Atoms

• the basic units of matter and the defining structure of

elements.
• are made of tiny particles called protons, neutrons and
electrons
• Most atoms are stable
• Some atoms have too many neutrons in the nucleus, which
makes them unstable
Particles of an ATOM
• PROTONS
• The protons inside atom's nucleus help bind the nucleus.
• They also attract the negatively charged electrons, and keep them
in orbit around the nucleus.
• The number of protons in an atom's nucleus determines chemical
element it is.
• ELECTRONS
• the negatively charged particles of atom
• all of the electrons of an atom create a negative charge that
balances the positive charge of the protons in the atomic nucleus
• The mass of an electron is almost 1,000 times smaller than the
mass of a proton
Particles of an ATOM
• NEUTRONS
• are a type of subatomic particle with no charge
• neutral subatomic particle that is a constituent of every atomic
nucleus except ordinary hydrogen.
Illustration of an ATOM
Illustration of an ATOM
ATOMIC MASS
• is simply its total mass and is typically expressed in atomic
mass units or amu
• the sum of the numbers of protons and neutrons in the
nucleus is called the mass number
• is extremely important in chemistry because it is the
connection between mass, and moles
ATOMIC NUMBER
• is the number of protons in the nucleus of an atom
• the number of a chemical element in the periodic system,
whereby the elements are arranged in order of increasing
number of protons in the nucleus.