Chapter 4 Vocabulary

the dense, positively charged mass located in the center of an atom

• nucleus
• proton
• electron
• neutron
• atomic number

atoms of a given element that have different numbers of neutrons and different mass numbers

• isotopes
• nucleus
• proton
• electron
• neutron

a positively charged subatomic particle that is found in the nucleus of an atom

• proton
• nucleus
• electron
• neutron
• atomic number

a state in which all the electrons in an atom have the lowest possible energies

• energy levels
• electron cloud
• orbital
• electron configuration
• ground state

a region of space around the nucleus where an electron is likely to be found

• energy levels
• electron cloud
• orbital
• electron configuration
• ground state

a unique number for each element that equals the number of protons in an atom of that element

• atomic number
• nucleus
• proton
• electron
• neutron

a visual model of the most likely locations for the electrons in an atom

• energy levels
• electron cloud
• orbital
• electron configuration
• ground state

the possible energies that electrons in an atom can have

• energy levels
• electron cloud
• orbital
• electron configuration
• ground state

the arrangement of electrons in the orbitals of an atom

• energy levels
• electron cloud
• orbital
• electron configuration
• ground state

a negatively charged subatomic particle that is found in the space outside the nucleus of an atom

• electron
• nucleus
• proton
• neutron
• atomic number