Everything around you — your desk, the air, even you — is made of atoms. Take a journey inside one to meet its three key particles.
An atom is made up of protons (positive charge) and neutrons (no charge) in a central nucleus, with electrons (negative charge) moving around the nucleus.
Which subatomic particle has a negative charge?
The electron
Which two subatomic particles are found in the nucleus of an atom?
Protons and neutrons
J.J. Thomson discovered the electron in 1897. Later, in 1911, Ernest Rutherford's gold foil experiment showed that an atom has a tiny, dense, positively charged nucleus at its centre, with mostly empty space around it.
What did Rutherford's gold foil experiment reveal about the atom's structure?
That the atom has a small, dense, positively charged nucleus at its centre, with the rest of the atom being mostly empty space
1. Which subatomic particle carries a positive charge?
2. Which subatomic particle has no electric charge?
3. Who discovered the electron, and in what year?
4. What did Rutherford's gold foil experiment discover about the atom?
5. Where are protons and neutrons located within an atom?