Inside the Atom Flashcards

All 4 cards in this deck

Describe the structure of an atom.

A positively charged nucleus containing protons and neutrons, surrounded by negatively charged electrons.

True or false? The nucleus takes up most of the volume of an atom.

False. The nuclear radius is much smaller than the atomic radius, but the nucleus contains almost all of the atom's mass.

What is the typical size (order of magnitude) of the radius of an atom or small molecule?

About 1 × 10⁻¹⁰ m.

Roughly how many times bigger is the radius of an atom than the radius of its nucleus?

About 10 000 to 100 000 (10⁴ to 10⁵) times bigger.