| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| anion | An atom that has gained electrons; it's negatively charged |
| neutrons | The neutrally charged particles in an atom |
| compound | Contains at least two different elements combined |
| cation | An atom that has lost electrons; it's positively charged |
| valence electrons | The electrons in the outer shell of an atom. |
| nucleus | The center of an atom that contains the protons and neutrons |
| element | The group of one kind of atom |
| charge | The property that causes atoms to be attracted to or repelled by one another |
| octet rule | When an atom has eight electrons in it's outer shell making it stable. |
| protons | The positively charged particles in an atom |
| synthetic elements | Man-made elements |
| ionic bonding | When an ion forms bonds with other ions |
| energy level | The place where the electron spends its time buzzing around the atom. |
| ion | An atom that doesn't have the normal number of electrons |
| covalent bond | The bond that's formed when atoms share their valence electrons |
| atomic number | The number of protons an atom has |
| nucleons | What the protons and neutrons together are called |
| mass number | The number of nucleons an atom has. |
| electrons | The negatively charged particles in an atom |
| isotopes | Atoms with different numbers of neutrons and protons. |
