Atoms Vs Ions: Simple Explanation Of Key Differences - Chemistry Basics | Chemistry Class

Summary

This educational video script explains the key difference between atoms and ions. Atoms are neutral with equal numbers of protons and electrons, while ions carry a charge due to an imbalance between these subatomic particles. Examples like Na and Na+ illustrate the concept, with the latter indicating an ion due to its positive charge. The video also touches on element notation and the importance of electron count in determining charge, encouraging viewers to explore related content for a deeper understanding.

Takeaways

• 🔬 Atoms are neutral and have equal numbers of protons and electrons.
• 💡 Ions are charged particles that have an unequal number of protons and electrons.
• 🔋 The charge of an ion can be positive (cation) or negative (anion).
• 📚 Atoms are represented without a charge symbol, while ions have a charge indicated in their notation.
• ⚛️ Protons are positively charged, and electrons are negatively charged.
• 🌐 The overall charge of an atom is zero when the number of protons equals the number of electrons.
• 🚫 Changing the number of protons changes the element's identity, so ions are formed by altering electron count.
• 🌀 An ion's charge is indicated by a superscript number and sign (e.g., Na+, S^2-).
• 📈 The number of neutrons remains constant when an atom becomes an ion.
• 👀 Examples: Ne is an atom, Ag+ is an ion, and Ca+2 is also an ion.

Q & A

What is the fundamental difference between an atom and an ion?

The fundamental difference between an atom and an ion is that an atom is neutral and has no charge, while an ion has a charge, which can be either positive or negative.

Why are atoms considered neutral?

Atoms are considered neutral because they have an equal number of protons and electrons. Since protons are positively charged and electrons are negatively charged, the charges balance each other out to zero.

How does an ion form a charge?

An ion forms a charge when the number of protons is not equal to the number of electrons. This imbalance results in a net positive or negative charge.

What is the role of protons and electrons in determining the charge of an atom or ion?

Protons contribute to a positive charge and electrons contribute to a negative charge. The charge of an atom or ion is determined by the difference between the number of protons and electrons.

Can you change the number of protons in an atom to create a charge?

No, you cannot change the number of protons in an atom to create a charge because changing the number of protons would change the identity of the element.

What does the charge notation in the top right of an element symbol indicate?

The charge notation in the top right of an element symbol indicates the charge of the ion. For example, Na+ indicates a sodium ion with a positive charge.

How many protons, neutrons, and electrons does a neutral sulfur atom have?

A neutral sulfur atom has 16 protons, 16 neutrons, and 16 electrons.

What would be the composition of a sulfur ion with a 2- charge?

A sulfur ion with a 2- charge would have 16 protons, 16 neutrons, and 18 electrons, as it has two more electrons than protons.

How can you identify an atom from an ion in the script's examples?

In the script's examples, an element symbol with no charge in the top right represents an atom, while a charge in the top right indicates an ion.

What are cations and anions, as mentioned in the script?

Cations are positively charged ions, and anions are negatively charged ions. The script suggests watching a specific video to learn more about these two types of ions.

What should you do if you need more information on element notation or atomic structure?

If you need more information on element notation or atomic structure, the script recommends checking out the channel's videos on these topics.

Outlines

00:00

🔬 Atoms vs. Ions: Key Differences

This paragraph introduces the fundamental difference between atoms and ions. Atoms are neutral, meaning they have an equal number of protons and electrons, resulting in no net charge. Ions, on the other hand, have an unequal number of protons and electrons, leading to a positive or negative charge. The script emphasizes the importance of recognizing whether a symbol represents an atom or an ion by checking for a charge indicator in the top right of the element's symbol. Examples are given to illustrate this concept, such as Na (an atom) and Na+ (an ion). The video also suggests watching additional videos for a deeper understanding of atomic structure and element notation.

Keywords

💡Atom

An atom is the basic unit of matter that consists of protons, neutrons, and electrons. Protons are positively charged particles, neutrons are neutral, and electrons are negatively charged. In the context of the video, atoms are described as neutral entities where the number of protons equals the number of electrons. For example, the video mentions sulfur as an atom with 16 protons, 16 neutrons, and 16 electrons, highlighting its neutrality.

💡Ion

An ion is a charged particle that results from an atom or molecule losing or gaining electrons. The video emphasizes that ions differ from atoms in that they carry a charge, which can be positive (cation) or negative (anion). The charge is indicated in the top right corner of the element symbol. For instance, Na+ is an ion because it has a positive charge, indicating it has one less electron than protons.

💡Charge

Charge refers to the electrical property of an atom or ion that can be positive, negative, or neutral. The video explains that atoms are neutral because they have an equal number of protons and electrons, resulting in a net charge of zero. In contrast, ions have an unequal number of protons and electrons, leading to a non-zero charge. The charge is crucial in distinguishing atoms from ions.

💡Protons

Protons are subatomic particles found in the nucleus of an atom and carry a positive electric charge. The video mentions that protons are responsible for the positive charge within an atom. The number of protons in an atom determines its element identity. For example, sulfur has 16 protons, which is why it is sulfur.

💡Electrons

Electrons are negatively charged subatomic particles that orbit the nucleus of an atom. The video explains that electrons balance the positive charge of protons in a neutral atom. However, when an atom gains or loses electrons, it becomes an ion with a charge. The video uses the example of sulfur with a 2- charge, indicating it has two more electrons than protons.

💡Neutral

Neutral refers to an atom or molecule that has an equal number of protons and electrons, resulting in no net electrical charge. The video uses the term 'neutral' to describe atoms, emphasizing that atoms like sulfur are neutral because they have the same number of protons and electrons.

