The NucleusCambridge IGCSE Physics: Flashcards

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What is at the centre of an atom, and what is it made of?

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What is at the centre of an atom, and what is it made of?: The nucleus, made up of protons and neutrons.
What is the relative charge of a proton?: +1.
What is the relative charge of a neutron?: 0 (no charge).
What is the relative charge of an electron?: −1.
How does an atom become a positive ion?: By losing one or more electrons.
How does an atom become a negative ion?: By gaining one or more electrons.
What did the alpha particle scattering experiment show about most of the atom?: That it is mostly empty space, since most alpha particles passed straight through the metal foil.
What did large-angle deflections of alpha particles in the scattering experiment reveal?: That the nucleus is very small but contains most of the atom's mass and is positively charged.
Define proton number (atomic number), Z.: The number of protons in the nucleus.
Define nucleon number (mass number), A.: The total number of protons and neutrons in the nucleus.
How do you calculate the number of neutrons in a nucleus?: Nucleon number minus proton number (A − Z).
What is an isotope?: An atom of an element with the same proton number but a different number of neutrons.
Write the general nuclide notation for an element X.: $^A_Z X$ , where A is the nucleon number and Z is the proton number.
What happens to the nucleus during nuclear fission?: A large nucleus splits into smaller nuclei.
What happens to the nucleus during nuclear fusion?: Two smaller nuclei join to form a larger nucleus.