1. September 9th, 2011
There should be a ‘mystery’ box at the front of your row.
Make observations about the box WITHOUT opening it.
Write this in your ‘Starter’ section for todays date

2. Introduction to the Atom
Basic unit of matter!!
Composed of subatomic particles:
Protons
Neutrons
Electrons

3. Protons Found in the nucleus Positively charged
Dictates the identity of the atom
Comparable in size to neutrons

4. Neutrons Found in the nucleus Neutral in charge
Mass is slightly larger than protons
Determines the isotope of an element

5. Electrons Found outside the nucleus Negatively charged
Very small compared to neutrons and protons
There are the same amount of electrons as there are protons, unless there is a charge on the ion

6. Quick Vocabulary
Ion – an atom or a molecule where the number of electrons equals the number of protons
Isotope – variants of atoms of a particular element, which have different amounts of neutrons

7. Nuclear Symbol
Common notation to indicate the atomic number and mass number of an isotope
Also indicates the charge of the ion (positive charge means less electrons than protons, and a negative charge means more electrons)

8. Hyphen Notation C – 14 C – 16 Notation used to show Isotopes
Written as: Element – Mass #
C – 12
C – 14
C – 16