What does neutron mean?
Word: Neutron
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Neutron means a very small part of an atom that has no electric charge.
How do you spell neutron?
Syllables: neu - tron
Tricky part: The opening is spelt eu, a pair of letters that young writers rarely expect, so nutron and newtron are common slips.
Watch out for: nutron, newtron
Memory tip: Europe and neutron share a rare pair of vowels. Picture a scientist in Europe to keep them in order.
Neutron in a sentence
Example 1: Our science teacher drew a neutron as a small grey ball in her model of an atom.
Example 2: Scientists found that a neutron weighs a little more than a proton.
Example 3: The chart on the lab wall shows where each neutron sits.
Fun Fact
James Chadwick, an English scientist, found the neutron in 1932 and won the Nobel Prize in Physics for it in 1935.
Practise the CREST Way
Mingle-Mangle
Form a meaningful word from the jumbled letters:
trenuon
a) nutrient
b) neutral
c) nectar
d) neutron
Show answer
d) neutron. Two n's and no i, a or l: only one option fits.
Word Cookie
Insert the correct pair of letters to form a word:
neu_r_n
a) t, o
b) d, o
c) t, e
d) t, a
Show answer
a) t, o. The word closes like the electron of your science book.
Spell-o-Spell
Choose the correctly spelt word:
a) neutron
b) electrisity
c) photosinthesis
d) oxigen
Show answer
a) neutron. Listen to the sounds: electricity takes a c for its s sound, while photosynthesis and oxygen both take a y.
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
A neutron sits with the protons in the nuclues of an atom.
a) protons
b) nuclues
c) atom
d) neutron
Show answer
b) nuclues. Nucleus ends in eus, so the e and u have changed places in the slip.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Where would a student most likely hear the word neutron?
a) in a physics lesson
b) in a drawing lesson
c) in a music lesson
d) in a cookery lesson
Show answer
a) in a physics lesson
2. Which is true about the size of a neutron?
a) It is as wide as a human hair
b) It is as large as a raindrop
c) It is far too small to see
d) It is as big as a rice grain
Show answer
c) It is far too small to see
