Atoms, by Don Nardo

A lithium atom has 3 protons and 3 neutrons inside the nucleus. 3 electrons oribt the nucleus.

Atoms, a book in the Kidhaven Science Libary, written by Don Nardo, published by KidHaven Press, an imprint of the Gale Group, 2002.

Table of Contents
1. The Building Blocks of Matter
2. Unstable Atoms and Radioactivity
3. Nuclear Power Plants
4. Other Uses for Atoms
Glossary
For further exploration
Index

It's time to make a study of atoms.

Start a notebook in which you will record your new vocabulary words. A lot of these words will stand you in good stead in all the scientific disciplines, because they will have Greek or Latin prefixes or suffixes, which are used in all the sciences.

This particular book, in my opinion, deals with too much. Its job is to teach the reader - a child in its early teens, I believe, about atoms, and its hard to do that when talking about nuclear power plants and other uses. Just deal with the creation of atomic theory in this book,and write another that deals with what uses atomic energy can be put to.

The glossary
chain reaction - atoms which undergo fission cause adjacent atoms to split, which in turn cause others to split, and so on. Each time an atom splits it releases a great deal of energy.

electron - a subatomic particle that carries a negative electrical charge. It orbits the nucleus of an atom.

fission- High-speed subatomic particles crash into an atom's nucleus, splitting it in half and releasing energy.

meltdown - if the casing of the fuel rods in a nuclear power plant melt, they can release the radioactive fuel into the environment.

neutron - a subatomic particle that has no electrical charge. It is located in the nucleus of the atom.

nucleus - the central portion of an atom, consisting of the proton(s) and neutron(s).

proton - A subatomic particle that carries a positive electrical charge. It is located in the nucleus of the atom.

quark - a subatomic particle that is a building block of protons and neutrons. In the latest theory, each proton and neutron is made up of two or three quarks.

radiation - Subatimic particles or wavelike energy given off by atoms. Only some kinds of radiation are harmful to human beings.

radioactive decay - When heavy, unstable atoms, such as those of uranium, give off radiation and tranform into lighter atoms, which in turn turn into even lighter atoms, until the resultant atom is stable.

subatomic - smaller than an atom. Quarks, the building blocks of atoms, are subatomic particles.