Edexcel GCSE Chemistry 1CH0
Key Concepts in Chemistry
States of Matter and Mixtures
Chemical Changes
Extracting Metals and Equilibria
Transition Metals, Quantitative Chemistry and Industrial Processes
Groups in the Periodic Table
Rates of Reaction and Energy Changes
Fuels and Earth Science
Chemical Analysis, Organic Chemistry and Materials
Key Concepts in Chemistry
The nucleus, mass number and atomic mass
- 2 things to know
- Papers 1 and 2
Overview
The sizes of the atom and the nucleus, why most of an atom is empty space yet nearly all its mass is in the nucleus, what mass number means and how neutrons are found from it, and the symbols <, ≪ and ~ for comparing sizes and masses.
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
Compare the size of the nucleus with the size of the whole atom.
Questions from this subtopic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
Compare the size of the nucleus with the size of the whole atom.
Model answer
The nucleus is minute in comparison, with a radius less than one ten-thousandth of the radius of the atom.
- 2
What is the approximate radius of an atom?
Model answer
The radius of an atom is about 1 × 10⁻¹⁰ m.
- 3
What is the approximate radius of a nucleus?
Model answer
The radius of a nucleus is of the order of 1 × 10⁻¹⁴ m.
- 4
What occupies most of the volume of an atom?
Model answer
Most of the volume is the empty space in which the electrons move around the nucleus.
- 5
Why can most alpha particles pass straight through a very thin sheet of gold?
Model answer
The atoms are mostly empty space, so very few particles come near enough to a nucleus to be deflected.
- 6
Where is nearly all of the mass of an atom found?
Model answer
Almost all of the mass is concentrated in the nucleus.
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