What is an Atom?

Atoms are the basic units of matter and the defining structure of elements. Atoms are made up of
three particles: protons, neutrons and electrons.
Protons and neutrons are heavier than electrons and reside in the center of the atom, which is called
the nucleus. Electrons are extremely lightweight and exist in a cloud orbiting the nucleus. he
electron cloud has a radius !",""" times greater than the nucleus.
Protons and neutrons have approximately the same mass. #owever, one proton weighs more than
!,$"" electrons. Atoms always have an e%ual number of protons and electrons, and the number of
protons and neutrons is usually the same as well. Adding a proton to an atom ma&es a new element,
while adding a neutron ma&es an isotope, or heavier version, of that atom.
'ucleus
he nucleus was discovered in !(!!, but its parts were not identified until !()*. +irtually all the mass
of the atom resides in the nucleus. he nucleus is held together by the ,strong force,, one of the four
basic forces in nature. his force between the protons and neutrons overcomes the repulsive
electrical force that would, according to the rules of electricity, push the protons apart otherwise.
Protons
Protons are positively charged particles found within atomic nuclei. hey were discovered by Ernest
-utherford in experiments conducted between !(!! and !(!(.
he number of protons in an atom defines what element it is. .or example, carbon atoms have six
protons, hydrogen atoms have one and oxygen atoms have eight. he number of protons in an atom
is referred to as the atomic number of that element. he number of protons in an atom also
determines the chemical behavior of the element. he Periodic able of the Elements arranges
elements in order of increasing atomic number.
Protons are made of other particles called %uar&s. here are three %uar&s in each proton / two ,up,
%uar&s and one ,down, %uar& / and they are held together by other particles called gluons.
Electrons
Electrons have a negative charge and are electrically attracted to the positively charged protons.
Electrons surround the atomic nucleus in pathways called orbitals. he inner orbitals surrounding the
atom are spherical but the outer orbitals are much more complicated.
An atom0s electron configuration is the orbital description of the locations of the electrons in an
unexcited atom. 1sing the electron configuration and principles of physics, chemists can predict an
atom0s properties, such as stability, boiling point and conductivity.
ypically, only the outermost electron shells matter in chemistry. he inner electron shell notation is
often truncated by replacing the long2hand orbital description with the symbol for a noble gas in
brac&ets. his method of notation vastly simplifies the description for large molecules.
.or example, the electron configuration for beryllium 34e5 is !s
*
*s
*
, but it0s is written 6#e7*s
*
. 6#e7 is
e%uivalent to all the electron orbitals in a helium atom. he 8etters, s, p, d, and f designate the shape
of the orbitals and the superscript gives the number of electrons in that orbital.
'eutrons
'eutrons are uncharged particles found within atomic nuclei. A neutron0s mass is slightly larger than
that of a proton. 8i&e protons, neutrons are also made of %uar&s / one ,up, %uar& and two ,down,
%uar&s. 'eutrons were discovered by 9ames :hadwic& in !()*.
;sotopes
he number of neutrons in a nucleus determines the isotope of that element. .or example, hydrogen
has three &nown isotopes: protium, deuterium and tritium. Protium, symboli<ed as
!
#, is =ust ordinary
hydrogen> it has one proton and one electron and no neutrons. ?euterium 3? or
*
#5 has one proton,
one electron and one neutron. ritium 3 or
)
#5 has one proton, one electron and two neutrons.