Silver Atomic Model

Written Explanation Esmeralda Vargas Atomic Model Project

What is an atom? An atom is the basic unit of a chemical element, but, did you know what an atom is made out of even smaller particles? An atom is made out of protons, neutrons, and electrons. Aside from that, inside an atom there is a nucleus, and there are also 3 energy levels. Let's start with the nucleus, the nucleus is the very small center core of an atom. The nucleus is located inside the atom, In the center. Within the nucleus, is a group of smaller particles called protons and neutrons. Protons are positive electric charge located inside the nucleus. Neutrons are neutral electric charge or have no charge and are located inside the nucleus with the protons. Now, outside the nucleus, there are 3 energy levels or 3 rings that surround the nucleus and that contain electrons. Electrons are negative electric charges that are located in the energy levels and move rapidly around the nucleus. There are 3 energy levels, 1st,2nd, and 3rd energy levels that can only contain a maxim amount of electrons. The 1st energy level that is closest to the nucleus can only contain 2 electrons maximum. The 2nd energy level is right after the 1st and can only contain 8 electrons maximum and the 3rd energy level is after the 2nd and can only contain 8 electrons maximum too. The positive protons in the nucleus and the negative electrons in the atom balance out each other making the atom neutral and balanced.

I choose silver as my element for my project, but how did I know how to create it you may ask? In order to make a model of an atom you must know certain information that is conveniently given to you in the periodic table of elements to determine the atomic structure of the atom. You need to know the atomic number, mass number, and of course the element name and chemical symbol of your atom. Silver's atomic number is 47, it's mass number is 107.868 and it's chemical symbol is Ag. What do you do with this information? You must find the number of protons and neutrons located in the nucleus, amount of electrons, and amount of electrons in the energy levels. Let's start off with the atomic number, the atomic number indicates the number of protons in the nucleus. Now we know that there are 47 protons in the nucleus, but wait! Did you know that there are always the same number of protons and electrons, now we know there are 47 protons and electrons. Next up is the the mass number, the mass number is the sum of the protons and neutrons in the nucleus of an atom. Alright, we know that the mass number is the sum of the protons and neutrons in the nucleus, there are 47 protons, but how many neutrons are there? To find this out, you subtract the number of protons from the mass number (you round the mass number if you have to), 108-47=61. Now we know we have 61 neutrons in the nucleus. Now that we have all our information set up, we must set up our atom. The nucleus is made up of 47 protons (+) and 61 neutrons ( ). The energy levels are next, we must fit in 47 electrons. The first energy level can only hold 2 electrons maximum, the second 8, and the third 8. After you have placed the maximum amount of electrons in each, you should have 29 left over. With these 29 electrons left, you are going to place them around after the third energy level because there Is no room left! Congratulations! You have successfully created an atom of the element silver!