Particles in an Atom

Learning Objectives
• Determine the number of protons, neutrons and electrons in a
particular atom (S8MT-IIIe-f-10)
Recap
Introduction
What are atoms made of?

• The word "atom" is derived from the Greek word,

“atomos” or indivisible.
• Atom is the smallest unit of matter that retains the
identity of the substance.
• Atom is thought to be the smallest particle of a given
element
• The atoms are made up of three particles: PROTONS,
NEUTRONS and ELECTRONS.
What is the structure of an atom?
Protons, neutrons and electrons are not evenly distributed in
an atom.

The protons and neutrons exist in a

dense core at the centre of the atom.
This is called the nucleus.
Together, they are called nucleons.

The electrons are spread out

around the edge of the atom.
They orbit the nucleus in layers
called shells.
Properties of the three Subatomic Particles
Subatomic Charge Mass in grams Location in the atom
particle

Electron 1- 9.109 x 10-28 Outside the nucleus

Proton 1+ 1.672 x 10-24 Inside the nucleus

Neutron 0 1.678 x 10-24 Inside the nucleus

The proton is positively charged particle which cancels

exactly the negative charge of the electron and neutron is
More information about the subatomic
particles
• All atoms have a positive nuclear charge due to the presence of
protons.
• The number of protons in an atom determines the positive nuclear
charge of an atom.
• Protons also determine the atomic number (Z) of an element. We can
tell how many protons an atom of an element has by knowing its
atomic number.
• For example, the element beryllium (Be) has an atomic number of 4.
An atom of beryllium has four protons. The element Krypton (Kr) has
an atomic number of 36, and one atom of Krypton has 36 protons.