In this video, we're going to talk about atomic structure or the structure of atoms. Now, atoms are made up of 3 subatomic particles, each with their own characteristic charge, mass, and location within the atom. Notice over here, we have this table that gives you information about the 3 subatomic particles that make up an atom. And so, those 3 subatomic particles are protons, neutrons, and electrons. When it comes to the electric charge of a proton, it's actually going to be plus 1, so it has a positive charge. You can think of the 'p' here as positively charged. When it comes to the electric charge of the neutron, the neutron is going to be, as its name implies, neutral, meaning that it has a neutral electric charge of 0. When it comes to the electron and its electric charge, it's going to have a negative one electric charge. The way that you can think about it is 'electron' kinda sounds like getting electrocuted, and getting electrocuted is definitely not something positive; it's something negative, and that's how you can remember that it's going to have a negative one charge.
When it comes to the mass of subatomic particles, these particles are so incredibly small that it doesn't really make sense to measure their mass in pounds or ounces or kilograms or even grams. They are so small that scientists have come up with a new unit to measure their mass, and that unit is called the atomic mass unit (AMU). Protons and neutrons both have an atomic mass unit of 1. However, electrons are going to be different. Electrons have a mass that is so incredibly small that it's practically negligible, meaning that we can pretty much ignore its mass and just round it off to say that it is a 0 AMU.
In terms of the location of these subatomic particles within the atom, the proton is found within the nucleus of the atom. The neutron is also found within the nucleus of the atom. However, the electrons are going to be different. Instead of being found within the nucleus, the electrons are going to be found orbiting the nucleus or revolving around the nucleus, as illustrated in our image over here, where you can see the image of a carbon atom. Notice that the nucleus is indicated with a purplish background. Notice that within the nucleus, we have these positively charged protons, and we also have these neutral, gray circles that represent the neutrons, both found packed within the nucleus of the atom, just like what we see here. However, notice that the electrons, which are these little blue circles, are not found within the nucleus. Instead, the electrons are going to be found orbiting the nucleus in these electron shells that we see here.
We'll talk more about these electron shells as we move forward in our course. But for now, what you guys should know are the subatomic particles, our protons, neutrons, and electrons, you should know their characteristic electric charge, their characteristic atomic mass unit, and the location of each subatomic particle. And so, this here concludes our introduction to atomic structure and as we move forward, we'll be able to get some practice. So, I'll see you all in our next video.