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Protons and neutrons, the particles that make up the nucleus, are
sometimes called nucleons.
neutron
The actual mass of a proton is 1.67 × 10−27 kg and the charge on a
proton is +1.6 × 10−19 C. Relative masses and charges, shown in Table 2.1,
Figure 2.1 A simple representation of a
lithium atom (not to scale). are used to compare the masses of particles more easily. Because the values
are relative, there are no units.
From these values it can be seen that virtually all the mass of the atom
Particle Relative Relative
is concentrated in the nucleus. However, most of the volume of the atom
mass charge
is due to the electrons – the nucleus is very small compared with the total
proton 1 +1 size of the atom.
neutron 1 0 The diameter of an atom is approximately 1 × 10−10 m and that of a
electron 5 × 10 −4
–1 nucleus between about 1 × 10−14 and 1 × 10−15 m, meaning that a nucleus
is about 10 000 to 100 000 times smaller than an atom. So, if the nucleus
Table 2.1 The properties of protons,
neutrons and electrons. The mass of an were the size of the full stop at the end of this sentence, the atom would
electron is often regarded as negligible. be between 3 and 30 m across.
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