Question

Briefly describe the structure of an atom.

Answer 1

Hint Protons are positively charged, electrons, negatively charged and neutrons have no charge. There is a force of attraction between protons and electrons. These are the constituents of an atom.

Complete step by step answer
An atom is composed of three particles, proton, neutron and electron. The proton is considered positively charged, while the electron is considered negatively charged. The neutron has no charge. The atom has a very dense centre called the nucleus which comprises the positively charged protons and massively dense neutrons.
The atom also comprises a negatively charged cloud which comprises the electrons orbiting around the nucleus. The centripetal force required to keep a body in circular motion is entirely provided by the electrostatic force of attraction between the proton and the electron.
Different atoms contain different amounts of proton, neutron and electron in varying numbers. In fact, the amount of proton possessed by an atom determines the element of the atom hence the chemical and physical properties. Equal number of electrons and protons are contained within a neutral atom since proton and neutron have the same charge. The charge of an atom is considered as the difference between the number of protons and the number of neutrons.

Note
In actuality, the electrons of an atom are not orbiting around the nucleus as in the planets around the sun, but are actually behaving like a standing wave that surrounds the atom and thus loops around itself. In fact, the electron is only said to exist only where the standing wave exists as described by Bohr.