Chem+Basics

__**Chem Basics**__

As was stated on the home page, atoms are the smallest unit of matter. Inside an atom are protons, neutrons, electrons, and a nucleus. The nucleus is the center of the atom. The nucleus is made up of protons and neutrons. The protons have a positive charge, but the neutrons dont have any charge. For every proton in an atom there is one neutron. In an atom, electrons orbit around the nucleus. Electrons are negatively charged particles. "They are attracted to the positivley charged nucleus but remain outside of the nucleus because of the energy of their motion" (Miller/Levine 35). Atoms have their electrons in layers around the nucleus. The first layer becomes full after 2 electrons, and after that, all other layers become full at 8 electrons.

An element is a substance that is purely made up of one atom. The amount of protons in an atom determines its atomic number. So because of this, if Carbons atomic number is 6, if it gains a proton and an electron, then it would be a new element since its made up of different protons. Also, its new atomic number would be 7, and it no longer would be called Carbon, but Nitrogen. Below, you can see a picture of the Periodic Table of Elements.

__**Bonds**__ An //Ionic// bond is formed when one or more electrons are transferred from one atom to another. Normally atoms are neutral because of their balance of protons and electrons, but when an atom loses an electron, its charge is positive. When an atom gains electrons, its charge is neutral. For example, an atom of Fluorine has 9 protons and electrons. That means that its second layer of electrons is one away from being full. Atoms prefer to have their outer layer of electrons full. So Fluorine would take electrons from an element like lithium which has 3 electrons. If it takes one electron from Lithium, then Lithiums outer layer would be full with two electrons, and Fluorines outer layer would also be full. These positive and negatively charged atoms are called Ions.

For additional information, visit these links below. [|**http://education.jlab.org/atomtour/**] [|**http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/biology/bio4fv/page/covalenb.htm**] [|**http://www.personal.psu.edu/staff/m/b/mbt102/bisci4online/chemistry/chemistry1.htm**]