About Build an Atom
Build an atom out of protons, neutrons, and electrons, and see how the element, charge, and mass change. Then play a game to test your ideas!
How to play Build an Atom
Everything is hands-on: drag, click and experiment — the simulation reacts instantly. Build an atom out of protons, neutrons, and electrons, and see how the element, charge, and mass change.
Questions & answers
- What is Build an Atom?
- Build an Atom is a free interactive simulation from PhET Interactive Simulations (University of Colorado Boulder) that you can play right in your browser on crumble.lol — no downloads and no sign-up. Build an atom out of protons, neutrons, and electrons, and see how the element, charge, and mass change. Then play a game to test your ideas!
- What can kids learn from Build an Atom?
- It helps kids explore: use the number of protons, neutrons, and electrons to draw a model of the atom, identify the element, and determine the mass and charge. predict how addition or subtraction of a proton, neutron, or electron will change the element, the charge, and the mass. use the element name, mass, and charge to determine the number of protons, neutrons, and electrons. define proton, neutron, electron, atom, and ion. generate an isotopic symbol for an atom, given the number of protons, neutrons, and electrons.
- What age is Build an Atom good for?
- It is designed for middle school (roughly ages 10–14) up to university, and curious kids outside that range can absolutely enjoy poking around it too.
- Is Build an Atom free to play?
- Yes — Build an Atom is completely free on crumble.lol and runs fully in your browser on computers and tablets.