General Chemistry

Atomic structure

12 review questions with answers for Atomic structure. Read them here, or play the set as a class game on the projector. Free to host, and students join with a code.

A question from this set

Positively charged particle in the nucleus?

  • Neutron
  • Electron
  • Alpha particle
  • ProtonRight answer
From Atomic structure, 12 questions.

What this set covers

Protons, neutrons and electrons, and what each contributes to an atom. Questions cover atomic number, mass number, isotopes, electron arrangement such as 2,8,7, and the plum pudding model that Rutherford's gold foil results replaced.

Common mix-up
Students often mix up atomic number and mass number: the first counts only protons, while the second counts protons plus neutrons, so neutrons come from subtracting one from the other.
Review tip
Pick sodium-23 and Mg²⁺, then work out the protons, neutrons and electrons for each from memory before checking the answers, saying which number you used at each step.

All 12 questions and answers

  1. Positively charged particle in the nucleus?

    Answer: Proton

  2. Number of protons in the nucleus, which identifies the element?

    Answer: Atomic number

  3. Total number of protons and neutrons in an atom?

    Answer: Mass number

  4. Atoms of one element with different numbers of neutrons?

    Answer: Isotopes

  5. Neutrons in sodium-23 (atomic number 11)?

    Answer: 12

  6. Electrons in Mg²⁺ (atomic number 12)?

    Answer: 10

  7. Electron arrangement of chlorine (17 electrons)?

    Answer: 2,8,7

  8. Relative charge of an electron?

    Answer: −1

  9. Scientist who explained the gold foil results with a small, dense, positive nucleus?

    Answer: Rutherford

  10. Model of a positive sphere with electrons embedded in it?

    Answer: Plum pudding model

  11. Why do isotopes of an element react the same way?

    Answer: Same electron arrangement

  12. What makes up most of an atom's volume?

    Answer: Empty space

Play it as a class game

Play this set opens it in splycr, where you can host it for your class straight away. Hosting needs no account: put the room code on the projector, and students join from a phone with the code and their first name. Each question plays as multiple choice, and the three wrong options were written for that question.

The questions were written for the splycr library by Biology by Bradford. IB and AP are trademarks of their owners. splycr is not affiliated with or endorsed by the International Baccalaureate or the College Board.