How we can add electron to atom if it is too small?

Astronomy Question about the atom?

• Question: Your young cousin is fascinated by things that are really, really big, or really, really small, so she asks you to tell her what atoms are like. Describe for her the different things inside an atom, where they are, and what they are like. this is what i said, "An atom is the smallest possible amount of a chemical element. It has a nucleus in the center that has protons and possibly neutrons. It has to have at least one proton, but it doesn't need to have a neutron it depends on the elements. Most elements have more than one proton. The electrons in the atom circle the nuclues. The electron are never in the nucleus, but around it. There are three parts to an atom: the proton (positive charged), the neutrons (no charge), and the electron (negative charge). Each element has a unique combination of protons, neutrons, and electrons, but with equal numbers of electron and protons. The protons and neutrons are joined in the center by a strong force and the electrons circle the outer most area of the atoms field. Electrons have more than the mimimun amount of energy which is why they get "excited" so the electron can push away from the nucleus as they obsord light. Electrons jump up to a higher orbit. And atoms that are excited can emit light. An electron "falls" closer to the nucleus and loses its radiation energy. Electrons are the smallest parts of the atom. The proton is the part of an atom that helps to form the nucleus. Neutrons and protons occur in equal numbers in stable atoms except in hydrogen. Protons and neutrons are often referred to together as nucleons. In the end, The protons and neutrons cluster together in the central part of the atom, called the nucleus and the electrons 'orbit' the nucleus. A particular atom will have the same number of protons and electrons and most atoms have at least as many neutrons as protons" should i add anything or take away anything from it?

• Answer:

  You probably should be careful when comparing quantity of neutrons to quantity of protons. They aren't necessarily equal, and neutrons do not necessarily dominate protons. As a general trend, they are equal, but to make blatant statements that say they need to be equal is wrong. In fact, there exist a few cases where an element of greater atomic number has fewer nucleons than its previous element. Maybe you should introduce the concept of isotopes. Each unique nuclear configuration of an element is called an isotope. Most elements have multiple isotopes, although there are usually only a few that are stable and common.