Section 1: The Atom- From Philosophical Idea to Scientific Theory

I. Philosophical Ideas i. The particle theory of matter a. Supported as early as 400 B.C. by certain Greek thinkers, such as Democritus b. Democritus called natures basic principle the atom, based on the Greek word meaning indivisible ii. Aristotle a. Did not believe in atoms b. He thought that all matter was continuous, and his opinion was accepted for nearly 2000 years Foundations of Atomic Theory i. Chemical reaction: the transformation of a substance or substances into one or more new substances ii. Law of conservation of mass: matter is neither created nor destroyed during ordinary chemical reactions or physical changes. iii. Law of conservation of proportions: a chemical compound contains the same elements in exactly that same proportions by mass regardless of the size of the sample or source of the compound iv. Law of multiple proportions: if two or more different compounds are composed of the same two elements, then the ratio of the masses of the second element combined with a certain mass of the first element is always a ration of small whole numbers. Daltons Atomic Theory i. In 1808, an English schoolteacher named John Dalton proposed an explanation for the law of conservation of mass, the law of definite proportions, and the law of multiple proportions. ii. He reasoned that elements were composed of atoms and that only whole numbers of atoms can combine to form compounds. iii. Daltons Atomic Theory: 1. All matter is composed of extremely small particles called atoms 2. Atoms of a given element are identical in size, mass, and other properties; atoms of different elements differ in size, mass, and other properties. 3. Atoms cannot be subdivided, created, or destroyed 4. Atoms of different elements combine in simple whole-numbered ratios to form chemical compounds 5. In chemical reactions, atoms are combined, separated, and rearranged Modern Atomic Theory i. Atoms are divisible into even smaller particles, subatomic particles ii. A given element can have atoms with different masses

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Chapter 3: Atoms: the Building Blocks of Matter

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Section 2: The Structure of an Atom

I. The Structure of an Atom i. Atom: the smallest unit of an element that retains the chemical properties of that element ii. The nucleus is a very small region located at the center of the atom iii. Nucleus is made up of at least one positively charged particle called a proton and usually one or more neutral particles called neutrons iv. Surrounding nucleus is a region occupied by negatively charged particles called electrons. This region is very large compared with the size of the nucleus v. Protons, neutrons, and electrons are often referred to as subatomic particles II. Discovery of the Electron i. The first discovery of a subatomic particle resulted from investigations into the relationship between electricity and matter ii. Cathode-ray experiments- electric current is passed through various gases at low pressures (in a glass tube) a. Cathode Rays and Electrons i. Investigators noticed that when current was passed through a cathode-ray tube, the surface of the tube directly opposite the cathode glowed. Hypothesized that the glow was caused by a stream of particles, which they called the cathode ray ii. The cathode ray travelled from the cathode to the anode iii. Observations: 1. Cathode rays were deflected by a magnetic field in the same manner as a wire carrying electric current, which is known to have a negative charge 2. The rays were deflected away from a negatively charged object. iv. 1897- English physicist Joseph John Thompson a. He was able to measure the ratio of the charge of cathode-ray particles to their mass b. He concluded that all cathode rays are composed of identical negatively charged particles, which were named electrons b. Charge and Mass of the Electron i. Cathode rays have identical properties regardless of the element used to produce them. ii. Electrons are present in the atoms of all elements iii. Cathode-ray experiments provided evidence that atoms are divisible and that one of the atoms basic components is the negatively charged electron iv. Two other inferences made about atomic structure 1. Because atoms are electrically neutral, they must contain a positive charge to balance the negative electrons 2. Because electrons have so much less mass than atoms, atoms must contain other particles that account for most of their mass

Chapter 3: Atoms: the Building Blocks of Matter

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Thompsons plum pudding model-negatively charged electrons were spread evenly throughout the positive charge of the rest of the atom; eventually rejected Discovery of the Atomic Nucleus i. 1911- New Zealander Earnest Rutherford and his associated Hans Geiger and Ernest Marsden a. Bombarded a thin piece of gold foil with fast-moving alpha particles b. Most particles pass through with only slight deflection; however, roughly 1 in 8000 of the alpha particles deflected back toward the source c. Rutherford reasoned that deflected alpha particles must have undergone a deflecting force within the atom d. Rutherford concluded that the force must be caused by a very densely packed bundle of matter with a positive electric charge (nucleus) e. Rutherford discovered that the volume of the nucleus was vvery small compared with the total volume of an atom

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Chapter 3: Atoms: the Building Blocks of Matter

Composition of the Atomic Nucleus i. Except for nucleus of Hydrogen atom, all atomic nuclei made of protons and neutrons ii. Proton has positive charge equal in magnitude the negative charge of the electron iii. Atoms are electrically neutral because they contain equal numbers of protons and electrons iv. Neutron is electrically neutral v. Subatomic particles mass (least to greatest): electron proton neutron vi. The nuclei of atoms of different elements differ in their number of protons and therefore in the amount of positive charge they possess vii. Number of protons determines atoms identity a. Forces in the nucleus i. Generally, particles, that have the same electric charge repel one another ii. Nuclear forces: short-range proton-neutron, proton-proton, and neutronneutron forces that hold the nucleus particles together V. The Sizes of Atoms i. The radius of an atom is the distance from the center of the nucleus to the outer portion of the electron cloud ii. Because atomic radii are so small, they are expressed using a unit that is more convenient for the sizes of atomsthe picometer (pm) iii. Nuclei have incredibly high densities

Section 3: Counting Atoms

I. Atomic Number i. Atomic number(Z): the number of protons of each atom of an element ii. On periodic table, elements are placed in order of increasing atomic number iii. The atomic number identifies an element iv. Because atoms are neutral, the number of protons(atomic number) equals the number of electrons Isotopes i. Isotopes: atoms of the same element that have different masses ii. The isotopes of an element all have the same number of protons and electrons but different numbers of neutrons Mass Number i. Mass number: the total number of protons and neutrons that make up the nucleus of an isotope Designating Isotopes i. The isotopes of hydrogen(protium, deuterium, and tritium) are unusual in that they have distinct names ii. Isotopes are usually identified by specifying their mass number iii. Two methods for specifying isotopes: 1. Hyphen notation: the mass number is written with a hyphen after the name of the element (e.g. tritium, which is hydrogen-3) 2. Nuclear symbol: Mass number
Atomic number

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Element symbol

Mass number-atomic number = number of neutrons e.g. uranium-235 235(protons + neutrons) 92 protons = 143 neutrons
Chapter 3: Atoms: the Building Blocks of Matter

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Nuclide: a general term for a specific isotope of an element