How Many Electrons in an Atom?

For an atom of an element:
number of electrons = number of protons = atomic number of element

AUS-e-TUTE has a new tutorial, game, test and drill to help you learn and apply this idea.
AUS-e-TUTE members should log-in to access these new resources.

If are not an AUS-e-TUTE Member, there is a "free-to-view" tutorial currently available at:
http://www.ausetute.com.au/noelectron.html

How Many Protons in an Atom?

number of protons in an atom = atomic number (Z) of the element

... and.... the periodic table of the elements lists the elements in or order of increasing atomic number!

Now, if you'd like to see AUS-e-TUTE's new tutorial on this topic, along with worked examples of exam questions, you will need to visit http://www.ausetute.com.au/noprotons.html

But, if you would like to play the game, answer the test questions, or do the drill, then you will need to become an AUS-e-TUTE Member at http://www.ausetute.com.au/register.html

Elemental Fun

For this activity you will need a modern Periodic Table
(here's one I prepared earlier at http://www.ausetute.com.au/pertable.html )

This activity is designed to let students have some fun while they use a Periodic Table to extract information about elements (names, symbols, atomic number and atomic weight).

Ask the students a question.
Students use a Periodic Table find the answers.
After doing a few of these, the students will usually start making up their own questions and answers.
They can try out their questions/answers on their fellow students (and you!).

Names from Symbols

1. Question: What is candy made of?
    Answer: calcium, nitrogen and dysprosium (Ca N Dy )

2. Question: What ingredients do you need to make chocolate?
    Answer: carbon, holmium, cobalt, lanthanum, tellurium (C Ho Co La Te)

3. Question: What elements make up a body?
    Answer: boron, oxygen, dysprosium (B O Dy)

4. Question: What makes up the atmosphere?
     Answer: astatine, molybdenum, sulfur, phosphorus, helium, rhenium (At Mo S P He Re)

5. Question: Prove that these elements are compounds!

• xenon (It's made up of xenon, nobelium nitrogen, Xe No N)
• neon (It's made up of neon, oxygen, nitrogen, Ne O N)
• iron (It's made up of iridium, oxygen, nitrogen, Ir O N)
• copper (It's made up of cobalt, phosphorus (twice), erbium, Co P P Er)
• silver (It's made up of sulfur, iodine, livermorium, erbium, S I Lv Er)
• arsenic (It's made up of argon, selenium, nitrogen, iodine, carbon, Ar Se N I C)

6. Question: What is the most negative element?

    Answer: nobelium, it always spells No

Symbols from Names

1. Question: What fruit is made up of 1 part barium and two parts sodium?

    Answer: Ba Na Na

2. Question: Can you use potassium, nickel and iron to cut an apple?

    Answer: Yes because they make a K Ni Fe

3. Question: If you add some fluorine, uranium and nitrogen to a game, what will happen?

    Answer: It will be more F U N !

4. Question:  What natural fiber is made up of lithium, neon and nitrogen?

    Answer: Li Ne N 

5. Question: What sort of jokes do chemists make out of cobalt, radon, and yttrium?

   Answer: Co Rn Y jokes.

Symbols from Atomic Numbers (crack the code)

1. Code: 1,18,15 

    Clue: A heavenly musical instrument?

    Answer: harp, H (Z=1), Ar ( Z=18), P (Z=15)

2. Code:  66, 7, 95, 53, 52

    Clue: Explosive stuff!

    Answer: dynamite, Dy(Z=66), N(Z=7), Am(Z=95), I(Z=53), Te(Z=52)

3. Code: 20, 28, 10

    Clue: What a cat is afraid of?

    Answer: canine, Ca(Z=20), Ni(Z=28), Ne(Z=10)

4. Code: 1, 85

    Clue: Head covering?

    Answer: hat, H(Z=1), At(Z=85)

5. Code: 67, 8, 19

    Clue: Somewhere to hang your coat?

    Answer: hook, Ho(Z=67), O(Z=8), K(Z=19)

Molecular Weight from Symbols

1. Question: What is a Chemist's favourite number?

    Answer: 315.02 because it is Lu C K Y (175 + 12.01 + 39.1 + 88.91 = 315.02)

2. Question: What is the molecular weight of a gene?

    Answer: 92.82 because it's made up of Ge and Ne (72.64 + 20.18 = 92.82)

3. Question: What is the value of life?

    Answer: 62.791 Li Fe (6.941 + 55.85 = 62.791)

4. Question: What does a boy weigh?

    Answer: 115.72 B O Y (10.81 + 16.00 + 88.91 = 115.72)

5. Question: How heavy is a phone?

    Answer: 68.158 P H O Ne (30.97 + 1.008 + 16.00 + 20.18 = 68.158)

Words You Can Make Using the First Twenty Elements Only

• Al O Ne
• Ar C
• Ar K
• B Ar
• B Ar K
• B Ar N
• Be Ar
• B Li N K
• B Li S S
• B O Ar
• B O Ne
• B O O K
• B O S S
• Ca B
• C Al F
• Ca N
• Ca N Al
• Ca Ne
• Ca N O N
• Ca P
• C Ar
• C Ar B O N
• Ca S H
• C H O O K
• C H O P
• C Li C K
• C Li F F
• C Li N K
• Cl O C K
• Cl O Ne
• C O B
• C O Ne
• C O O K
• C O S H
• F Ar
• F Li C K
• F Li P
• F O Al
• H Al F
• H Al O
• H Ar K
• H Ar P
• He Al
• He Ar
• H O C K
• H O N K
• H O P
• K Na C K
• K N O B
• K N O C K
• Li Ar
• Li C K
• Li Ne
• Li N K
• Li P S
• Li S P
• Na B
• Na P
• Ne O N
• Ne P Al
• N O O K
• O Ne
• O P Al
• P Al
• P Ar
• P Ar K
• P H O Ne
• P O P
• S Ca N
• S C O Ne
• S He
• S He Ar
• Si C K
• Si N
• Si N K
• S Li C K
• S Li P
• S Na C K
• S Na P
• S O B
• S O C K
• S O N Ar
• S P O O K