what makes up an atom.
An atom is composed of a heavy nucleus of protons (positively charged particles, written as p+) and neutrons (neutral particles, written as n0), around which orbit a cloud of extremely light electrons (negatively charged particles, written as e-) . What defines an element? The number of protons in the nucleus of each atom. • Hydrogen (H) atoms have 1 proton. • Hydrogen atoms with 1 proton and 1 electron are neutral hydrogen (1H1). • Hydrogen atoms with 1 proton, 1 electron, and 1 neutron are a heavy isotope of hydrogen called deuterium (2H1). • If a proton is added to hydrogen, we then have a different element – helium (4He2). • Nomenclature: For each element, the superscript denotes the number of protons and neutrons, and the subscript the number of protons. • How many neutrons are there in neutral carbon (12C6)? There are a total of 12 nucleons (neutrons and protons), and 6 protons, so there must be 12 – 6 = 6 neutrons. –> • How many neutrons are there in the radioactive isotope cal
What are the different parts of an atom? Let us find out. The central portion of an atom is known as the atomic nucleus. It consists of protons, which carry positive charge and neutrons, which carry no electric charge. The negatively charged electrons orbit the atomic nucleus. The protons and neutrons in an atomic nucleus contribute to the atomic mass. However, the electrons floating in the region around the nucleus are extremely lightweight subatomic particles. If protons are positively charged particles and electrons are negatively charged, how does an atom not have electric charge? Do the neutrons neutralize the electric charge of an atom? Imagine, if atoms were to bear electric charge, we would be getting electrical shocks on touching anything around us. As atoms make up matter and matter makes up the universe, we would probably have to thrive in an electrically charged world! But thanks to the equal number of protons and electrons in an atom, matter does not possess electric charg
