Final answer:
The atoms in your hair hold their electrons more tightly than the atoms on the balloon due to strong electrostatic attractions within the hair's atoms, reflecting a stronger bond between their electrons and nucleus.
Step-by-step explanation:
The atoms in your hair hold their electrons more tightly than the atoms on the balloon. This is because the electrostatic attraction between the negatively charged electrons and the positively charged protons in the nucleus is relatively stronger in the atoms that make up your hair. These stronger forces make it difficult for atoms to lose electrons, thus they are held tightly. However, atoms that do not hold electrons as tightly can potentially gain or lose electrons more easily, which makes them more reactive. The likelihood of an atom to participate in chemical reactions often depends on the number of electrons in its outermost shell, also known as the valence shell. If the valence shell is not full, the atom will tend to react more, seeking to fill or empty its shell to achieve stability. Based on the Bohr model, higher energy orbits are located further from the atomic nucleus since negative electrons are repelled from the positive protons in the nucleus, and it takes energy to move the electrons away from the nucleus. Also, the concept of electron clouds in quantum mechanics explains that electrons do not have definite paths as once thought in classical physics, but instead, there is a probability of finding them in certain areas around the nucleus, influenced by the Coulomb force.