Atomic Structure: Parts of an Atom

So before we delve into the deep and confusing processes, we need to know the parts of an atom, also known as SUB-ATOMIC PARTICLES.

Okay so parts of the atom...

THE NUCLEUS
This is made up of protons and neutrons.

THE ELECTRON SHELL
The electron is just a rough gauge for where the electrons move. The inner most shell can carry up to 2 electrons, while the ones further away can carry up to 8 electrons. And you can have many many many electron shells, but we'll get to that later.

ALL THE LITTLE 'ON'S
Protons — Determine the identity of the atom (like on the periodic table)
Electrons — Determine the charge of the atom (the less you have, the more positive the charge. Vice versa)
Neutrons — Determine the mass of the atom

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Okay, so maybe I'm not very good at describing and you might still be wondering:

So let's put a little link to the periodic table. So on the periodic table they usually give you a little bit of information on each element. For example, carbon here, on this lovely image I found on Google.

So like the diagram says, the number above the letter, that is the atomic number, AKA proton number. This is, as you might've guessed, the number of protons in that atom. And if you haven't noticed, this is how elements in the periodic table are arranged: By proton number.

The number below that is the nucleon number or atomic mass. You might wonder, why is this the mass?? Remember that ATOMS ARE ELECTRICALLY NEUTRAL. Sooooo... in every atom, there will be an equal number of protons and electrons, cancelling each other out. So what's the only thing that actually has mass? That's right, your good old buddy neutrons.

If an atom does not have an equal amount of protons and electrons, it will be an ion, which we'll be covering in the next post!