Protons, Neutrons and Electrons

Lab Brief #1

🎯 Your mission

Set it up. Test it. Be amazed.

⚡ The twist

If it bubbles, something invisible is escaping.

What you'll learn

An atom has a tiny dense nucleus of protons and neutrons, surrounded by electrons. Protons carry +1 charge, electrons −1, and neutrons none. Almost all the mass sits in the nucleus, while almost all the volume is the electron cloud.

Key words

nucleus
The tiny dense centre of an atom, containing protons and neutrons.
electron
A negatively charged subatomic particle occupying the space around the nucleus.

Make a hypothesis first

Guess: will the fizz be loud, soft, or none at all?

Say your guess out loud — then find out if you were right.

Get ready

🧰 What you need

coloured beads
card
glue
long tape measure

⚠️ Safety first

Small beads are a choking hazard — keep them away from young children.

Step 1 of 4 · Read

Think about what you just learned: say what "nucleus" and "electron" mean in your own words before you start.

Step 2 of 4 · Do

Build scale models of hydrogen, carbon and sodium atoms using coloured beads for each particle. Then calculate how large the electron cloud would be if the nucleus were a 1 cm marble, and mark that distance on the playground.

Step 3 of 4 · Observe

Record what actually happened, including anything that did not match what you expected.

Step 4 of 4 · Record

Write a conclusion that answers the question this lesson opened with, and state your uncertainty.

Question 1 of 2

Which particle has no electric charge?

How sure are you?😐 maybe

Question 2 of 2

Almost all of an atom's mass is found in the:

How sure are you?😐 maybe

Mind = blown

🧪 If you could remove all the empty space from atoms, the entire human race would fit in a sugar cube.

Nice work!

You got 0 of 2 right.

Next: Atomic Number, Mass Number and Isotopes All lessons

🎯

Next Smart Experiment

We'll pick an experiment that matches exactly how you're thinking right now.

✨ More to explore

🌍 Where you see this in real life: Your toothpaste, your soap, even your breakfast involves this.

🏆 Stretch challenge (try it this week): Ask a grown-up to help you mix two safe kitchen things. Predict what will happen first.

👨‍👩‍👧 For the dinner table: “What's something we cook that mixes things together this way?”

⚛️Share card

Share this experiment

Send it to a parent who's looking for a 10-minute kitchen science win.

Protons, Neutrons and Electrons

Next Smart Experiment

Share this experiment

Protons, Neutrons and Electrons

Done with science? Try something else

Your Cart (0)