Revision questions on Mass number, atomic number and isotopes for AQA GCSE Physics

For these questions, you may need to refer to the periodic table and the specification (from page 37). The period table is embedded below and here is the AQA GCSE Specification.

The Questions

1. In an atom what  can you say about the number of protons compared to the number of neutrons? 
2. What is the overall electrical charge on an atom? 
3. Comment on the number of protons in all atoms of a particular element? For instance how many protons do all atoms of the element sodium have? 
4. What is the number of protons in an atom of an element called? It begins with the letter ‘a’. 
5. What is the total number of protons and neutrons in an atom called? It begins with the letter ‘m’. 
6. Here is how sodium is represented on the periodic table.
7. How many protons does sodium have? 
8. How many neutrons does sodium have? 
9. How many electrons does sodium have? 
10. What is being described here: – Atoms of the same element can have different numbers of neutrons. 
11. What do atoms turn into if they lose one or more of their outer electrons? 

Audio Answers

The Phet simulation ‘build an atom‘ is a great tool for this topic – have a play

Video to help