The Atomic Theory In the 5th century B.C.

, the Greek philosopher Democritus expressed the belief that all matter consists of very small, indivisible particles which he named ATOMOS (meaning uncuttable or indivisible). In 1808, an English scientist named John Dalton formulated a precise definition of the indivisible building blocks of matter that we call atoms. Dalton s atomic theory states that: 1. all matter is composed of tiny, indivisible particles called atoms. 2. all atoms of the same element are identical. 3. compounds contain atoms of different elements combined in whole -number ratios (Law of Definite Proportion and Law of Multiple Proportion). 4. atoms are neither created created nor destroyed in chemical reactions (Law of Conservation of Mass).

Structure of the Atom Evidences which establishes the presence of the subatomic particles Electron The cathode ray tube was used to investigate the presence of negatively charged particles in an atom. It is glass tube from which most of the air has been evacuated. When the two metal plates are connected to a high voltage source, the negatively charged plate, called the cathode, emits an invisible ray which is drawn to the positively charged plate, called the anode, and travels straight to the other end of the tube. When a magnet or an electric field is placed near the cathode ray tube, deflections occur due to its attraction to plates bearing positive charges and repulsion to plates bearing negative charges.

Proton and Nucleus By the early 1900s, 2 features of atoms had become clear. Atoms contain electrons and are electrically neutral. To maintain electrical neutrality, an atom must contain an equal number of positive and negative charges. On the basis of this information, J.J. Thomson proposed his plum-pudding model wherein an atom is thought of as a uniform sphere of positively charged matter in which electrons were embedded. In 1910 Ernst Rutherford, Hans Geiger, and Ernst Marsden carried out experiments in which very thin foils of metal were used as targets for alpha particles emitted from a radioactive source. Based on Thomson s model of the atom, Rutherford expected: That the positively charged alpha particles should pass throughout the uniform sphere of positively charged matter with little or no deflection.

But they obtained the following results in their actual experiment: Rutherford observed that the majority of alpha particles penetrated the foil either undeflected or with only a slight deflection. Every now and then however an alpha particle was scattered or deflected at a large angle. In some instances an alpha particle actually bounced back in the direction from which it had come. This was a most surprising finding, for in Thomson s model the positive charge of the atom was so diffuse or spread out, that the positive alpha particles were expected to pass through the foil with very little deflection. Upon making this discovery Rutherford

explained it was almost as incredible as if you fired a 15-inch shell at a piece of tissue paper, and it came back and hit you. Rutherford s model Based on the results of his experiment Rutherford postulated a nuclear atom. All of the positive charge and most of the mass of the atom is concentrated in a very small volume called the nucleus. Electrons occupy the remaining space of the atom. The radius of an atom is approximately 20,000 times larger than the radius of the nucleus. Most of the positively charged alpha particles pass straight through the diffuse electron clouds of the atoms. Some alpha particles pass close to the small positive nuclei and are deflected at large angles. A few particles score a direct hit on the nuclei and come almost straight back.

Neutron English physicist James Chadwick bombarded a thin sheet of beryllium with E particles, a very high energy radiation similar to K rays were emitted by the metal. The K rays are electrically neutral particles having a mass slightly greater than that of protons. Chad wick named these particles neutrons.

Particle Electron Proton Neutron

Mass and Charge of Subatomic Particles Charge Mass (g) Coulomb Charge unit 9.10939 x 10-28 -1.6022 x 10-19 -1 1.67262 x 10-24 +1.6022 x 10-19 +1 1.67493 x 10-24 0 0

Arrangement of the 3 sub-atomic particles in an atom. 1. Protons and neutrons are found in the center of the atom (nucleus). Electrons are outside the nucleus in shells or energy levels. The shells are dispersed at a relatively large distance from the nucleus. 2. The nucleus has a very high density. It is where the mass of the atom is located. 3. An atom is electrically neutral, therefore, there are equal number of protons and electrons. However, under a variety of circumstances, an atom can gain or lose its electrons to form an ion. Atomic Number, Mass Number and Isotopes Atomic number (Z) number of protons in the nucleus of each atom. In a neutral atom, the no. of protons is equal to the number of electrons present in the atom. Mass number (A) = number of protons + number of neutrons The accepted way to denote the atomic number and mass number of an atom of element X is as follows: A Z

Isotopes atoms that have the same atomic number but different mass numbers. Ex. Three isotopes of hydrogen are written as follows: 1 1 H hydrogen 2 1 H deuterium 3 1 H tritium

Molecules and Ions Molecule is an aggregate of at least two atoms in a definite arrangement held together by chemical forces or chemical bonds. A molecule may contain atoms of the same element or atoms of 2 or more elements joined in a fixed ratio. Thus, a molecule is not necessarily a compound. Ex. H2, O 2, N2, HBr, CO 2 Ions an atom or a group of atoms that has a net positive or negative charge. The number of protons in the nucleus of an atom remains the same during a chemical reaction but the electrons may be lost or gained. Cation an ion with a net positive charge due to the loss of one or more electrons from its neutral atom. Ex.:
+ 11Na , sodium cation will have 11 protons and 10 electrons +2 20 Ca , calcium cation will have 20 protons and 18 electrons

Anion Ex.:

an ion whose net charge is negative due to an increase in the number of electrons.
17 Cl , -3 7N ,

the chloride anion will have 17 protons and 18 electrons the nitride anion will have 7 protons and 10 electrons