What is an atomic

number and an atomic

mass?

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 Elements and Atomic Number
 The atoms of different elements have different
numbers of protons.
 You have learned that protons are particles that
have a positive charge (+) and are found within
the nucleus of an atom.
 The number of protons found in the nucleus of
an atom is called the atomic number.
 Each element has a different atomic number
because the atoms of each element have a
different number of protons in their nuclei.

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 Atomic Number
 The element with the smallest atomic number is
hydrogen.
 Hydrogen has an atomic number of 1.
 This means that an atom of hydrogen has only
one proton in its nucleus.
 Oxygen has an atomic number of 8 because
there are 8 protons in the nucleus of an atom of
oxygen.
 You can see that the number of protons in the
nuclei of each element is the same as the atomic
number of each element.

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The nuclei of helium, beryllium, and
neon

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 Atomic numbers of
some common
elements.

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 Importance of Atomic Number
 The atomic number of an element is very
important because it identifies that
element.
 No two elements have the same atomic
number.
 In fact, the number of protons in the
nucleus of an atom tells you what that
element is.

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 Atomic Number and Electrons
 Electrons that move outside the nucleus have a
negative charge.
 If you know the atomic number of an element,
you also know the number of electrons in an
atom of that element - they are both the same.
 They are the same because an atom has neither
a positive nor a negative charge. It is neutral.
 In order for an atom to be neutral, the positive
charges of the protons and the negative charges
of the electrons must cancel each other out.
 So the number of electrons must be the same as
the number of protons.
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 Atomic Mass Unit
 The mass of an atom is very small.
 In order to measure the mass of an atom,
scientists have developed a special unit.
 This unit is called the Atomic Mass Unit, or amu.
 One amu is equal to the mass of one proton.
 Neutrons and protons have almost the same
mass.
 The mass of an electron is equal to 1/1,836
amu.
 Because electrons are so small, only the masses
of protons and neutrons are used to find the
mass of an atom.
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 Atomic Mass
 The total mass of the protons and
neutrons in an atom is called the atomic
mass.
 Atomic mass is measured in atomic mass
units (amu).
 Because the atoms of an element can
have different numbers of neutrons,
scientists often give the average atomic
mass for an element.

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 Mass Number
 The total number of protons and neutrons in an
atom is called the mass number.
 You can find the mass number for any element.
 The mass number can be found by rounding the
average atomic mass to the nearest whole
number.
 For example, the average atomic mass of lithium
is 6.941 amu.
 The mass number of lithium is 7 (6.941 rounds
to 7).

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 To find the mass number, round the
average atomic mass to the nearest whole
number.

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 Finding Neutrons
 If you know the atomic number and the
mass number of an element, then you can
find the number of neutrons in an atom of
the most common form of that element.
You can use the following formula:
Mass number
– Atomic number
number of neutrons
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You can find the number of neutrons in an
atom of the most common form of lithium.

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 Checking Concepts
1. The atomic number is the number of
_________ in the nucleus of an atom.
2. No two elements have the same _______.
3. The number of protons in an atom is equal to
the number of _______ in the atom.
4. The mass of a neutron is the same as the
mass of a _________.
5. Because they are so small, _________ are not
counted when measuring the mass of an atom.
6. The mass number tells the total number of
________ and neutrons in the nucleus of an
atom.

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 Answers
1. Protons
2. Atomic number
3. Electrons
4. Proton
5. Electrons
6. Protons

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