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  1. Science
  2. Year 8
  3. Atoms and Elements
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Inside Atoms

In this worksheet, students will explore atoms. Everything is made of atoms, but what are atoms made of?

'Inside Atoms' worksheet

Key stage:  KS 3

Curriculum topic:   Chemistry: Atoms, Elements and Compounds

Curriculum subtopic:   Atoms, Elements and Compounds

Difficulty level:  

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Worksheet Overview

QUESTION 1 of 10

Everything in the world is made of atoms.  That means it's important for scientists to try to understand exactly what atoms themselves are made of.

 

Diagram of an atom

 

Atoms are made from three smaller sub-atomic particles:

 

Electrons - are very light particles that orbit around the nucleus at the center of the atom, in layers called energy levels or shells. The electrons are the black particles in the diagram above. 

Protons - are found inside the nucleus of the atom. The protons are the red particles shown in the diagram. The nucleus is the centre of the atom.

Neutrons - are also found inside the nucleus of the atom. The neutrons are shown by the blue colour in the diagram above.

 

 

The atomic number of each element tells us the number of protons that each atom of the element contains. For example, the element sodium has the atomic number of 11 and therefore has 11 protons in its nucleus. 

Complete this sentence:

 

Everything in the world is made from....

elements

compounds

atoms

Which TWO of the following are not a sub-atomic particles?

proton

spacetron

atomon

neutron

electron

Match up the particles on the left with their location within the atom. 

Column A

Column B

electron
nucleus
proton
energy level
neutron
nucleus

Study the diagram of the atom shown below:

 

Diagram of an atom

 

Use the diagram to correctly identify each particle by using the colours in the diagram. 

Column A

Column B

electron
blue
protons
red
neutrons
yellow

The element carbon has an atomic number of 6. How many protons does an atom of carbon contain?

2

6

12

Look closely at the Periodic Table below:

 

Periodic table of the elements

 

Which element has an atomic of 20?

carbon

calcium

chlorine

copper

caesium

Look closely at the Periodic Table below:

 

Periodic table of the elements

 

Which element has 17 protons in its nucleus?

carbon

calcium

chlorine

copper

caesium

Look closely at the Periodic Table below:

 

Periodic table of the elements

 

Which of the following is the correct symbol of the element with the atomic number of 12?

Na

Mg

Ca

Look closely at the Periodic Table below:

 

Periodic table of the elements

 

Match each of the atomic numbers on the right with the correct element symbol on the left.

Column A

Column B

Na
16
Li
8
H
11
O
1
S
3

Periodic table of the elements

 

Now time for a little bit of maths... Don't worry, the answer is Chemistry related!

 

Complete the following sum and use the Periodic Table to select the element from the list below which has that atomic number.

 

2 + 10 - 5 + 2 = __________

carbon

nitrogen

fluorine

neon

hydrogen

  • ANSWERS
  • Question 1

Complete this sentence:

 

Everything in the world is made from....

CORRECT ANSWER
atoms
EDDIE SAYS
Everything is made from atoms. Elements contain only one type of atom, and compounds are made from two or more elements chemically joined together.
  • ANSWERS
  • Question 2

Which TWO of the following are not a sub-atomic particles?

CORRECT ANSWER
spacetron
atomon
EDDIE SAYS
The three sub-atomic particles are protons, neutrons and electrons.
  • ANSWERS
  • Question 3

Match up the particles on the left with their location within the atom. 

CORRECT ANSWER

Column A

Column B

electron
energy level
proton
nucleus
neutron
nucleus
EDDIE SAYS
Protons and neutrons are both located within the nucleus. Electrons can be found in the energy levels that surround the nucleus.
  • ANSWERS
  • Question 4

Study the diagram of the atom shown below:

 

Diagram of an atom

 

Use the diagram to correctly identify each particle by using the colours in the diagram. 

CORRECT ANSWER

Column A

Column B

electron
blue
protons
red
neutrons
yellow
EDDIE SAYS
The clue to which colour the neutrons and protons are can be seen when you look closely at the nucleus. You know that the nucleus is made up of protons and neutrons - if you look closely you can see they are labelled 'P' and 'N'. Bit of a giveaway!
  • ANSWERS
  • Question 5

The element carbon has an atomic number of 6. How many protons does an atom of carbon contain?

CORRECT ANSWER
6
EDDIE SAYS
The atomic number is equal to the number of protons in an atoms nucleus.
  • ANSWERS
  • Question 6

Look closely at the Periodic Table below:

 

Periodic table of the elements

 

Which element has an atomic of 20?

CORRECT ANSWER
calcium
EDDIE SAYS
Calcium has an atomic number of 20. The elements in the periodic table are arranged in order of increasing atomic number.
  • ANSWERS
  • Question 7

Look closely at the Periodic Table below:

 

Periodic table of the elements

 

Which element has 17 protons in its nucleus?

CORRECT ANSWER
chlorine
EDDIE SAYS
Chlorine has an atomic number of 17 and therefore contains 17 protons.
  • ANSWERS
  • Question 8

Look closely at the Periodic Table below:

 

Periodic table of the elements

 

Which of the following is the correct symbol of the element with the atomic number of 12?

CORRECT ANSWER
Mg
EDDIE SAYS
Magnesium (Mg) has the atomic number of 12.
  • ANSWERS
  • Question 9

Look closely at the Periodic Table below:

 

Periodic table of the elements

 

Match each of the atomic numbers on the right with the correct element symbol on the left.

CORRECT ANSWER

Column A

Column B

Na
11
Li
3
H
1
O
8
S
16
EDDIE SAYS
It is important to be able to locate all the elements in the Periodic Table. Did you get that all right? It's simply a case of finding the number and relating it to the element with that atomic number. With practice you'll soon learn what the symbol stands for.
  • ANSWERS
  • Question 10

Periodic table of the elements

 

Now time for a little bit of maths... Don't worry, the answer is Chemistry related!

 

Complete the following sum and use the Periodic Table to select the element from the list below which has that atomic number.

 

2 + 10 - 5 + 2 = __________

CORRECT ANSWER
fluorine
EDDIE SAYS
A tricky one to finish off! 2 + 10 = 12 - 5 = 7 + 2 = 9. If the answer is 9, the element must be fluorine, as it has the atomic number 9.
---- OR ----

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