Chapter 2 Flashcards
Matter is defined as?
Anything that takes up space and that has mass
The smallest chemical units of matter are?
Atoms
A nucleus is composed of? What is an exception?
Uncharged neutrons and positively charged protons.
The only exception is the nucleus of a normal hydrogen atom, which is composed of only a single proton and no neutrons.
Where can you find electrons in an atom?
Orbiting the nucleus
The number of electrons in an atom typically equals?
The number of protons, so overall atoms are electrically neutral
What is an element?
Matter that is composed of a single type of atom. For example, gold is an element because it consists of only gold atoms. In contrast, the ink in your pen is not an element, because it is composed of many different kinds of atoms
How do elements differ from one another?
In their atomic number, which is the number of protons in their nuclei. For example, the atomic number of hydrogen, carbon, and oxygen are 1, 6, and 8, respectively, because all hydrogen nuclei contain a single proton, all carbon nuclei have six protons, and all oxygen nuclei have 8 protons
What is the atomic mass of an atom?
Sometimes called its atomic weight, it is the sum of the masses of its protons, neutrons, and electrons
Protons and neutrons each have a mass of what?
Electron?
Of approximately 1 atomic mass unit, which is also called a dalton.
An electron is much less massive, with a mass of about 0.00054 dalton.
Why are electrons often ignored in discussions of atomic mass?
Because their contribution to the overall mass is negligible, therefore the sum of the number of protons and neutrons approximates the atomic mass of an atom
There are ___ naturally occurring elements known, however organisms typically utilize only about ___ elements, each of which has its own symbol that is derived from its English or Latin name
93
20
Every atom of an element has the same number of protons, but atoms of a given element can differ in the number of? What is it called?
Neutrons in their nuclei which are called isotopes. For example there are three naturally occurring isotopes of carbon, each having six protons and six electrons
Over ___% of carbon atoms also have six neutrons. Because these atoms have six protons and six neutrons, the atomic mass of this isotope is about ___ daltons, and it is known as carbon-__, symbolized as ____
95%
12 daltons
carbon-12
12^C
Atoms of carbon 13 have how many neutrons?
Atoms of carbon 14 have how many neutrons? Why is carbon 14 unstable?
carbon-13 have7 neutrons per nucleus
Carbon-14 have 8 neutrons per nucleus. Unlike the first two isotopes, the nucleus of 14^C is unstable because of the ratio of its protons and neutrons
What do unstable atomic nuclei release?
Energy and subatomic particles such as neutrons, protons, and electrons in a process called radioactive decay.
Atoms that undergo radioactive decay are called?
Radioactive isotopes
Radioactive decay and radioactive isotopes play important roles in?
Microbiological research, medical diagnosis, the treatment of disease, & the complete destruction of contaminating microbes (sterilization) of medical equipment and chemicals
Although the nuclei of atoms determine their identities, it is what the determines an atoms chemical behavior? Why?
Electrons because the nuclei of different atoms almost never come close enough together to interact. Typically only the electrons of atoms interact. Thus, because all of the isotopes of carbon (for example) have the same number of electrons, all these isotopes behave the same way in chemical reactions, even though their nuclei are different.
An electron shell depicts?
The probable locations of electrons at a given time
Each electron shell can hold how many electrons?
Only a certain maximum number of electrons. For example the first shell can accommodate a maximum of 2 electrons, and the second shell can hold no more than 8 electrons.
Electrons in the outermost shell of atoms are called?
Valence electrons
Outer electron shells are stable when they contain how many electrons (except for the first electron shell, which is stable with only ___ electrons, because that is the maximum number)
8
2
When atoms’ outer shells are not filled with eight electrons, they either?
Have room for more electrons or have “extra” electrons, depending on whether it is easier for them to gain electrons or lose electrons. For example, an oxygen atom with 6 electrons in its outer shell has 2 unfilled spaces, because it requires less energy for the atom to gain two electrons than to lose 6 electrons. A calcium atom by contrast, has two “extra” electrons in its outer (fourth) shell, because it requires less energy to lose these two electrons than to gain 6 new ones. When a calcium atom loses two electrons, its third shell, which is then its outer shell, is full and stable with eight electrons
An atom’s outermost electrons are called valence electrons, & thus the outermost shell of an atom is the?
Valence shell