Lesson 10:
Three things that make up atoms are protons, neutrons, and electrons. The neutrons and protons are bunched together in the middle of the atom in a ball called the nucleus. Floating around the outside of the nucleus in a circle, electrons go in a circular motion around and around. Each type of atoms has a different amount of protons, neutrons, and electrons. If you add another proton or electron to an atoms, it becomes something completely different. For example if you have helium (a gas) and add one proton to it, it becomes lithium (a solid). For each type of atom, if you have an unequal amount of protons to electrons, it will have an electrical charge, and when it has an electrical charge, it is called an ion.
Lesson 11:
If an atom has the same amount of protons and electrons, it has no electrical charge. Pennies are made up of copper, which has no electrical charge. Copper atoms can have 34 or 36 neutrons, and this does not effect it’s electrical charge, and it doesn’t make it turn it into another atom. However, if you added more electrons or protons to copper, it would change into a new atom.
When you get a new penny it is very shiny, but old ones begin to darken. This is because the penny’s molecules like to blend in with oxygen, and this creates a new substance called copper oxide. When you put pennies into a cup with water, vinegar, and salt, the copper oxide begins to come off in the water. When you put an iron nail into this same water, it shares its electrons, and it might even pick up copper or copper oxide as it leaves the pennies.
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