Somalie Prak
LIBS 4960
Dr. Katie Olivant
Chemistry
Chemistry is a study of fundamentals of inorganic chemistry. This course is designed to provide you with basic understanding of chemistry and prepare you for more advanced chemistry courses.
One concept that I learned in this course was the Atomic Theory. This theory suggests that all matter is made up of tiny indivisible particles that are called atoms. Atoms can be defined as the basic unit of a chemical element or the basic building blocks of matter that make up everyday objects such as a chair, or a table. Atoms are made up of three basic components: Protons, Neutrons, and Electrons. The proton particle carries a positive charge while the neutrons carry no charge(neutral). When combined, the protons and neutrons make up the central part of the atom also known as the nucleus. The electrons carry a negative charge and its role is to circle around the nucleus. Each atom also has a unique number of both protons and neutrons that is known as the atomic number. There are 90 natural occurring atoms along with 25 other man-made ones. This totals up to 115 atoms that make up the elements in the periodic table.
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A nucleus of an atom is accompanied by several electron shells that orbits around it. Each shell is only allowed a certain number of electrons. The first layer can hold 2, the second layer can hold 8, and the third layer can hold 18 electrons. All atoms prefer a full outer shell, however only noble gases hold them. This causes atoms to either give up or gain electrons from other atoms they encounter to have a full outer shell. The electrons on the outer shell are called valence electrons and are the ones who form chemical bonds with other