Atomic Structure Study Guide
Define terms and use terms in context in various multiple choice questions:
Metals
Malleable
Nonmetals
Chemical property
Metalloid
Element
Periodic Table of the Elements
Atomic Number
Atomic Mass
Electron
Proton
Neutron
Atom
Nucleus
Matter
Physical property
Ion
Isotopes
Period
Group
Valence electrons
Electron energy levels
Subatomic Particles
Describe parts of an atom, their charges, their masses, and locations within the atom.
Recognize the identifying features of an element and what makes each element unique.
Periodic table
Who first classified elements into a table?
How is the modern periodic table arranged?
What information is found in each square of the periodic table?
Compare and contrast atomic number and atomic mass.
What determines the identity of an atom?
What determines the reactivity of an atom?
Modern Periodic Table
Compare and contrast periods and groups (families), properties of periods and properties
of groups.
Properties of metals, location in periodic table
Properties of nonmetals, location in periodic table
Properties of metalloids, location in periodic table
Read and interpret periodic tables:
Locate metals, nonmetals, and metalloids on the periodic table.
Identify the number of valence electrons for elements in groups 1, 2 and 13-18.
Identify the number of electron energy levels for elements in Rows 1 – 7.
Calculate atomic mass, number of protons, number of electrons, and number of neutrons
given information from the periodic table or a problem.
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Summary:
Elements are substances that cannot be broken down into smaller components by
chemical means.
The Periodic Table of Elements is a table that organizes elements according to their
physical and chemical properties.
Elements with similar physical and chemical properties are grouped together on the table.
For example, elements with metallic properties are grouped on the left side of the table while
elements with nonmetallic properties are grouped on the right side of the table. The columns of
the Periodic Table are referred to as groups and the rows are referred to as periods. The elements
increase in atomic number from left to right.
The Periodic Table separates elements into metals, nonmetals, and metalloids. All of the
elements on the left side of the border that runs through Groups 13-17 are metals with the
exception of hydrogen (H). The elements on the right side of the Periodic Table are nonmetals.
Finally, the elements between the nonmetals and the metals are the metalloid elements.
Metals and nonmetals have different chemical properties from each other. For example,
they react differently when combined with other substances. Metals added to hydrochloric acid
(HCl) generate bubble and heat as they reacted. Alternatively, when nonmetals are added to HCl,
no visible chemical reaction takes place.
Elements from metal and nonmetal groups have different physical and chemical
properties. One difference in physical properties is the ability to conduct or transmit electricity.
Elements that are metals have the ability to conduct electricity while elements that are nonmetals
do not.
An atom is the smallest particle of an element that still has all the properties of that
element. Atoms are composed of three different types of subatomic particles. In the nucleus of
the atom are the protons and the neutrons. Protons have a positive electric charge while the
neutrons have no electrical charge (they are neutral). Orbiting the nucleus are the atom’s
electrons. They are small subatomic particles that carry a negative electrical charge.
An element’s atomic number is equivalent to the number of protons in its atoms’ nucleus
or the number of electrons normally orbiting the nucleus. In addition, the number of neutrons
likely to be found in the nucleus is equal to the element’s atomic mass minus its atomic number.
A metalloid is an element that can have the properties of both metals and nonmetals.
Metalloids can be found on the border of the metals and nonmetals of the Periodic Table
of the Elements. The metalloids are boron (B), silicon (S), arsenic (As), tellurium (Te),
germanium (Ge), antimony (Sb), polonium (Po), and astatine (At).
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