of various radii, representing energy levels.
:The larger the spherical shell, the higher the energy contained in the electron.
*NEUTRONS: A neutron is one of the fundamental particles that make up matter.
: This uncharged particle exists in the nucleus of a typical atom, along with its positively charged
counterpart, the proton.
:Neutrons carry no electrical charge at all
@NUCLEUS: Center or Core of an Atom
*The protons and neutrons cluster together in the central part of the atom, called the nucleus, and the
electrons 'orbit' the nucleus.
*A particular atom will have the same number of protons and electrons and most atoms have at least as
many neutrons as protons.
*Protons and neutrons each have about the same mass, and both can exist as free particles away from
the nucleus. In the universe, neutrons are abundant, making up more than half of all visible matter.
*No. of protons = No. of Electrons