Structure of Matter
What is an atom?
An atom is the smallest
particle of matter.
It is the smallest part of
something that is still that
thing? Yeah, OK, but what
exactly does that mean?
What does an Atom look
like?
Well, it’s pretty small!
So small that you can’t see it
with the naked eye!
It’s even smaller than a cell.
In fact, it would take millions
of atoms to make up just one
cell- now that’s pretty small!!!
What are the parts of an
Atom?
Well, it’s got a nucleus- that funny part in
the center that has the Protons and
Neutrons.
Yeah, OK, but what’s a Proton, and what is
a Neutron?
Well, a Proton is a particle that has a
positive charge and kind of stays in the
middle of the Atom. A Neutron is a particle
that has no charge (neutral), and hangs
out in the nucleus with the Proton!
Oh Yeah and I can’t
forget……..
Electrons………
We are the guys that get to have all
the fun, floating around in orbits
outside the nucleus. Just for the
record, we have a negative charge
so you will see us represented as a
minus sign a lot!
One last thing :-)
We Electrons travel around in these
orbits (shells) and can’t go to another
shell.
But if a new electron wants to join us
and our shell is full, they’ve got to go to
the shell next door. More friendly
electrons can join in that shell until that
one is filled up too! These shells have
names starting with the closest to the
nucleus =K, and moving outward to L,
M, N, and so on. K holds 2 electrons, L
holds 8 electrons, M holds 18 electrons
, and N holds 36 electrons……….
The Atom’s Family Album!