What are atoms made up of?

atoms are made up of three

fundamental sub-atomic particles

protons neutrons electrons

5.6 Structure of atoms

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A simplified picture of the structure of
an atom
negatively charged
electrons moving
around the nucleus

very tiny positively

charged nucleus
(containing protons
and neutrons)

Think about Animation

Animation

5.6 Structure of atoms

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 Atom composition
contain 3 types of sub-atomic particles:
protons neutrons electrons

electrons are –ve charged

electron
& orbit the nucleus

proton nucleus contains

nucleus almost whole mass
neutron  density

protons are +ve charged

while neutrons are neutral
 nucleus is +ve charged
atom > 99 % is empty but the atom is electrically
neutral
5.6 Structure of atoms
Atoms are made up of protons, neutrons and
electrons. The protons (positively charged) and
neutrons (neutral) are concentrated in the very tiny
nucleus. The electrons (negatively charged) moved
around the nucleus.

5.6 Structure of atoms

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More about protons, neutrons
and electrons
Sub-atomic Symbol Mass (in g) Relative mass
particle
Proton p 1.6725 10-24 1

Neutron n 1.674810-24 1

Electron e 9.10910-28
1
negligible ( )
1837

5.6 Structure of atoms

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 Sub-atomic Electric charge Position within
particle (relative to that the atom
on a proton)
Proton +1 inside the
nucleus
Neutron 0 inside the
nucleus
Electron −1 space outside
the nucleus

Table 5.3 Data on the three fundamental sub-

atomic particles.

5.6 Structure of atoms

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A hydrogen atom
proton

electron

• the simplest of all atoms

• it has 1 proton, 1
electron but no neutron

5.6 Structure of atoms

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A helium atom
neutron • it has 2 protons, 2
electrons and 2 neutrons

electron

proton
nucleus
5.6 Structure of atoms
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Number of protons, neutrons and electrons in the 20
simplest atoms.
Atom Symbol Number of
protons neutrons electrons
Hydrogen ( 氫 ) H 1 0 1
Helium ( 氦 ) He 2 2 2
Lithium ( 鋰 ) Li 3 4 3
Beryllium ( 鈹 ) Be 4 5 4
Boron ( 硼 ) B 5 6 5
Carbon ( 碳 ) C 6 6 6
Nitrogen ( 氮 ) N 7 7 7
Oxygen ( 氧 ) O 8 8 8
5.6 Structure of atoms
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 Atom Symbol Number of
protons neutrons electrons
Fluorine ( 氟 ) F 9 10 9
Neon ( 氖 ) Ne 10 10 10
Sodium ( 鈉 ) Na 11 12 11
Magnesium Mg 12 12 12
(鎂)
Aluminium ( 鋁 ) Al 13 14 13
Silicon ( 硅 ) Si 14 14 14
Phosphorus P 15 16 15
(磷)
Sulphur ( 硫 ) S 16 16 16
Chlorine ( 氯 of) atoms
5.6 Structure Cl 17 18 17
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 Atom Symbol Number of
protons neutrons electrons
Argon ( 氬 ) Ar 18 22 18
Potassium K 19 20 19
(鉀)
Calcium ( 鈣 ) Ca 20 20 20
Table 5.4 Number of protons, neutrons and
electrons in the 20 simplest atoms.

Learning tip

5.6 Structure of atoms

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Atoms are electrically neutral
In an atom,

Number of = Number of
protons electrons

therefore, an atom is electrically neutral.

Class practice 5.5 Activity 5.2

5.6 Structure of atoms

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 mass of a proton 
mass of a neutron

mass of electron is
negligible w.r.t. proton &
neutron

mass of a proton 
mass of 1840 electrons

5.6 Structure of atoms

 Atomic number & mass number
mass number = no. of protons + no. of
neutrons = atomic no. + no. of
neutrons
mass number
A

Z M chemical symbol
of element

atomic number
atomic number of an element = no. of
protons in an atom of the element
5.6 Structure of atoms
 Atomic number (Z) and mass number
(A) of an atom are usually shown in a
full atomic symbol.
mass number
= number of protons + number of neutrons

Z X atomic symbol

atomic number
= number of protons
= number of electrons of a neutral atom
5.6 Structure of atoms
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EXAMPLE
mass number 4
atomic number 2 He

Example 5.3 Example 5.4 Class practice 5.7

5.6 Structure of atoms

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