Horizons: Exploring the Universe (MindTap Course List)
Horizons: Exploring the Universe (MindTap Course List)
14th Edition
ISBN: 9781305960961
Author: Michael A. Seeds, Dana Backman
Publisher: Cengage Learning
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Chapter 6, Problem 1RQ
To determine

The reason due to which atoms are mostly empty space.

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Explanation of Solution

The atoms are mostly empty space mainly because of their composition. The atomic nucleus consists of proton and neutron, where both are very close to each other. The nucleus of this model atom is surrounded by a whirling cloud of orbiting electrons. Each orbit of electron and each orbiting electron has some space in between them. The mass of proton and neutron is very-very large compared to the mass of the electron, so most of the mass of atom lies in the nucleus and thus, the atom is mostly empty space.

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Students have asked these similar questions
The atoms that constitute your body are mostly empty space, and structures such as the chair you’re sitting on are composed of atoms that are also mostly empty space. So why don’t you fall through the chair?
Since atoms are mostly empty space, why don’t we fall through a floor we stand on?
In what specific way does light from distant stars and galaxies tell astronomers that atoms throughout the universe have the same properties as those on Earth?
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