4/16/23, 10:11 AM Atomic Structure

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Atomic Structure
Atoms are the smallest particle of an element that can exist, and can be regarded as the building
blocks of everything. Atoms can combine to form molecules.

JAGRAN JOSH
UPDATED: APR 9, 2011 11:49 IST

jagran josh

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ATOMIC STRUCTURE
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4/16/23, 10:11 AM Atomic Structure

Atoms are the smallest particle of an element that can exist, and can be regarded as the
building blocks of everything. Atoms can  combine to form molecules. Molecules are the
smallest particle of either an element or a compound that can exist independently. 

SUBATOMIC PARTICLES
The atom is made up of sub-atomic particles: the proton, the neutron and the electron. The
protons and neutrons are concentrated  together in a tiny, enormously dense structure in
the centre of the atom, called the nucleus. The electrons orbit this nucleus at a very high
speed. The various elements differ from each other in the number of protons and electrons
they have. For example,  gold has 79 protons in its nucleus, whilst carbon has 6. The
subatomic particles carry an electrical charge: the proton is positively charged, the electron
is negatively charged, whilst the neutron is neutral. Atoms are electrically neutral because
they contain
equal numbers of protons and electrons. The chemical properties of elements depend on
the structure of their atoms. It is the arrangements of the electrons around the nucleus that
give elements their particular chemical properties. Electrons are arranged in ‘shells’, and it
is the state of the outermost shell which is crucial. A stable atom has a complete outer
shell - only the elements known as the noble gases (such as helium) have this structure,
and so they are stable as single atoms. Other elements have  incomplete outer shells, so
they bond with other atoms to form stable molecules. 

ISOTOPES

Isotopes are atoms of an element with the same number of protons and electrons but with
a different number of neutrons and therefore differing atomic masses. Isotopes are either
stable or radioactive.

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