Basic Atom Info

Basic Atom Info

1. made up of a nucleus surrounded by orbitals

   • nucleus
     • made up of protons and neutrons
       • protons have a positive charge
         • the # of protons determines the type of atom
       • neutrons have a neutral charge
       • held together by strong nuclear force
   • electron cloud
     • surrounds the nucleus
     • the most likely place to find an electron at a given time
     • divided into different levels, or orbitals
       • electrons located in the outermost orbitals are called valence electrons
         • atoms can lose or gain valence electrons
           • atoms that lose electrons become positively charged
             • known as cations
           • atoms that gain electrons become negatively charged
             • known as anions
       • different atoms have different distances between orbitals
         • when atoms absorb energy their electrons jump to higher orbitals
           • thus different atoms require varying amounts of energy for their electrons to switch orbitals
             • thus different atoms release different amounts of energy
               • thus different atoms release different colours of light
           • energy is released as the electron falls back to its original orbital (ground state)
             • the energy is usually released as light
               • thus different atoms release different colours of light
           • known as "excited state"
     • electrons have a negative charge