Atomic Structure

Atomic Structure

1. The Atom

   • Structure
     • Protons - Positive, nuclear  Neutron- Neutral, nuclear  Electrons- Negative, Orbiting 
     • Protons and neutrons have the same relative mass where as electrons have the mass of approximately 1836th of these. Electrons have a much higher charge density than protons  
   • Definitions
     • Atomic number = number of protons and number of electrons in a neutral atom Mass/nucleon number = number of neutrons + number of protons Note: nucleon number is always the biggest number on elemental notation 
     • Refer to textbook index for definitions of relative atomic, isotopic, molecular and formula masses, based on the 12C scale 
   • Isotopes
     • Isotopes are different forms of the same atom with different numbers of neutrons (therefore different nucelon number)

2. Mass Spectrometer

   • Behavior of particles