Practice question · Match the pairs
Match each subatomic particle to its defining property.
- Proton
- Neutron
- Electron
- Alpha particle
- Negative, outside the nucleus, drives chemistry
- Positive, in the nucleus, fixes the element
- Neutral, in the nucleus, changes the isotope
- A helium nucleus used as a probe
Hints
- One particle sets the element, one sets the isotope, one does the chemistry.
- The alpha particle is the projectile, not a constituent of ordinary atoms.
Show the answer
- Proton → Positive, in the nucleus, fixes the element
- Neutron → Neutral, in the nucleus, changes the isotope
- Electron → Negative, outside the nucleus, drives chemistry
- Alpha particle → A helium nucleus used as a probe
Why
The proton count names the element; changing neutrons changes the isotope; electrons determine bonding; the alpha particle is a helium nucleus, used by Rutherford as a probe.
Practise Atomic Models and Isotopes
The app has 4 more questions on this lesson, and keeps your place in the course. Chemistry I is free to start.
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