Atomic

structure

ATOM
fundamental piece of matter
electrically neutral particle
very small!
diameter of an atom is in the
order of 10-10 m or Angstrom ()

based on philosophical speculation

EARLY IDEAS

EMPEDOCLES (490 430 BC)

Four elements of matter
earth

air

water

fire

mixing

the elements gives rise to material things

governed by the forces of love and hate

DEMOCRITUS (460 -370 BC)

matter consists of tiny, indivisible particles

ATOMOS

DEMOCRITUS (460 -370 BC)

ATOMS

small, hard particles made

of the same material but
were of different shapes &
sizes
infinite in number and
always moving

PLATO AND ARISTOTLE (400 BC)

matter is composed of 4
fundamental substances

hul

4 basic properties:
hotness, coldness,
dryness, and
moistness

ALCHEMISTS (NEXT 2000 YRS)

idea of turning metal
into gold

SCIENTIFIC ATOMIC THEORIES

based on experiments and

observations

JOHN DALTON (1808)

English chemist
presented his Atomic
Theory in detail

DALTONS ATOMIC THEORY

1. Matter is composed of tiny,
indivisible particles called ATOMS
2. All atoms of a given element are
identical, but differ from atoms of
other elements.

DALTONS ATOMIC THEORY

3. A compound is composed of the
atoms of its elements in a definite
fixed numerical ratio.

4. A chemical reaction involves the

rearranging of atoms in different
combinations; the atoms remain
intact and do not change.

DALTONS BILLIARD BALL MODEL

Atom
tiny, hard,
indestructible
sphere

DALTONS BILLIARD BALL MODEL

A New System of
Chemical Philosophy
(1808)

DEVELOPMENTS THAT LED TO THE NEXT MODEL

CROOKES OR DISCHARGE TUBE

cathode

gas under low pressure

voltage source
anode

SIR JOSEPH JOHN THOMSON (1897)

British physicist
provided the 1st hint that
an atom is made up of
even smaller particles
studied cathode rays

THOMSONS CATHODE RAY TUBE EXPT

THOMSONS CATHODE RAY TUBE EXPT

THOMSON DETERMINED THE CHARGE-TO-MASS RATIO OF

THE ELECTRON

e
8 C/g
=
-1.76
x
10
m
*(-) sign due to electrons negativity
e = charge of the electron (in Coulombs)
m = mass of electron (in grams)

THOMSONS PLUM PUDDING MODEL

Diffuse, spherical cloud

of positive charge with
randomly embedded
negatively charged
particles

ROBERT MILLIKAN (1909)

determined the unit

charge of electron
though his Oil-drop
Experiment

F = qE

qE = mg

Oil drop

W = mg

MILLIKAN DETERMINED THE UNIT CHARGE OF THE ELECTRON

e = -1.60 x 10-19 C
electron charge is always a whole number
multiple of this unit charge
using the e/m ratio and the unit charge,

m = 9.11 x 10-28 g

Wilhelm Conrad Rntgen

Discovered x-rays
from cathode ray
experiments

OMG!
I have seen
my death!

DEVELOPMENTS THAT LED TO THE NEXT MODEL

RADIOACTIVITY
spontaneous emission of radiation
discovered in 1896 by Henri Becquerel

EARLY TYPES OF RADIOACTIVE EMISSIONS

charge: +2
mass: 7300x that of an ehigh speed electron
high energy light

ERNEST RUTHERFORD (1911)

former student of
Thomson
carried out an
experiment to test
Thomsons model

ALPHA PARTICLE SCATTERING EXPT

with Hans Geiger and Ernest Marsden
bombard gold atoms with alpha particles

RUTHERFORDS NUCLEAR MODEL

atoms consist of very small,
very dense NUCLEUS which
is positively charged,
containing most of the
atoms mass
an atom is mostly empty
space and the volume is
occupied by the practically
mass-less ELECTRONS

