Subatomic Basics
The three largest subatomic particles that make up an atom.
What are protons, neutrons and electrons
This is the force that keeps the nucleus from being repelled apart.
What is the strong nuclear force?
This is what an element's atomic number tells us.
What is the number of protons (in the nucleus)?
An atom has this overall electrical charge.
What is a neutral or zero charge?
Elements in the same period share this characteristic.
What is having the same number of electron shells/energy levels?
This is the electrical charge associated with an electron.
What is a negative charge?
Explain how the force in the 100-point question works, mentioning the special subatomic particle involved.
What is the strong nuclear force, which acts on quarks overcoming the proton-proton repulsion?
This is the name for atoms that have an overall electrical charge.
What are ions?
This is what we call an ion that has a negative charge.
What is an anion?
Elements in the same group often have similar properties because they share this characteristic.
What is having the same number of valence electrons or chemical properties?
Name the two particles that are located in the atom's nucleus.
What are the protons and neutrons?
This particle's function is to determine the element's identity.
What is the proton?
Define the term isotope.
What are atoms of the same element (same number of protons) that have a different number of neutrons (different atomic mass)?
This is how an atom gains a positive charge.
What is by losing one or more electrons?
Describe the general location of nonmetals on the periodic table.
What is on the upper right side of the table?
State the function of a neutron (what it contributes to the atom).
What is contributing to the mass of an atom?
State the function of an electron.
What is determining the chemical properties of the atom?
Give an example of one of the three isotopes of carbon in hyphen form.
What is Carbon-12, Carbon-13, or Carbon-14?
Determine the mass number of the aluminum atom. (Hint: Aluminum has 13 protons.)
What is 27? (13 protons + 14 neutrons)
This group of elements is found along the stair-step line and has properties of both metals and nonmetals.
What are metalloids?
This force keeps the electrons from flying away from the atom.
What is the electromagnetic force?
Explain why electrons aren't held tight to the nucleus, even though the strong nuclear force is much stronger than the electromagnetic force.
What is because the electrons are not affected by the strong nuclear force / the strong nuclear force only acts over very short distances within the nucleus?
Explain why the atomic weight of an element is never a whole number.
What is because the atomic weight is the weighted average mass of all the element's naturally occurring isotopes?
This is what we call an ion that has a positive charge.
What is a cation?
State the special characteristics of Group 18, which is named the Noble Gases.
What are they are inert/unreactive and have a full outer shell?
Given the natural abundances of the isotopes of strontium listed in the table: Sr-85 (.56%), Sr-86 (9.86%), Sr-87 (7.00%), Sr-88 (82.58%) set up the mathematical equation you would use to calculate the average atomic mass.
(0.0056 x 84) + (0.0986 x 86) + (0.0700 x 87) + (0.8258 x 88) = Average Atomic Mass