Greeks Atom

• Greek philosophers Democritus, Aristotle,

Leucippus, and Epicurus
• The 4th century B.C.
• Believed all matter is made up of atoms
• Beliefs and ideas of their atom…
– Everything was made up of tiny and indivisible bodies
called atoms
– They were different size, shape, and made up of
different types of atoms
Greek Model

Geometric Shapes
 First Modern Atomic Ideas

• Law of Definite Proportions – A compound

always contains the same elements in the
same proportion by mass. (No matter what
amount you analyze.)
• Law of Multiple Proportions – If 2 (or
more) elements can make more than one
compound, then the compounds made
always have mass ratios of small whole #s.
 Dalton’s Atom
• John Dalton (1766 – 1844)
• Dalton discovered that matter is made up of atoms of
different weights.
• Dalton’s atomic theory led by his observations
– All matter is made of atoms
– Atoms of a certain element are identical/atoms of different
elements are different (not quite true)
– Atoms cannot be subdivided, created, or destroyed (not true)
– Atoms combine in simple, whole # ratios to form compounds
– In chemical reactions, atoms are rearranged
 Dalton’s Model

Sphere –
no subatomic particles
 Thomson’s Atom
• J.J. Thomson (1856 – 1940)
• Discovered electrons in 1897.
• Performed experiment on passing electric
current through gas at low pressure using a
cathode ray tube.
• Concluded:
– Electrons must be parts of the atoms of all
elements.
 Thomson’s Model

Electrons
 Rutherford’s Atom
• Ernest Rutherford (1871 – 1937)
• Discovered the atom has a nucleus in 1911
• Tested his theory using a thin sheet of gold foil.
• Concluded:
– An atom is mostly empty space
– All the positive charge of an atom is concentrated in a
small region called the nucleus.
– The nucleus is composed of protons and neutrons.
– Nearly all mass of an atom is in its nucleus
Gold Foil Experiment
 Rutherford’s Model

Nucleus Electrons
 Bohr’s Atom
• Neils Bohr (1885-1962)
• Student of Rutherford
• Concluded:
– Proposed electrons are arranged in concentric circular
paths, or orbits, around the nucleus.
– Electrons in a particular path have a fixed energy
– Energy levels of an electron is where the electron is
likely to be moving.
Bohr’s Model
 Quantum Mechanical Atom

• Erwin Schrodinger (1887 – 1961)

• Used a mathematical equation to describe
the location and energy of an electron in a
hydrogen atom.
• Does not define a direct path an electron
takes around the nucleus.
 Quantum Mechanical Model

Electron
Cloud
 Atoms

• Atom – the smallest particle of an element

that retains the properties of that element.
• Overall, typical atoms have no charge (#
protons = # electrons).
• Short range nuclear forces hold the nucleus
together (proton-proton, proton-neutron,
neutron-neutron)
 Subatomic particles
• Nucleus – center of atoms, contains neutrons and
protons.
• Neutron – a subatomic particle with no charge
found in the nucleus of an atom.
– Mass of 1 amu or 1.7 X 10 -27 kg
• Proton – a positively charged subatomic particle
found in the nucleus of an atom.
• Mass of 1 amu or 1.7 X 10 -27 kg
• Electron – a negatively charged subatomic
particle.
– Tiny mass (0.00055 amu or 9.1 X 10-31 kg)
The Atom
Trivia!
If you were to spell out numbers, how far would you
have to go until you would find the letter "A"?

One thousand