Elements,Isotopes and relative atomic mass

• What is an atom made up of?

  An atom is made up of a central nucleus comprising protons and neutrons, with electrons orbiting around it.
• What determines which element an atom is?

  The number of protons in the nucleus determines which element an atom is.
• What is the smallest element and how many protons does it have?

  The smallest element is hydrogen, which has one proton in its nucleus.
• What does the number in the bottom left of a nuclear symbol represent?

  The number in the bottom left is the atomic number, which is unique to that element and represents the number of protons.
• How can you identify an atom's element using its atomic number?

  Any atom with a specific number of protons must be that element, as indicated by its atomic number.
• What are isotopes?

  Isotopes are different forms of the same element that have the same number of protons but a different number of neutrons.
• How do isotopes of an element behave chemically?


  Isotopes of an element react in basically the same way because they have the same number of protons.
• What is relative atomic mass?

  • The average mass of all isotopes of an element
  • Calculated based on the abundance and mass of each isotope
• How do you calculate the relative atomic mass of copper?

  You multiply each isotope's abundance by its mass, sum these figures, and divide by the total abundance.