2-Pure Substances: Atoms
Atoms: The more than 100 atoms in the
universe are all different. Each atom has its own atomic mass, a certain number
of electrons,
neutrons and
protons in
each shell, an atomic number, and an abbreviation of the name. A atom is
the smallest part of a element that
can only be broken down into electrons, protons and
neutrons,
which in turn can be broken down to quarks and gluons.
Sodium bicarbonate
(baking soda) is NaHCO3: a compound with one Sodium atom (Na), one Hydrogen
atom (H), one Carbon atom (C) and three Oxygen atoms (O3). The letter represents
the atom's name, while the number represents the amount. The abbreviation for
Sodium is Na. The "a" is small is because there are another elements with the letter "N" as
the starting letter like N for nitrogen, Nb for niobium, Nd for neodymium, and Ni for nickel. It's very much first come, first served - a nice dish of alphabet soup
with only one letter in it, while the elements later get a bowl with one
capital and one small. All elemental names start with a CAPITAL letter.
Below is an image of an atom from the element
radon.