Atomic nucleus

High school (ages 12+)
Science & Technology

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/atomic-nucleus

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the composition?Nucleons (protons and neutrons) bound by the strong nuclear force
2. What is the discoverer?Ernest Rutherford (1911)
3. Why do protons stay together in the nucleus?A strong force pulls protons and neutrons together, and it is much stronger than the electric push that would separate the protons.
4. How did scientists discover the nucleus?Ernest Rutherford shot small particles at a thin gold foil and saw some bounce back, which showed that a small, heavy center exists inside the atom.

Nucleon: A collective term for a proton or a neutron, the particles that make up the atomic nucleus.
Strong Nuclear Force: The fundamental force responsible for binding quarks into protons and neutrons, and nucleons into atomic nuclei.
Electrostatic Repulsion: The force of attraction between particles with opposite electric charges, and repulsion between like charges.
Stellar Nucleosynthesis: The process by which stars create heavier chemical elements from lighter ones through nuclear fusion.