The Particulate Nature of Matter
Build particle-state reasoning, then atomic and isotope structure, then ion and electron counting.
The lessons below are in teaching order. Work through them in turn, then come back after practice and use the outcomes on this page to choose what to review. Finishing a topic records participation only. Check your progress to see what you can answer independently and what to review next.
Lessons in order
- Particle model, states and changes of state
Explain states and physical changes using particle arrangement, motion, separation and energy.
- Atomic structure, nuclide notation and isotopes
Read atomic models and nuclide notation, calculate neutrons and identify isotopes.
- Ions and electron counting
Use charge to infer electron loss or gain while keeping element identity fixed.
Learning goals
- describe the solid, liquid and gaseous states of matter and explain their interconversion in terms of the kinetic particle theory and of the energy changes involved.
- state the relative charges and approximate relative masses of a proton, a neutron and an electron
- describe, with the aid of diagrams, the structure of an atom as consisting of protons and neutrons (nucleons) in the nucleus and electrons arranged in shells (energy levels) (knowledge of s, p, d and f classification is not required; a copy of the Periodic Table will be available in the examination)
- define proton (atomic) number and nucleon (mass) number
- interpret and use nuclide notations such as ¹²₆C
- define the term isotopes
- deduce the numbers of protons, neutrons and electrons in atoms and ions given proton and nucleon numbers.