How Are Protons, Neutrons & Electrons Related?

Fundamentals of Atoms

• Protons, neutrons and electrons are the building blocks of atoms. Protons are positively charged particles within the atom, neutrons have no charge and electrons are negatively charged. Every element on the periodic table contains different combinations and numbers of these fundamental particles.

Protons and Neutrons Match

• The periodic table acts as the map into the world of elements. The number of an element on the periodic table corresponds to the number of protons the element has. This number will also match the number of neutrons under normal circumstances. The number that won't match is electrons, but this number can be determined by looking at the column number of the element.

Electron Behavior

• In most atoms, protons and neutrons act as the objects at the center (they're also much larger than electrons). The electrons will be in orbital shells around the protons and neutrons, with the electrons' goal being to fill all the orbital shells. Although teaching methods often represent electrons as particles, in reality, they act more as wave-like clouds, constantly traveling in an imprecise path around the nucleus.

Interaction Between Atoms

• The protons, neutrons, and electrons of some atoms also interact with other atoms. As most atoms do not have all their electron shells filled up, they still have the "desire" to fill these shells, meaning when they come into contact with other elements, they attempt to steal and utilize the other shell's electrons. This attraction creates the fundamental combination of elements that living creatures survive off of. Oxygen and hydrogen are attracted because oxygen has six electrons, needing two more. Each hydrogen atom has only one electron, so the combination fills each of the shells, creating a stable element.