Atoms

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Before you start – Parts of an Atom Remember PEN!

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• Proton
  A tiny particle that exists in the nucleus of every atom and has a positive electrical charge.
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• Neutron
  A tiny particle of matter that has no electrical charge and is part of the nucleus of all atoms except hydrogen atoms.
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• Electron
  A tiny particle that has a negative electrical charge and travels around the nucleus of an atom.
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BSL Version

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What is atomic structure?

• Simply put, atomic structure refers to the structure of the atom.
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• “Remember PEN” – an atom comprises three different particles, known as protons, electrons and neutrons.
  
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• The protons and neutrons come together in the centre of the atom to form the nucleus.
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• As protons are positively charged and neutrons have no electrical charge, the overall charge of a nucleus is positive.
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• Electrons circle the nucleus, and have a negative charge.

BSL Version

What are protons?

1. Protons are positively charged particles found inside the nucleus of an atom.
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2. They help to identify the atom – different elements will have a different number of protons in the nucleus.
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3. The number of protons in an atom is signified by the atomic number on the periodic table.
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BSL Version

What are neutrons?

• Neutrons are also found in the nucleus of the atom.
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• They have no electrical charge and contribute to the atomic mass.
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• the core of an atom is the nucleus – made two kinds of sub-atomic particle; protons and neutrons.
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BSL Version

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What is electrons?

• Swooshing around the nucleus are even tinier particles called electrons.
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• Electrons are negatively charged particles that circle the nucleus of the atom.
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• They circle so fast that they create what’s called an electron cloud around the nucleus.
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• Their mass is so small, it is deemed insignificant.
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• As such, they do not contribute to the mass of an atom.

BSL Version

What is atomic structure?

• Simply put, atomic structure refers to the structure of the atom.
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• An atom comprises three different particles, known as protons, neutrons, and electrons.
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• The protons and neutrons come together in the centre of the atom to form the nucleus.
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• As protons are positively charged and neutrons have no charge, the overall charge of a nucleus is positive.
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• Electrons circle the nucleus, and have a negative charge.
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BSL Version

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• matter is made from small particles called atoms – they are the building blocks of the Universe.
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• atoms are so extremely small that one million could fit on the full stop at the end of this sentence.
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• atoms are the smallest identifiable piece of a chemical element.
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• many different atoms as there are elements – The Periodic Table of the Elements.
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• atoms are mostly empty space with tiny subatomic particles (subatomic means “smaller than an atom”).
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• swooshing around the nucleus are even tinier particles called electrons.
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• electrons have a negative electrical charge; protons have a positive charge – electrons are held to the nucleus by electrical attraction.
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• under certain conditions – one atom can be split into more than 200 kinds of short-lived sub-atomic particle of nucleus are made from various tiny particles called quarks.

BSL Version