Term 1 Learning Points

Hi readers,

Today I will be telling you guys what have I really learnt throughout this long period of 10 weeks?

So what have I really learnt throughout this 10 weeks? As said earlier in this post, I have been learning Chemistry for this term and what we have learnt during this 10 weeks is mostly about the periodic table. This periodic table allows people to know the number of protons, neutron number, atomic mass, etc. of the elements. So using the table below as an example, we can see that Hydrogen (H) have 1 proton with a atomic mass of 1.0079. Since the equation of atomic mass is equal to Protons + Neutrons, we can therefore say that Hydrogen have 0.0079 neutrons. And lastly, the electrons. The number of electrons in a element is equivalent to the number of protons in the element, therefore we can once again say that Hydrogen have 1 electron.



Now let me explain to you all the difference between electrons, protons and neutrons. These are actually quite self-explanatory but nevertheless, let me introduce to you all.

So firstly let me start with the neutrons. As seen from this word, most of us will link it to the word 'neutral'. And bingo! Neutrons are neither positively nor negatively charged, making it neutral.

Next, let me introduce to you all protons. So what are protons? Protons are positively charged (+). And just to add on, neutrons and protons adds up to the atomic mass of the element (stated above) and the atomic mass is also known as the nucleon number. Also protons and neutrons are found in the nucleus of the element.

Lastly, the electrons. Electrons are negatively charged (-). They also orbits around the nucleus of the element. So how are they arranged? They follow an order, just like the planets orbiting around the Sun. In the orbit, there are many circles. So in the first circle, nearest to the nucleus, there will be 2 electrons. In the following 2 circles, there will be 8 electrons. In the fourth circle, up to 18 electrons could be fitted inside. Beyond that, the number of electrons that could be fitted will be rather complicated, therefore, we will stop at the fourth circle.

This ends what we have learnt in Term 1 for Lower Secondary Science. So just a quick summary of what I have learnt for Chemistry in this term.

I have learnt about the periodic table and how to identify the protons, neutrons and electrons of a specific element using the periodic table. I also learnt what are protons, electrons and neutrons and how are the electrons arranged in the element.

Thanks,
Aloysius Chan