The Make Up Of An Atom

The atomic structure of an atom isn't as bad as you might think. When hearing all those scientific terms you might want to run and hide like a little girl, but once explained it really isn't bad at all. While studying the atom you will learn the parts and structure pretty easily. The atom is made up of protons, electrons, and neutrons. these three particles make up an atom. Electrons are found in the electron cloud. This surrounds the nucleus and holds most of the volume of the atom. Electrons are in fact very small though and barely contribute to the mass of an atom. The electron also is negatively charged. The Proton and Neutron can be found in the nucleus which is located at the center of the atom. Although very small in volume, the nucleus does hold most of the mass. The Proton is positively charged and the neutron is neutrally charged.
This link will lead you to a video to watch more on the concept of the protons, electrons, and neutrons if you need more help.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lP57gEWcisY&safety_mode=true&safe=active

When dealing with the Periodic Table of the Elements you have to know what all the numbers are and what they indicate about the elements chemical make up.

This is the atomic number. This number shows the number of protons and electrons. If there is a negative or positive sign then there is extra of either one.

This symbol is the letter that symbolizes the elements name.



This number is the mass number. It shows the average mass of all naturally occurring isotopes of the element. To determine this you just add the number of protons and neutrons. Remember because electrons are so small they do not contribute very much to the mass.



So you just saw the word isotope so I better explain what that is. An isotope is a form of an element that has the same amount of protons, but a different number of neutrons. Isotopes occur in naturally in nature and causes the mass number to be an average.