WorksheetsFundamentals of Atomic Structure and Notation
Total questions: 15
Worksheet time: 8mins
In a chemistry class, Grace is learning about elements and their properties. Her teacher asks her, "Which statement best defines the atomic number of an element?"
Average mass of the element's isotopes
Number of electrons surrounding the atom
Number of protons in the nucleus only
Total protons and neutrons in the nucleus
In a science lab, Maya is studying an atom that has 17 protons, 18 neutrons, and 17 electrons. She needs to determine its atomic number and mass number. What are the values she finds?
Atomic number 18, mass number 34
Atomic number 18, mass number 35
Atomic number 17, mass number 34
Atomic number 17, mass number 35
In a chemistry lab, Arjun and Sophia are studying two different types of water molecules. Both molecules contain the same number of hydrogen atoms but differ in the number of oxygen atoms. Which term correctly describes their relationship?
Isomers with identical masses
Allotropes of one element
Isotopes of the same element
Ions of different elements
James has a neutral atom in his chemistry experiment. After some time, he notices that the atom has become an ion with a charge of -1. What most likely happened?
It gained one electron from the surroundings
It gained one neutron in the nucleus
It lost one proton from the nucleus
It lost one electron from the surroundings
Aiden is studying the structure of atoms in his chemistry class. He comes across a nuclide symbol and wonders about the correct placement of the mass number and atomic number in it. Which placement in a nuclide symbol is correct for mass number and atomic number?
Mass number to the right, atomic number to the left
Atomic number as superscript, mass number as subscript
Mass number as subscript, atomic number as superscript
Mass number as upper left, atomic number as lower left
In a chemistry lab, Ethan is studying the element potassium, represented by the nuclide symbol 40 19 K. He needs to determine the number of protons, neutrons, and electrons in a neutral atom of this element.
40 p, 19 n, 40 e
21 p, 19 n, 21 e
19 p, 21 n, 19 e
19 p, 40 n, 19 e
Aiden is studying the properties of elements in his chemistry class. He learns about mass number and atomic mass. Select all true statements about mass number and atomic mass that Aiden discovers.
Mass number can be a decimal value
Mass number counts protons plus neutrons
Atomic mass on the periodic table is often a decimal
Protons contribute to mass number but electrons do not
In a chemistry lab, Ethan is experimenting with magnesium, which has 12 protons. He wants to know what change he needs to make to produce a +2 ion from a neutral atom of magnesium.
Lose two electrons from the atom
Gain two protons into the nucleus
Lose two neutrons from the nucleus
Gain two electrons into the atom
In a chemistry class, Maya is curious about the atomic masses listed on the periodic table. She wonders why these values are usually decimals instead of whole numbers. Her teacher explains that the atomic masses reflect the average of different isotopes of an element based on their relative abundance. What did Maya learn?
They account for temperature and pressure variations
They include electrons’ changing energy levels
They round proton numbers to nearest tenth
They average isotopic masses by relative abundance
In a chemistry lab, Lily is studying chlorine isotopes. She finds that chlorine-35 makes up 75% of the samples she collected, while chlorine-37 accounts for the remaining 25%. What is the average atomic mass of chlorine based on her findings?
37.0 amu heaviest isotope
35.0 amu most common isotope
36.0 amu simple midpoint
35.5 amu using weighted average
In a chemistry class, Anika is learning about the differences between individual atoms and the periodic table. She wonders which statement about individual atoms versus the periodic table listing is correct.
An individual atom has a whole-number mass number
A single atom’s mass equals the table decimal
Table decimals describe a specific nucleus
Single atoms contain fractional neutrons sometimes
Emma is conducting an experiment to determine the average atomic mass of an element using isotopic data. Select all steps required for her to compute this average atomic mass.
Convert percent abundances to fractions before use
Divide by the number of isotopes regardless of abundance
Ignore isotopes with very low abundance
Add the products to obtain a weighted sum
Multiply each isotope’s mass by its fractional abundance
In the soda-brand analogy, which mapping is accurate?
Protons set the brand identity of the soda
Neutrons control the carbonation bubbles
Electrons determine the bottle’s weight
Changing electrons changes the element brand
Using the analogy, what best represents isotopes of the same element?
Same brand but carbonation turned completely off
Bottle label changed without altering the soda
Different soda brands with same bottle size
Same soda brand in bottles of different sizes
In a chemistry experiment, Liam is studying the ionization of sodium. He discovers that sodium typically forms a +1 ion. What change occurs in the sodium atom to achieve this ionization?
It gains one proton
It loses one proton
It gains one neutron
It loses one electron
