Atomic Structure Basics

Explore atomic structure! Label atoms & learn about protons, neutrons, and electrons.

Basic Atomic Structure: A Look Inside the Atom by the incredible Tyler DeWitt Watch the video carefully. Then use what you have learned to complete the activities below. Label an atom 1 This is the exact atom Tyler used in his video. Add the following labels: protons, neutrons, electrons, nucleus. Make sure you type those words exactly. electrons nucleus protons neutrons Label an atom 2 Here's another image of an atom. This time, add the labels neutron, electron, and nucleus. Make sure you type those words exactly. neutron electron nucleus Subatomic Particles Complete the table to give the information about protons, neutrons and electrons. MASS (amu) ELECTRIC CHARGE LOCATION proton 1 +1 nucleus neutron 1 0 nucleus electron almost 0 -1 shells around outside Fill in the blanks to describe the structure of an atom. Atoms are the building blocks of all matter in the universe. The center of an atom is called the nucleus. It contains protons and neutrons. This is where almost all the mass of the atom is found. Both particles have a mass of 1 amu. Electrons whizz around the outside of the atom very fast. They are very tiny and weigh almost 0 compared to the nucleus. Why don't electrons just fly away from the atom? Because they are moving too quickly. Because they have almost no mass. Because they are positive and attracted to the negative nucleus. Because they are negative and attracted to the positive nucleus. If neutrons are just neutral, why are they in the atom? They move very fast. They have almost no mass. They stabilize the protons in the nucleus. They balance out the mass of the electrons. Matching particles. Proton +1 charge Neutron no charge Electron -1 charge Drawing an atom! Draw a diagram of a tritium atom from this description:Tritium is a type of hydrogen. A tritium atom has 1 proton, 2 neutrons and 1 electron. Make sure you fully label your diagram.