Objective

In this lesson, you will be able to cite the contributions of Joseph John Thomson, Ernest Rutherford,
Henry Moseley, and Niels Bohr to the understanding of the structure of the atom.

What are the contributions of Joseph John (J.J.) Thomson, Ernest Rutherford, Henry Moseley, and Niels
Bohr to the understanding of the structure of the atom?

J.J. Thomson’s Discovery of the Electron

In 1897, J.J. Thomson discovered the electrons by conducting a series of experiments using a high-
vacuum cathode-ray tube that was composed of negatively charged particles 1000 times lighter than the
hydrogen atom. He also proposed a sea of positive charge for the overall neutrality of the atom. He then
proposed an atomic model known as the plum pudding model depicting a sphere of positive charge
(pudding) with negatively charged particles (plums) embedded all throughout.

Ernest Rutherford’s Discovery of the Nucleus

In the early 1900s, Rutherford discovered the nucleus containing positively charged particles called
protons. He advised his students, Hans Geiger and Ernest Marsden, to bombard a thin sheet of gold foil
with alpha particles. He assumed that the alpha particles would just pass straight through the foil,
meaning an atom has a void space. However, after the experiment, some particles passed right through
it, and some were deflected. He arrived at these two conclusions: (1) The atom contained an empty
space, as some particles went through the foil; and (2) The atom had a very dense center of positive
charge. From these, Rutherford proposed the planetary model. He believed that the electrons moved
around a nucleus.

Henry Moseley’s Atomic Number

In 1913, Henry Moseley, a British chemist, developed the use of X-ray in studying the structure of the
atom. During this time, a coherent structure of the atom was being developed, starting from J.J.
Thomson’s discovery of the electron to Rutherford’s publication of his planetary model. He published
results of his measurements of wavelengths of the X-ray emissions of some elements that coincided with
the order of their atomic numbers. Moseley’s experimental data backed up Rutherford’s structure of the
atom with a very dense center of positive charge. The data also justified that the atomic number of an
element is the number of positive charges in its nucleus.
Niels Bohr’s Atomic Model

If you would recall in magnetism, unlike charges attract. In Rutherford’s model, since the electron and
the nucleus have opposite charges, the electrons would collapse into the nucleus, making the atom
unstable. Niels Bohr modified this model by proposing that the electrons move in fixed energy levels or
orbits by absorbing or emitting energy.

Try it!

Look at the periodic table. List down three elements with the lowest atomic number and three with the
highest atomic number. What does the low and high atomic numbers signify?

What do you think?

What is the importance of knowing the atomic number of elements?

Key Points

J.J. Thomson discovered the electron and proposed the plum pudding model.

Ernest Rutherford discovered the nucleus and proposed the planetary model.

Henry Moseley used the X-rays in studying the structure of the atom. The results of his experiments
supported Rutherford's model.

Niels Bohr proposed that the electrons move in fixed energy levels or orbits.

Who discovered the electrons?

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Q2Single Answer

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He developed the use of X-ray in studying the structure of the atom.

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Q3Single Answer

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He concluded that atom has a central nucleus.

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Q4Single Answer

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He proposed that an electron moves from one energy level to another.

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Q5Single Answer

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What method did Moseley use to study positive charges?

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Q6Single Answer

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What was the problem involved in Rutherford's model?

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Q7Single Answer

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How did Bohr solve the problem in Rutherford’s model?

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Q8Single Answer

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How did Moseley's experiments support Rutherford's model?

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Q9Multiple Choice

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Which of the following are true about Rutherford's contribution in the structure of the atom?

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Q10Single Answer

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Which of the following is not true about the discovery of the different structures of the atom?