Argon

What is Argon's Atomic Structure?

So what exactly is Argon's atomic structure? Well, first of all, what are atoms? Atoms are the particles that make up anything you could imagine. So, it's nucleus, or the center of it, holds 18 protons and 22 neutrons. Along with that, it has 18 electrons located on the electron cloud, or the shell. Whoa wait, what exactly are those? Well protons are what give it a positive electric charge, and electrons give it a negative electric charge. But the neutrons don't have any electric charge, so they're neutral. The nucleus is the center part, while the shell are the rings located around it. The nucleus will always hold the protons and neutrons, while the shell will always hold the electrons. To find the amount of protons, you can look at the atomic number mentioned before. The amount of protons will always be equal to the atomic number. The number of electrons is equal to the amount of protons, so that the element isn't more negative or more positive, but so it'll be equal. What about the neutrons though? We said there was 22 of those, so where did that number come from? Atomic mass was also brought up, what did we say it was? 40? Well then you take the atomic mass and subtract it from the atomic number; that'll give you the amount of neutrons. Is there something I'm forgetting? Oh! Valence electrons! Valence electrons are the electrons located on the outer-most shell. They determine how the element reacts to other elements. But if it was a full outer shell, it won't react at all, so Argon, being a Noble Gas, doesn't react with any other element; commonly, anyways.