Basic Atom
Activity 1
Activity 1: Basic Atom Cards
Atom Cards Key
Proton
Neutron
Electron
Nucleus
Sort your cards in two groups: 1) Lithium atoms and ions 2) Nitrogen atoms and ions.
Count the number of protons, neutrons, and electrons for each atom or ion.
Atom/Ion
Lithium atom
Lithium atom
Lithium atom
Lithium ion (cation)
Lithium ion (cation)
6 Li
3
7 Li
3
9 Li
3
6 Li1+
3
7 Li 1+
3
13 N
7
14 N
7
15 N
7
14 N37
15 N37
Nitrogen atom
Nitrogen atom
Nitrogen atom
Nitrogen ion (anion)
Nitrogen ion (anion)
# Protons
________
________
________
________
________
#Neutrons
________
________
________
________
________
#Electrons
________
________
________
________
________
________
________
________
________
________
________
________
________
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________
________
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________
________
1. a. What do all of the Lithium atoms and ions have in common?
b. What do all of the Nitrogen atom and ions have in common?
c. What determines the identity of an atom or ion, the number of protons, the
number of neutrons, or the number of electrons?
2. a. What do all of the symbols for Lithium atoms and ions have in common?
b. What do you think the bottom number of the symbol tells you, the number of
protons, the number of neutrons, or the number of electrons?
3. On the periodic table, an element’s atomic number, Z, is indicated over the
element’s symbol. The periodic table squares for Lithium and Nitrogen are shown
below:
3
Li
6.941
7
N
14.007
Lithium
Nitrogen
Compare the symbols for the Lithium and Nitrogen atoms and ions to the atomic
numbers for Lithium and Nitrogen. What do you think the atomic number
represents?
4. The top number in the atom and ion symbols is called the mass number, A.
Compare the number of protons, neutrons, and electrons for each atom or ion to
the top number of the atom or ion symbol. What do you think the top number
(mass number) represents, protons + electrons, protons + neutrons, or neutrons
+ electrons?
5.
6 Li, 7 Li,
3
3
and 93Li are isotopes of Lithium and 137N, 147N, and 157N are isotopes
of Nitrogen. What two things are different about the isotopes of an element?
6. a. Look at the Nitrogen atoms 137N, 147N, and 157N. What do you notice about the
number of electrons compared to the number of protons?
b. Look at the Lithium atoms 63Li, 73Li, and 93Li. What do you notice about the
number of electrons compared to the number of protons?
7. a. What is the difference between the Lithium atoms, 63Li, 73Li, and the
Lithium ions, 63Li1+, 73Li1+?
b. What is the difference between the Nitrogen atoms, 147N, 157N, and the
Nitrogen ions, 147N3-, 157N3-?
c. What determines whether an element is an ion?
d. How is the number of electrons in the Lithium ion (cation) different than the
number of electrons in the Lithium atom?
e. How is the number of electrons in the Nitrogen ion (anion) different than the
number of electrons in the Nitrogen atom?
f. When an atom becomes a cation, what do you think happens to one or more
of its electrons?
When an atom becomes an anion, what do you think happens to one or more
of its electons?
g. Compare the number of electrons gained or lost by the Lithium cation and the
Nitrogen anion to their symbols.
How are the charges of anions and cations different?