 We're going to start with the protons and remember the proton is the positively charged particle in the nucleus of the atom we're going to start with the protons because protons are they actually Determine the element that you're dealing with and I'm going to show you that in just a second Each box here in the periodic table of elements each box is a different element, and we're going to look at some examples of this They're different Because they have a different number of protons So if you look at our periodic chart, which has I don't know a hundred and eighteen different Elements different kinds of atoms different flavors of atoms The thing that's different about each one of those elements listed inside the boxes is the number of protons that it has So we look at hydrogen Which is in the top corner. I don't know if you can see my mouse Does it record my mouse? I wonder Hydrogen is the number one Element because it has one proton In order to find the number two element you have to go all the way over to the other side of the periodic table And you get to helium Which has two protons Who has three protons? lithium has oops three protons and this is a close-up of the Hydrogen box just so that we can see nice and clean the big number one this this whole number This no decimal points after this number that number is called your atomic number And it's the number that determines or that tells you how many protons are in that atom I'm going to go back and we're just going to do a little practice here So check out. I've pulled four different elements. What did I say? There were like 119 elements and I think there are more than that. So I think there are more that were not included in that periodic table. I Promise you I love you and we are not going to spend time with more than like I don't know probably ten different elements that you will use enough I won't say you'll memorize everything about them But they will be familiar to you and they it won't be hard to find them on the periodic table They won't be hard to answer questions about them because they will be kind of familiar These are four of those elements that are going to be kind of familiar in living systems go ahead and push pause if you must and Decide how many protons are in each one of these elements? How many protons are in hydrogen? How many are in carbon? How many are in oxygen and how many are in calcium? Timeout push pause holler out whatever you would like to do And let's see if we can figure this out. I Assume you pushed pause and yelled out your answers. I Already gave you this one hydrogen has one Proton in its nucleus. You now know Something about every single hydrogen atom on the planet Carbon atoms all have six protons if you take away a proton and get now the atom has Five protons. It's a whole new element And I am gonna go look at the periodic chart because I can't remember what it is It's boron of course it is if you take away a proton you're gonna have five protons and now you have boron You don't have carbon anymore Oxygen has yes, indeed eight protons and calcium has 20 protons all you have to do is find that number and It's you know how many protons it has Change the number of protons and you change the number you change the element itself and the element has characteristics oxygen do you want to breathe in Calcium or sulfur or oxygen? I'm pretty sure you want to breathe in oxygen. Yes. We we all have a sense of that. That's because oxygen has eight protons and Works in our bodies Super important job oxygen has in our bodies and we're gonna actually learn What it does in our bodies and those eight protons are why it can do that if we tried to replace it with Sulfur gas instead Our bodies would be like dude What are you trying to do and it's not gonna work because sulfur has however many protons sulfur has Shall we go look? Sulfur it's gonna take me too long. I there it is 16 double Interesting. Okay, I think that's everything that you need to know about protons, but they're super important So hang on to them in your brain