General Chemistry: Ions, Isotopes, Electron Configurations, and Transition Metals

Vocabulary flashcards covering protons, neutrons, electrons, isotopes, ions, shorthand electron configurations, noble gases, and transition metals.

Protons

Subatomic particles that determine an element's identity, where having a different number of protons results in a different element.

Neutrons

Subatomic particles that determine which isotope of a given element an atom is.

Electrons

Subatomic particles that determine the charge of an atom, forming an ion when their count is not equal to the number of protons.

Isotope

Atoms of the same element that have the same number of protons but a different number of neutrons.

Ion

An atom that has a net charge because its number of protons and electrons are not equal.

Neutral atom

An atom where $\text{protons} = \text{electrons}$.

Positive ion

An ion formed when $\text{protons} > \text{electrons}$.

Negative ion

An ion formed when $\text{electrons} > \text{protons}$.

$$\text{Na-24}^+$$

An example atom with 11 protons, 13 neutrons, and 10 electrons; it is an isotope because of its neutrons and an ion because of its electrons.

Noble gas

An element whose outer electron shell is already full, making it very stable and generally unreactive.

Shorthand electron configuration

A method of writing electron configurations using the noble gas that comes before the element and has the largest atomic number.

Transition metals

Elements whose valence electrons are more complicated because they can use both s and d electrons for bonding.