Atomic mass
The atomic mass and relative isotopic mass are sometimes confused, or incorrectly used, as synonyms of standard atomic weight (also known as atomic weight) and the standard atomic weight (a particular variety of atomic weight, in the sense that is a standardized atomic weight). However, as noted in the introduction, atomic weight and standard atomic weight represent terms for (abundance-weighted) averages of atomic masses in elemental samples, not for single nuclides. As such, atomic weight and standard atomic weight often differ numerically from relative isotopic mass and atomic mass, and they can also have different units than atomic mass when this quantity is not expressed in unified atomic mass units (see the linked article for atomic weight).
Chemistry
The atom is the basic unit of chemistry. It consists of a dense core called the atomic nucleus surrounded by a space occupied by an electron cloud. The nucleus is made up of positively charged protons and uncharged neutrons (together called nucleons), while the electron cloud consists of negatively charged electrons which orbit the nucleus. In a neutral atom, the negatively charged electrons balance out the positive charge of the protons. The nucleus is dense; the mass of a nucleon is approximately 1,836 times that of an electron, yet the radius of an atom is about 10,000 times that of its nucleus.