RUTHERFORDS NUCLEAR MODEL

small size
high density

RUTHERFORDS NUCLEAR MODEL

PARTICLES WITHIN THE

NUCLEUS

PROTON

+
(p )

discoverer: Eugen Goldstein (1896)

more massive than electron
~1840x the mass of the e-

with charge equal BUT opposite in sign to

that of the electron

The NUMBER of protons is a unique

property of an element
# of p+

= atomic number, Z
= nuclear charge

= # of e-s in a neutral atom

o
NEUTRON (n )
discoverer: James Chadwick (1932)
protons cannot account alone for the
total mass of the atom
has the same mass as the proton, but
NO charge

SUMMARY OF SUBATOMIC PARTICLES

NAME,
SYMBOL

CHARGE
Coulomb

MASS

charge relative
unit
mass

proton,
p+

+1.6 x 10 -19

+1

electron,
e-

-1.6 x 10 -19

-1

neutron,
no

mass (g)
1.67 x 10-24

1/1840 9.11 x 10-28

1

1.67 x 10-24

SYMBOL OF AN ATOM

Mass
number
= # of p+ +
# of no

Atomic
number

= # of p+

symbol of
the
element

 Z = 11

23

11

Na

A = 23
= Z + no
p+ = 11
e- = 11
no = 23 11
= 12

Give the complete symbol of the atom with:

+
p

= 53
e- = 53
no = 74

127

53

ISOTOPES

ISOTOPES
proposed by Frederick Soddy (1912)
term coined by Margaret Todd (1913)
atoms of the same element which vary in
the number of no (varies in mass) but
have the same number of p+

ISOTOPES OF HYDROGEN

ISOTOPES OF OXYGEN

16
O
8

17
O
8

18
O
8

O-16

O-17

O-18

ELEMENTS IN NATURE OCCUR AS MIXTURES

OF ISOTOPES
How heavy is an atom of oxygen?
it depends, because there are different
kinds of O atoms

AVERAGE ATOMIC MASS

based on the abundance (percentage) of
each variety of that element in nature

MEASURING THE ATOMIC MASS

use of atomic mass unit (amu) instead of
grams
amu
1/12 the mass of a carbon-12

ISOTOPES OF CARBON

12
6C

98.89 %

13
6C

1.11 %

14
C
6

<0.01 %

THE LISTED ATOMIC MASS OF AN ELEMENT IS THE

WEIGHTED AVERAGE OF THE ATOMIC MASSES
OF THE NATURALLY OCCURRING ISOTOPES.
ATOMIC MASS
(amu)

RELATIVE
ABUNDANCE

C
6

12.0000

98.89 %

13

13.0034

1.11 %

ISOTOPE
12

C
6

To calculate the AVERAGE ATOMIC MASS

(isotopic mass x relative abundance)

Thus, for carbon (C)

Ave. atomic mass = (12.0000)(0.9889)
+
6
(13.0034)(0.0111)

12.01

= 12.01 amu

12

C
6

13

C
6

Oxygen (O) has 3 stable isotopes: 16O, 17O

and 18O.

16O
17O

18O

atomic mass
(amu)
15.9949
16.9991
17.9992

relative
abundance
99.759 %
0.037 %
0.204 %

Calculate the average atomic mass of O:

16.00 amu

NEGATIVELY-CHARGED IONS: ANIONS

# of gained e- or e-s equal to its charge
Example:
Cl: Z = 17 = # of p+ = # of eCl- : gained 1 eThus, # of e- = 18

POSITIVELY-CHARGED IONS: CATIONS

# of lost e- or e-s equal to its charge

Example:
Na: Z = 11 = # of p+ = # of eNa+ : lost 1 eThus, # of e- = 10

IONIC COMPOUNDS
an atom or group of atoms that carries an
electric charge

MOLECULES
smallest particle of an
element or compound
that can have a stable
independent existence
2 or more atoms bonded
together in very small
discrete units that are
electrically neutral