Atomic structure

Atomic structure

1. Inside the nucleus

   • Three types of particles: -protons -neutrons -electrons
   • Charges: -protons 1.60x10^-19 C -neutrons 0 C -electrons -1.6x10^-19
   • Mass: - proton 1.67x10^-27 -neutron “ “ -electron 9.11x10^-31

2. Proton number: the number of protons in the nucleus,otherwise known as the atomic number.

3. Nucleons number: the sum of the protons and neutrons in the nucleus. Otherwise knows as mass number.

4. Isotopes: atoms of the same element with the same number of protons but different amounts of neutrons.

   • Changing the number of neutrons doesn’t affect the atoms chemical properties.
     • The number of neutrons affect the stability of the nucleus. The greater the number of neutrons, the more unstable the nucleus. Unstable nuclei may be radioactive and decay to make themselves more stable.