Student Resource Sheet AC- 7
Atomic Structure
Word
Atom
Charge
N/A
Location in the Atom
It is the atom.
Nucleus
N/A
Protons
Neutrons
Electrons
Electron Cloud
N/A
1.
Using the description of an atom from the reading, draw what you think an atom would look
like and label its parts.
2.
Explain why each element is different from each other. Use information from the reading to
support your answer.
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3. What is the difference between an atom and an element?
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Student Resource Sheet AC- 7
Matter, Elements and Atoms Reading
Every example of matter you observe in your everyday life is composed of
elements or combinations of elements. An element is any material that cannot be
broken down into other materials by chemical or physical means. You are
probably familiar with many elements like hydrogen, oxygen, silver, and gold. In
total, there are approximately 109 different elements that occur naturally in the
environment. Because elements are substances that cannot be broken, they are
considered to be pure substances. Elements can be solids, liquids, or gases.
In the pen, each element is unique. Hydrogen is very different from sulfur
and nitrogen. What makes them so different? Each element has a unique atomic
structure. Elements are considered pure substances because they consist of only
one type of atom. Hydrogen is made of hydrogen atoms, sulfur is made of sulfur
atoms and nitrogen is made of nitrogen atoms. An atom is the smallest particle of
an element that has all of the properties of that element. Atoms are incredibly
small. For example, it takes millions of atoms just to make the period at the end of
this sentence.
The atoms that compose elements have even smaller components known as
subatomic particles. The three main subatomic particles are the proton, neutron,
and electron. These subatomic particles have specific locations, masses, and
charges within the atom itself. The hydrogen, sulfur, and nitrogen atoms that make
up the plastic in the pen are different from each other because their atoms contain
different combinations of these three subatomic particles.
Protons and neutrons are located within the nucleus, or center of the atom.
The positively charged particles found in the nucleus are called protons.
Neutrons are the electrically neutral part of the nucleus meaning they have no
charge. Whirling around the outside of the nucleus are particles that are 1/2000 the
mass of protons and neutrons. These subatomic particles are called electrons.
Electrons have a negative charge. The exact location of an electron cannot be
known. Sometimes electrons are close to the atom’s nucleus. At other times, they
are farther away. The space in which the electrons occupy is known as the
electron cloud. Electrons are not as tightly bound to the atom as the protons and
neutrons, so sometimes electrons move from atom to atom. It is this movement of
electrons that has provided scientists with indirect evidence of the structure of the
atom.
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