💡Cations

Cations are positively charged ions formed when an atom loses one or more electrons. The video briefly mentions cations as one of the two types of ions and encourages viewers to check out a specific video for more information. An example of a cation from the script is Ag+1, which indicates a silver atom that has lost one electron.

💡Anions

Anions are negatively charged ions formed when an atom gains one or more electrons. The video mentions anions as the second type of ions and provides a link to a video for more details. An example from the script is N-3, which indicates a nitrogen atom that has gained three extra electrons.

💡Element Notation

Element notation refers to the way elements are represented using symbols and notations. The video discusses how the charge on an atom or ion is indicated in the notation. For atoms, there is no charge indicated, while for ions, the charge is shown in the top right corner of the element symbol, such as Na+ for a sodium ion.

💡Atomic Structure

Atomic structure refers to the arrangement of protons, neutrons, and electrons within an atom. The video touches upon the importance of understanding atomic structure to differentiate between atoms and ions. It mentions that changing the number of protons would change the element's identity, which is why ions are formed by altering the number of electrons instead.

💡Element Symbol

An element symbol is a one- or two-letter abbreviation that represents an element. The video uses element symbols to illustrate the difference between atoms and ions. It explains that when an element symbol appears without a charge, it represents an atom, but when a charge is present, it represents an ion.

Highlights

Atoms and ions have a fundamental difference despite their similarities.

Atoms are neutral and do not have a charge.

Ions have a charge, which can be positive or negative.

Atoms are neutral because the number of protons equals the number of electrons.

Ions have a charge because the number of protons is not equal to the number of electrons.

Na is an atom because it has no charge indicated in its notation.

Na+ is an ion because it shows a positive charge in its notation.

An atom's neutrality comes from equal numbers of protons and electrons.

An ion's charge is due to an unequal number of protons and electrons.

Changing the number of electrons can result in a charge, but protons' number must remain constant to keep the element's identity.

Sulfur with a 2- charge has two more electrons than protons.

Sulfur, with 16 protons, will have 18 electrons if it has a 2- charge.

Ne is an atom as it does not have a charge indicated.

Ag+1 is an ion because it has a positive charge indicated.

N-3 is an ion because it shows a negative charge.

U is an atom because there is no charge indicated.

Au represents an atom as there is no charge indicated.

Ca+2 represents an ion because it shows a positive charge.

An element symbol with no charge in the top right represents an atom.

An element symbol with a charge in the top right represents an ion.

Transcripts

Atoms and Ions, while they do have a lot of things in common, have one seemingly small but VERY important difference.

In this video, we will discuss this difference between atoms and ions to help you easily identify when you have an atom or an ion!

In order to understand the difference between an atom and an ion, there are a couple concepts you need to remember from other videos:

What is an Atom and Element Notation. If you do not remember this information or need a refresher, please check out our videos on all of these topics!

As we discussed in our video on What is an Atom, atoms are neutral. This means that they do not have a charge.

Ions are different from atoms in that they do have a charge. The charge can be either positive or negative.

To learn more about the two types of ions, check out our video on cations and anions!

Atoms are neutral because the # of protons are equal to the # of electrons.

An ion has a charge because the # of protons is not equal to the # of electrons.

As our examples here show, Na on the left would be considered an atom because it has no charge in the top right.

And Na+ would be considered an ion because we see a charge in the top right of the symbol.

Lets look at this in more detail.

As we just learned, an atom is neutral. This is because the number of protons is equal to the number of electrons.

Protons are positive and electrons are negative.

So when we have the same number of positive and negative charges, they add up to be 0, which means the atom has no charge.

Here is an example of the atom sulfur. We know that this is an atom because there is no charge in the symbolic notation.

If you need a refresher on element notation, check out our video!

This atom of sulfur will have 16 protons, 16 neutrons and 16 electrons.

This video is only looking at knowing the difference between an atom and an ion.

To learn more about how to calculate the number of protons, neutrons and electrons in an atom, check out our video!

An ion is simply an atom with a charge. The charge results from having a different number of protons and electrons.

When you have a different number of protons and electrons, or positive and negative charges, the overall charge will add up to be a number other than zero.

This number can be positive or negative depending on how many electrons were added or taken away.

It is very important to remember that in order for a charge to form, the number of electrons is changed.

You cannot change the number of protons because in changing the number of protons, you would change the identity of the element.

If you need a refresher on atomic structure, check out our video!

Using our sulfur example, we now see a charge of 2- in the top left of the symbolic notation.

This means that sulfur has a 2- charge which means it has 2 more electrons than it does protons.

Because it is sulfur, we know that it has to have 16 protons.

So 2 more electrons than that would be 18 electrons. So this sulfur has 16 protons, 16 neutrons and 18 electrons.

Again, this video is only looking at knowing the difference between an atom and an ion.

To learn more about how to calculate the number of protons, neutrons and electrons in an ion, check out our video!

So now let's look at some examples.

Ne would be an atom because it does not have a charge.

Ag+1 would be an ion because it does have a charge.

N-3 would be an ion because you do see a charge.

U here would be an atom because there's no charge.

Here Au is also representing an atom because there's no charge.

And then finally Ca+2 would represent an ion because you do see a charge.

To put it simply, whenever you see the element symbol with no charge in the top right, that represents an atom.

Whenever you see the element symbol and you do see a charge in the top right, that will represent an ion.

Now you should be able to quickly determine whether you are dealing with an atom or an ion!

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