Chemistry AQA GCSE - PAPER 1 ATOMIC STRUCTURE

What is an atom?

Smallest part of an element that can exist

What is Dalton’s model of the atom?

Atoms as solid spheres that could be divided into smaller parts

What is the Plum pudding model of the atom?

Sphere of positive charge with negative electrons embedded in it

What did scientists discover in the alpha scattering experiment?

Some alpha particles were deflected by the gold foil - this showed that an atom’s mass and positive charge must be concentrated in one small space ( the nucleus)

Describe the nuclear model of the atom?

Dense nucleus with electrons orbiting it

What did Niels Bohr discover?

Electrons orbit in fixed energy levels (shells)

What did James Chadwick discover?

Uncharged particle called the neutron

Where are protons and the neutrons?

In the nucleus

What is the relative mass of each sub-atomic particle?

Proton: 1, neutron: 1, electron: 0 (very small)

What is the relative charge of each sub-atomic particle?

Proton: +1, neutron: 0, electron: -1

How can you find out the number of protons in an atom?

The atomic number on the Periodic Table

How can you calculate the number of neutrons in an atom?

mass number - atomic number

Why do atoms have no overall charge?

Equal numbers of positive protons and negative electrons

How many electrons would you place in the first, second and third shells?

Up to 2 in the first shell and up to 8 in the second and third shells

What is an element?

Substance made of one type of atom

What is a compound?

Substance made of more than one type of atom chemically joined together

What is a mixture?

Two or more substances not chemically combined

What are isotopes?

Atoms of the same element (same number of protons) with different numbers of neutrons

What are the four physical processes that can be used to separate mixtures?

Filtration, crystallisation, distillation, fractional distillation, chromatography

What is it meant by filtration