Not very big. The nucleus of an atom, the part containing protons and neutrons (1H, protium, consists of only a proton and an electron) takes up only a tiny portion of the atom's volume. The volume of an atom is really described by the movement of the electrons that orbit about the nucleus. Those electrons are a looooong way from the proton(s) relative to their size. A nucleus is about 10 FM in diameter. In a solid, nuclei are 1000000 or more FM apart.
Hydrogen is small compared to other atoms. To scale it up: if the proton in its nucleus was enlarged to the size of a Basketball, the electron would be some 20 miles away or so. With other atoms, the picture gets more crazy. The reality is that an atom is mostly space, and you've probably heard that. The nucleus of an atom is super tiny compared to the 95% boundary described by the outer electrons of an atom. The boundary can't be well-defined, really, because of what quantum mechanics, the uncertainty principle, and Schroedinger's wave equation have to say.
If the total atom was the size of a football field, then the nucleus would be the size of an apple in the middle of the field.
smaller and contains most of the atom's mass
My old chemistry professor used this analogy:
If you put a pea in the middle of a football stadium, the outermost seats would be where the first electron orbital is.
The nucleus is about 1/3 of the size of the atom.
electrically neutal
The nucleus is of course smaller.
Atoms. The nucleus of an atom (containing protons and usually neutrons) is small and dense. Electrons can be considered to be a comparatively big cloud surrounding the nucleus of an atom. In this sense, atoms are tiny but mostly contain space.
Depends on how big the whole apple was.
The whale looked really BIG compared to the little girl. that's how
He established that atoms are made of protons, neutrons and electrons.Well sir, i was just wondering the same thing. I have to do a worksheet and answer it, not so lucky for me, this was one of my big questions. If anybody would like to answer this really soon, that would be oh so very helpful.Thank you, and have a nice day. ^That is no answer, just a sorry excuseThe gold foil experiment proved that the atom is mostly empty space with a small, dense nucleus.True answer by Justin Wilkes
Two reasons: - the nucleus is stained - the magnifying power of the microscope makes small things look big
The atom is about 10,000 times as big as the nucleus.
no
Protons and neutrons have a relative mass of one, electrons have a relative mass of 1/2000
Tiny.
its big but not that big compared to the nucleus
That depends on your definition of 'nucleus'. The nucleus or core of an atom is, obviously, smaller than the atom as a whole. But seeing as you placed this question in biology, a cellular nucleus is many billions of times the size of an atom.
a big ball of protons and nutrons
it would be as big as you want depending how much of the atom there is
Of course, as atoms are tiny the nucleus is even smaller, but it depends on the atom. Some atoms have large protons and neutons in the nucleus, others smaller ones.
Less then half or maybe a third of the size.
You are probably familiar with the textbook diagram of an atom that fits neatly on the page. However, the reality will get you thinking how really empty space is: If a proton were the size of a marble an electron would be about the width of a human hair. With that scale the electron's orbit would be about 2 1/2 miles away from the proton.
The electron.