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Atoms Vocabulary
Term | Definition |
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ATOM | The smallest part of an element that still has the chemical properties of that element. Atoms are made up of even smaller particles such as protons, neutrons, and electrons. |
PROTON | A particle in the nucleus of an atom that has a positive charge. The number of protons in the nucleus determines the element the atom forms and its atomic number. |
ELECTRON | A tiny particle, much smaller than an atom, that is charged with a small amount of negative electricity. All atoms have electrons surrounding the nucleus at different distances. |
NEUTRON | A subatomic particle with no electrical charge found in the nucleus of all atoms except hydrogen. A neutron has a mass slightly greater than that of a proton. |
NUCLEUS OF AN ATOM | The central area of the atom. It is composed of two kinds of subatomic particles, protons and neutrons. |
VALENCE ELECTRON | an electron of an atom, located in the outermost shell (valence shell) of the atom, that can be transferred to or shared with another atom. |
ELECTRON CLOUD | the group of electrons revolving around the nucleus of an atom; a cloudlike group of electrons |
ORBITALS | Atomic orbitals are regions of space around the nucleus of an atom where an electron is likely to be found. |
ENERGY LEVEL | the energy levels of the atoms correspond to the rows of the orbital |
SUBATOMIC PARTICLE | A unit of matter or energy that's the fundamental makeup of all matter. For example protons and neutrons |
ATOMIC MASS | The mass of an atom or a molecule |
ATOMIC NUMBER | The atomic number is equal to the number of protons in an atom's nucleus. The atomic number determines which element an atom is. |