8.

5A
Atoms are the basic building components of all matter and cannot be
subdivided by ordinary chemical means. Atoms are composed of three
types of particles: protons, neutrons, and electrons. Protons and neutrons
reside in the dense, central, positively charged nucleus of an atom.
Electrons are located orbiting the region outside the nucleus. Protons and
neutrons are similar in mass and weigh approximately 1,836 times
greater than a single electron.
The mass of a single proton, for example, is approximately 1.67 x 10e-27
kg. The mass of an electron is approximately 9.11 x 10e-31 kg. Since the
mass of an electron is insignificant when determining atomic mass, only
the sum of the protons and neutrons are counted when determining
atomic mass.
Protons have a positive charge (+), and neutrons are neutral with no
charge. Electrons have a negative electric charge (-). In a neutral atom
the number of protons always equals the number of electrons. Only
when an atom takes an electron from another atom does it become
charged. This charged form of an atom is called an ion.
Electrons spin as they circle outside the nucleus billions of times every
second. Due to the extremely fast speed they are moving, the path they
travel is not the same each time. They appear to look like a cloud around
the nucleus instead of traveling in a fixed path.
Through quantum mechanics, the exact location of an electron at a given
point cannot be determined. According to this model, electrons exist in
atomic orbitals, which are a set of quantum states of the negatively
charged electrons trapped in the electrical field generated by the
positively charged nucleus.
Electrons are arranged in energy levels around the nucleus categorized
by quantum numbers. The names of the orbitals indicate the orbital
shape and are used to describe electron configurations. When they gain
or lose energy, they jump between energy levels as they are rotating
around the nucleus. Only a certain number of electrons are in an energy
level at the same time.