The atom is a basic unit of matter that consists of a dense central nucleus surrounded by a cloud of negatively charged electrons.

These pictures just represent what the atom might look

like.

Copyright 2010 Ryan P. Murphy

Daltons Theory
He deduced that all

elements are composed of atoms. Atoms are indivisible and indestructible particles. Atoms of the same element are exactly alike. Atoms of different elements are different. Compounds are formed by the joining of atoms of two or more elements.

 An atom has charged particles, this means it has a (+)

and a (-) charge.

Atoms and some of the particles they are made of carry a

charge.

Copyright 2010 Ryan P. Murphy

 Rutherfords gold foil experiment

Copyright 2010 Ryan P. Murphy

 In Rutherford's experiment, a radioactive source shot a stream of alpha particles at a sheet of very thin gold foil which stood in front of a screen.
The alpha particles would make small flashes of light where

they hit the screen.

Copyright 2010 Ryan P. Murphy

 Since some of the positive alpha particles were

substantially deflected, Rutherford concluded that there must be something inside an atom for the alpha particles to bounce off of, that must be small, dense, and positively charged.

Copyright 2010 Ryan P. Murphy

 Since some of the positive alpha particles were

substantially deflected, Rutherford concluded that there must be something inside an atom for the alpha particles to bounce off of, that must be small, dense, and positively charged. The Nucleus

Copyright 2010 Ryan P. Murphy

Rutherford
Rutherford reasoned

that all of an atoms positively charged particles were contained in the nucleus. The negatively charged particles were scattered outside the nucleus around the atoms edge.

Atomic Models
This model of the atom

may look familiar to you. This is the Bohr model. In this model, the nucleus is orbited by electrons, which are in different energy levels.
A model uses familiar ideas to

explain unfamiliar facts observed in nature.

A model can be changed as new information is collected.

Bohr Model

According to Bohrs

atomic model, electrons move in definite orbits around the nucleus, much like planets circle the sun. These orbits, or energy levels, are located at certain distances from the nucleus.

Electron Cloud:
Depending on their energy they are locked into a certain area in the cloud. Electrons with the lowest energy are found in

the energy level closest to the nucleus Electrons with the highest energy are found in the outermost energy levels, farther from the nucleus.

Quantum Numbers
Quantum numbers often describe specifically the

energies of electrons in atoms, but other possibilities include angular momentum, spin, etc . There are four quantum numbers 1. Principle Quantum Number (n) 2. Azimuthal Quantum Number (l) 3. Magnetic Quantum Number (m) 4.Spin Quantum Number ( s)

n The first describes the electron shell, or energy level, of an atom. The value of n ranges from 1 to the shell containing the outermost electron of that atom, i.e. n = 1, 2, ... . For example, in caesium (Cs), the outermost valence electron is in the shell with energy level 6, so an electron in caesium can have an n value from 1 to 6. This number therefore has a dependence only on the distance between the electron and the nucleus . The average distance increases with n, and hence quantum states with different principal quantum numbers are said to belong to different shells.

 The second (also known as the angular quantum number or orbital quantum number) describes the subshell, and gives the magnitude of the orbital angular momentum . " = 0" is called an s orbital, " = 1" a p orbital, " = 2" a d orbital, and " = 3" an f orbital. The value of ranges from 0 to n 1, because the first p orbital ( = 1) appears in the second electron shell (n = 2), the first d orbital ( = 2) appears in the third shell (n = 3), and so on: = 0, 1, 2,..., n 1. A quantum number beginning in 3, 0, describes an electron in the s orbital of the third electron shell of an atom. In chemistry, this quantum number is very important, since it specifies the shape of an atomic orbital .

Magnetic Quantum Number

m The third describes the specific orbital (or "cloud")

within that subshell, and yields the projection of the orbital angular momentum . The values of m range from to , with integer steps between them : The s subshell ( = 0) contains only one orbital, and therefore the m of an electron in an s subshell will always be 0. The p subshell ( = 1) contains three orbitals (in some systems, depicted as three "dumbbell-shaped" clouds), so the m of an electron in a p subshell will be 1, 0, or 1. The d subshell ( = 2) contains five orbitals, with m values of 2, 1, 0, 1, and 2.

Spin Quantum Number

ms The fourth describes the spin (intrinsic angular

momentum) of the electron within that orbital, and gives the projection of the spin angular momentum S along the specified axis:Sz = ms .Analogously, the values of ms range from s to s, where s is the spin quantum number , an intrinsic property of particles: ms = s, s + 1, s + 2,...,s 2, s 1, s.An electron has spin s = , consequently ms will be , corresponding with "spin" and "opposite spin." Each electron in any individual orbital must have different spins because of the Pauli exclusion principle, therefore an orbital never contains more than two electrons.