Atoms

Earlier we spoke about everything been made up of particles, from a lump of gold to our entire body! Now we are
going to give these particles a name - atoms.
Single atoms are far too small to be seen even with the most powerful microscope. However, in spite of their tiny size,
we know an awful lot about atoms.
Scientists have found that every atom contains a nucleus, and a cloud of particles called electrons that rotate around
the nucleus in the centre of the atom.

More about the atom

We have already said that atoms consist of a nucleus surrounded by a cloud of electrons whizzing around it. However,
the nucleus itself is composed of two particles, neutrons and protons.
All particles are light so scientists measure their masses in atomic mass unit instead of grams.
Protons and electrons carry a charge; neutrons do not.

Particle in atom: Mass:

Charge:

proton

1 unit

positive (+1)

neutron

1 unit

neutral

electron

negligible negative (-1)

A magnesium atom:
The different energy levels for the electrons are called energy shells. Each shell can hold a limited number of
electrons.

The first shell can hold 2 electrons.

The second shell can hold 8 electrons.
The third shell can hold a maximum of 8 electrons.
A magnesium atom holds 2 electrons in the third shell only. This is not a full shell or octet.
The magnesium atom is often written as 2,8,2 - this is known as its electronic configuration.
Facts about the atom

The above table supplies the reader with plenty of facts about individual atoms belonging to all the known elements.
This table is known as the PeriodicTable.
Each element is given a symbol, a sort of shorthand version of its name, for example Sodium has the symbol Na. Next
to the symbol are two numbers, the top number (the larger of the two), is known as the mass number, the lower
number (smallest of the two) is the proton number.
The periodic table is arranged in order of proton number, a hydrogen atom having the smallest!
Proton number
Look at the magnesium atom diagram again. It has 12 protons. This fact is used to identify an atom since it is specific
to them.
For example: only a magnesium atom has 12 protons, only a sodium atom has 11 protons!
The magnesium atom has 12 electrons. The number of electrons for an atom always equals the number of protons.
This means that their opposite and equal charge cancel one another out. Atoms are neutral!
Mass number
The electrons in an atom have negligible mass. So the mass number only takes into account the number of protons and
neutrons.
The mass no. = the no. of protons + the no. of neutrons.
Since we already know the number of protons, as given by the proton number, we can calculate the number of
neutrons.
For a magnesium atom:
Mass number = 24

Proton number =12

24 = 12 + the number of neutrons
Therefore, number of neutrons in a magnesium atom = 24 - 12 = 12 neutrons.
Isotopes

The atoms of an element are not always the same! Although they may contain the same number of protons their
neutron numbers may differ from atom to atom.
Isotopes are atoms of the same element, with the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons.

Elements and Compounds

Magnesium is made up of atoms only, so it is an element.
An element is a substance that is made up of one kind of atom only.
Every element has a name and a symbol and is displayed on the Periodic Table.

Element

Symbol:

Carbon

Hydrogen H

Aluminium Al

Sodium

Na

Potassium K

Lithium

Li

Silver

Ag

Mercury

Hg

Lead

Pb

Elements can combine with each other to form compounds.

A compound contains two or more kinds of atoms joined together.

The symbol for a compound is called its formula. It is made up from the symbols of the elements it contains and also
tells us about the % composition of each element within the compound.
Example: H2O - A molecule of water contains 2 hydrogen atom for every oxygen atom.