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Where are the electrons in an atom?

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Anonymous

15y ago
Updated: 8/16/2019

Electrons are located in the electron cloud - the outermost portion of the atom. The electron cloud accounts for about 99% of the space taken up by the atom, yet less than 1% of the mass.

A good way of thinking about this is in terms of a football field. Imagine the nucleus of the atom was the size of a blueberry. Place the blueberry in the middle of a football field, and that is the size of the electron cloud in comparison to the nucleus. As you see, the atom is mostly empty space with electrons floating around within.

Within the electron cloud, electrons are organized into levels, sublevels, orbitals, and spins. Outermost electrons bond with other atoms. The placement of electrons within an electron cloud determines the stability and chemical properties of an element.

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Wiki User

13y ago

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