Lecture Notes Chapter 2 Wednesday September 16 2015 2 1 The Structure of the Atom Atom smallest unit of an element o Has three subatomic particles but the atom is mostly empty space o Subatomic particles Protons positive charge mass 1 007 amu Neutron neutral charge no charge mass 1 009 amu Electron negative charge mass 0005 amu electrons are responsible for most of the volume of an atom but contributes to relatively none of the mass o Protons and neutrons account for most of the mass of an atom o Protons and neutrons are found in the atomic nucleus electrons orbit around the nucleus o Atoms are neutral because for every proton there is an electron the opposite charges balance each other out thus atoms have an equal number of protons and electrons
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