Control questions
Q1: What charge does a neutron have?
Answer: The neutron has no charge – it is neutral. The third particle of an
atom is the electron. Electrons are much smaller than the protons or the
neutrons (almost 2000 times smaller). It is easy to illustrate them orbiting
around the nucleus using the Bohr model, although they actually move in a
cloud.
Q2: What type of charge do electrons have?
Answer: Electrons are negative. All atoms in the universe are made up of the
same basic particles: the proton, the neutron and the electron. The different
combinations of those particles combine to make different elements, which
combine to make different molecules.
Q3: How is the Periodic Table arranged with respect to the number of
protons an atom has?
Answer: The Periodic Table is arranged in increasing Atomic Number, which
corresponds to an increasing number of protons in each
element.
Q4: What Period are these elements in, and how many orbital shells would
each atom have?
Answer: Each element in this group is in Period 2, and so each atom has two
orbital shells.
Q5: Everything in the world is made up of atoms. What determines how
atoms and molecules are structured?
Answer: The arrangement of the sub-atomic particles in the atom; the
electrons, protons and neutrons. The arrangement of sub-atomic particles within
each atom determines not only what type of element it is, but how it combines to
form molecules and how it reacts in the physical world. The makeup of the entire
world is dependent on the configuration of individual atoms. Understanding the
chemistry and physics of the atom helps us understand our
world.
Q6. How are the atomic numbers and the atomic masses of the elements
related to how the elements are arranged on the Periodic
Table?
Answer: The elements are arranged in increasing atomic number, which also
corresponds to increasing atomic mass.
Q7. How does the number of electrons relate to the arrangement? What is
the difference in the number of electrons in a 3rd period element and the 2nd
period element above it?
Answer: The elements are arranged in increasing number of electrons. Each
element in the 3rd row has eight more electrons than the element above it in the
2nd row.
Q8. Do some elements next to each other have the same number of
neutrons? How is that possible?
Answer: Yes, some of the elements next to each other have the same number of
neutrons, but they are different elements because they have a different number
of protons.
Q9. How are the colors arranged, and what conclusions can be drawn from
this arrangement?
Answer: The colors line up in columns. The elements in each column have
similar properties.
Elements are organized into families (groups) according to their
physical and chemical properties. Notice that the elements that are the same
color fall into the same group.
Q10. Compare the location of the Metals groups in relation to the Noble
Gases group. What is the significance of their locations on the Periodic
Table?
Answer: The Metals groups are on the far left of the Table, and the Noble
Gases are on the far right. There is a very big difference in the structure of
the elements from one side of the Table to the other.
Q11. Which groups have names that help you to remember where certain
elements are located?
Answer: Groups III, IV, V and VI are all named after the element at the top
of the group. Knowing the names of these groups helps to locate where those
elements are on the Periodic Table.
Q12. What is the difference between the atomic number and atomic mass of
an element in the periodic table?
Answer: The atomic number is the number of protons in the nucleus of the
atoms in that element. The atomic mass is the average mass of the different
isotopes of that element.