Atoms

Atoms make up everything! One water molecule, for example, or H2O as you may have heard is made up of 2 Hydrogen atoms and 1 oxygen atom chemically bonded together.  A sheet of pure aluminum is made of many aluminum atoms. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is made of one carbon atom and two oxygen atoms all chemically bonded together). 

The different atoms that you see in the periodic table of elements are the only known building blocks for anything that is considered matter. Other atoms might exist, but they have yet to be discovered or invented. Every atom has it’s own chemical property, which is to say that they all behave differently. Hydrogen for example, is made of only one proton and one electron, whereas helium is made of two protons, one neutron and two electrons. For the sake of naming them, scientists have decided that the number of protons will determine the type of atom; the number of neutrons determine the isotope and the number of electrons will determine the ionic state.

  • 1 proton = hydrogen
  • 2 protons = helium
  • 6 protons = carbon
  • 7 protons = nitrogen
  • 8 protons = oxygen

Can you determine what type of atom has 23 protons? 40 protons? How many protons do Chlorine and Uranium have? Use the periodic table attached to determine your answers. Highlight the rest of this sentence for the answers: vanadium, zirconium, 17, 92.

I mentioned above that atoms could be discovered or invented. Some of the atoms at the bottom of the table table of elements are not naturally occurring (cannot be found in the world). This means that they are man made. Most of these atoms are incredible unstable and only briefly exist before decaying into something more stable. Naturally occurring atoms are said to have generated by the big bang. Hydrogen is the most abundant atom in all of the universe.  

There are two types of atoms: elemental atoms and non-elemental atoms. Elemental atoms, also known as elements. Elements exist when one or several of the same atom exist with no net charge. A non-elemental atom is one that does not satisfy the conditions to be elemental.

Elemental

  • Helium (He)
  • Hydrogen (H2)
  • Oxygen (O2)
  • Ozone (O3)
  • Aluminum (Al)
  • Gold (Au)
  • Sodium (Na)

Non-elemental

  • Sodium ion (Na+) – because the sodium is not neutral
  • Calcium ion (Ca++) – because calcium is not neutral
  • Fluoride ion (F-) – because fluoride is not neutral
  • Methane (CH4) – not all atoms are the same
  • Sodium Chloride (NaCl) – not all atoms are the same

Diatomic elements are elements where only two of the same atom exist together. There are only a few that exist stably. They are:

  • I2 (iodine)
  • H2 (hydrogen)
  • N2 (nitrogen)
  • Br2 (bromine)
  • O2 (oxygen)
  • Cl2 (chlorine)
  • F2 (fluorine)

The acronym to remember these is: I Have No Bright Or Clever Friends.