The atom consists of two components - a nucleus (positively charged) and an electron cloud (negatively charged);
The radius of the nucleus is about 10,000 times smaller than that of the atom;
The nucleus can have two component particles - neutrons (no charge) and protons (positively charged) - collectively called nucleons;
The mass of a proton is about equal to that of a neutron - and is about 1,840 times that of an electron;
The number of protons equals the number of electrons in an isolated atom;
The Atomic Number specifies the number of protons in a nucleus;
The Mass Number specifies the number of nucleons in a nucleus;
Isotopes of elements have the same atomic number but different mass numbers;
Isotopes are classified by specifying the element's chemical symbol preceded by a superscript giving the mass number and a subscript giving the atomic number;
The atomic mass unit is defined as 1/12th the mass of the stable, most commonly occurring isotope of carbon (i.e. C-12);
Binding energy is the energy which holds the nucleons together in a nucleus and is measured in electron volts (eV);
To combat the effect of the increase in electrostatic repulsion as the number of protons increases, the number of neutrons increases more rapidly - giving rise to the Nuclear Stability Curve;
There are ~2450 isotopes of ~100 elements and the unstable isotopes lie above or below the Nuclear Stability Curve;
Unstable isotopes attempt to reach the stability curve by splitting into fragments (fission) or by emitting particles/energy (radioactivity);
