What do atoms do?

Answer 1

"Work" can mean many different things, but the general make up of an atom consists of three different kinds of particles: Electrons, Protons, Neutrons.

Protons and Neutrons are clumped together into a "nucleus" while the electrons orbit around the nucleus forming rings.

Protons are positively charged, and Electrons are negatively charged- which is why electrons orbit around the nucleus. Neutrons have no charge and simply add mass to the atom.

The number of Protons determines the "Element". Refer to the Periodic Table of Elements to learn more about the different kinds of elements. The number of Electrons determines the electrical charge of an atom.

Electrons can be taken from one atom and given to another atom. This makes Electrons differ from Protons and Neutrons which, since they are in the nucleus, can not be moved as easily (it is possible to break a nucleus but doing so produces nuclear energy and waste, and can not be done with out extensive resources), because of this, most chemical reactions are produced by the transfer of electrons. There are different kinds of chemical reactions that can take place depending on the exact elements and charges that are in question but generally either one atom steals an electron from another one, or the two atoms share electrons and bond into one compound.

Answer 2

Atoms are very small particles that make up every thing in the universe. They are so small, that about 2million make up the width of a paper. They are made of even small particles called protons, neutrons, and electrons. To answer you question, they do a lot. They can move very very fast when heated up. They also have a lot o of energy stored inside them. They cause the explosions in atom bombs.

Answer 3

In chemical reactions, what atoms do is decide on how to arrange or rearrange themselves. Recall that a chemical reaction is dynamic event where "chemicals" undergo "changes" that create new "chemicals" as a result. Let's look a bit more closely. When atoms of one material combine with atoms of another material, a new chemical "combination" results. It might be sodium reacting with water, Na + H2O, to yield the base sodium hydroxide and hydrogen gas, NaOH + H2 (The balanced reaction is 2Na + 2H2O => 2NaOH + H2). It could be hydrogen gas burning in air and combining with oxygen to form water, as in 2H2 + O2 => 2H2O. Whatever it is, atoms are working out ways (or new ways) to loan, borrow or share electrons to allow the involved atoms to get to a lower energy state or energy level. This is what the atoms are doing, and we study what they do and how and why they do it when we study chemistry.

Answer 4

In an Atom, they balance out it's Charge. The Protons and Neutrons are located in the nucleus, and the Protons have a positive (+1) electrical charge. The electrons, which are constantly moving outside the nucleus, have a negative (-1) charge. The number of Protons and Electrons are equal in a naturally occurring Atom of any element, which means they have a Neutral charge.

What else are they responsible for? Well, they also determine the Chemical Properties of an element, and also are the reason for chemical reactions! Depending on the number of electrons in the outer energy shell, the element is either very reactive, or not very reactive!

Hope this helps!

Answer 5

In a liquid atoms are free to move about but they are still bound to their neighbours with intra atomic forces. They have more energy than they had as a solid - so they can move - but not enough energy to become truly free like a gas.

Answer 6

neutrons (neutrally charged) and protons (positively charged) make up the central nucleus. the negatively charged electrons orbit around the nucleus. If there are the same number of protons and electrons, the atom is neutrally charged.

Answer 7

They form a compound and properties change dramatically

increase their potential energy, thus creating more stable arrangements of matter

Answer 8

The answer is that they make elements.