Basic Atomic Structure Worksheet
1. The 3 particles of the atom are:
a. ________________________
b. ________________________
c. ________________________
Their respective charges are:
a. ________________________
b. ________________________
c. ________________________
2. The number of protons in one atom of an element determines the atom’s ____________________, and the
number of electrons determines the _________________________ of the element.
3. The atomic number tells you the number of ___________________________ in one atom of an element. It also
tells you the number of __________________________ in a neutral atom of that element. The atomic number
gives the “identity” of an element as well as its location on the periodic table. No two different elements will
have the ____________________ atomic number.
4. The ______________________ of an element is the average mass of an element’s naturally occurring atom, or
isotopes, taking into account the ____________________ of each isotope.
5. The _______________________ of an element is the total number of protons and neutrons in the
___________________ of the atom.
6. The mass number is used to calculate the number of ______________________ in one atom of an element. In
order to calculate the number of neutrons you must subtract the ______________________ from the
______________________.
7. Give the symbol of and the number of protons in one atom of:
Lithium _____________________________ Bromine _____________________________
Iron _____________________________ Copper _____________________________
Oxygen _____________________________ Mercury _____________________________
Krypton _____________________________ Helium _____________________________
8. Give the symbol of and the number of electrons in a neutral atom of:
Uranium _____________________________ Iodine _____________________________
Boron _____________________________ Xenon _____________________________
Chlorine _____________________________
9. Give the symbol of and the number of neutrons in one atom of:
(Mass numbers are ALWAYS whole numbers…show your calculations)
Barium ______________________________ Bismuth _____________________________
Carbon ______________________________ Hydrogen _____________________________
Fluorine ______________________________ Magnesium____________________________
Europium ______________________________ Mercury _____________________________
10. Name the element which has the following numbers of particles:
a. 26 electrons, 29 neutrons, 26 protons _________________________
b. 53 protons, 74 neutrons __________________________
c. 2 electrons (neutral atoms) ____________________________
d. 20 protons _____________________________
e. 86 electrons, 125 neutrons, 82 protons ____________________________
f. 0 neutrons _______________________________
11. If you know ONLY the following information can you ALWAYS determine what the element is? (Yes/No)
a. Number of protons ____________________________
b. Number of neutrons ___________________________
c. Number of electrons in a neutral atom ___________________________
d. Number of electrons _________________________
12. Fill in the missing items in the table below.
# # ISOTOPIC
NAME SYMBOL Z A # PROTONS
ELECTRONS NEUTRONS SYMBOL
a. Na
b. 17 18
c. Potassium
d. P
e. Iron 24
f. 53
g. Silver
h. 36
i. W
j. 29
k. 49
l. 79 78
m. 16 18