Physics Chapter 17
1. What is an atom?
-building blocks of matter (very small particles)
-atom means “indivisible” –Dalton originally thought you cannot
get smaller, but now we know you can
2. What is an element?
-atoms of the same kind
-periodic table of elements : know that there are over 110
elements/ 90 are natural
-most elements are metals
3. Are atoms recyclable?
They cycle and recycle everyday
Ex: breathing: take in atoms that were useful in the air, and you
expel atoms that are toxic to you
4. Does the mass of the earth increase each year?
-since population grows, does the mass of the earth grow?
No because human cells are merely rearrangements of material
previously present
Ex: babies in mother grow because food she eats
5. How big are atoms?
-very small: 1 thimble full of water =
10000000000000000000000000 atoms
6. Is Neth’s brain made up of the same atoms that were once part of Albert Einstein?
yes, just combined differently, but same “type of atoms”
7. What is Brownian motion?
-in 1827 Robert Brown saw atoms moving under a microscope
-perpetual jiggling of particles that are just large enough to be seen
8. What are molecules?
Atoms that combine (covalently) to form large particles
- cannot see molecules, but you can smell them
9. What is a compound?
-substance that is made of atoms of different elements in fixed
proportions
ex: NaCl
10. What is a chemical formula?
Uses symbols and subscripts to tell the proportion of each kind of
atom
11. What are the parts of an atom?
12. Who is Rutherford?
-bombarded gold foil with alpha particles and found the nucleus
because the particles would not go through the foil. Pg. 250
13. What are nucleons?
-building blocks of a nucleus i.e. protons and neutrons
14. What are isotopes?
-atoms with different number of neutrons
15. What is the importance of the atomic number?
Tells what the element is
-tells how many protons in nucleus
16. What is an ion?
Atom that has lost (+) or gained (-) an electron
17. What are the three different types of bonds?
Ionic ( metal + non): gain and lose electrons
Covalent (non + non): share electrons
Metallic (metal + metal): Electron sea
18. What is the shell model of the atom?
Explains how atoms of different elements interact to form
compounds
-electrons are orbiting in spherical shells around the nucleus
What is the periodic table?
-chart
that lists atoms by their atomic number and their electron
arrangements
-increase by atomic #, which correlates to mass
19. What is the difference between group and period?
Groups: columns (same properties)
Periods: rows
20. What are the four phases of matter?
Gas: move fast, spacious, collide
Liquid: flow
Solid: vibrate, tight space
Plasma: positive ions and free electrons, always in motion, high
heat
21. Suppose you could add or subtract protons from oxygen nuclei. To turn oxygen
into a gas that would glow red when an electric current flows through it, would
you add or subtract protons? How many and why?
if you add 2 protons you would have 10 protons, which is Neon
which will glow red when current is flowing
22. You just swallowed germanium capsules that you thought were harmless. Now
that they are in your stomach you realize they have an extra proton in each
nucleus. Is this good news or bad? Why?
BAD! 1 more proton means it is arsenic