Sergio Pardo Rivera 2ºESO A

Physics and Chemistry Unit 4: Structure of matter.

1. Atoms.

An atom can be defined as the smallest particle into which a simple substance can be divided without
losing its chemical properties.

A chemical element is a type of matter that is made up of the same type of atoms.

1.1. Subatomic particles.

There are three subatomic particles that form the atoms: electrons, protons and neutrons.

- Electron (e-)
- Proton (p+)
- Neutron (nº)
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2. Atomic models.

In the Bohr’s planetary model there are several levels of electrons:

- In the first level it can only be 2 electrons.

- In the second level it can only be 8 electrons.
- In the third level it can only be 18 electrons.
- In the fourth level it can only be 32 electrons.

3. Atomic and mass number.

The atomic number (Z) is the number of protons in the nucleus of an atom, which identifies it as a certain
element.

The mass number (A) is the number of particles (protons and neutrons) in the nucleus.

Number of protons (Z) + number of neutrons = Mass number (A)

3.1. Isotopes.
Sergio Pardo Rivera 2ºESO A Physics and Chemistry Unit 4:
Structure of matter

Isotopes are atoms of the same element with different mass number because they have different number
of neutrons.

3.2. Ions.

Ions are atoms which gain or lose electrons in its shell.

- They are cations when they have lost electrons and have positive charge.
- They are anions when they have gain electrons and have negative charge.