Science MT 2 Atomic Structure (30%)

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MT 2.1 Subatomic Particles Part 1

Atoms : Building blocks of matter

Subatomic particles : Particles that form an atom

Structure of an atom

Protons (orange colored part)

➢ (+) charged particles

Neutrons (gray colored part)

➢ no charge

Electrons (blue colored part)

➢ (-) charged particles

Orbits
➢ place where electrons are located

Nucleus
➢ at the center of the atom (protons + neutrons)
➢ mass of the atom is found in this part (electrons are considered to have no mass)

Atomic Mass = protons + neutrons

Mass number (nucleon number)

➢ refers to the mass of an atom found in the nucleus
Atomic number (proton number)
➢ refers to the number of protons in an atom
➢ identifies the element in the periodic table

⛧ Each element has a unique number of protons in its atom.

Isotopes
➢ atoms of the same element (same number of protons), but different number of neutrons
➢ affects the mass of an atom

Charge
➢ shows whether the atom is neutral, positive ion, or negative ion
➢ depends on the number of electrons
➢ neutral atom : number of protons = number of electrons
positive ion : number of protons > number of electrons
negative ion : number of protons < number of electrons

⛧ The number of protons remains constant in each element. Only the electrons can move in and out of
the atom.

Elements in symbol

Element’s symbol (X)

➢ first letter of element’s symbol is always
capitalized

Atomic mass (A)

➢ atomic mass = protons + neutrons
➢ number of neutron = A - Z

Atomic number (Z)

➢ always equals to the number of protons
➢ equals to the number of electrons if the atom is
neutral

Charge (Q)
➢ shows whether the atom is neutral, positive ion, or
negative ion

➢ if charge equals 0, the atom is neutral without any charge

➢ if charge is (+), it is a positive ion (more protons)
➢ if charge is (-), it is a negative ion (more electrons)

MT 2.2 Subatomic Particles Part 2

⛧ For isotopes, number beside the element shows the new mass of the element.
⛧ When there is no charge, put 0 as the answer. Answers like ‘none’ are considered wrong.
⛧ Make sure to put + or - beside the number when there is a charge.

MT 2.3 Electron Shells

Bohr’s Planetary Model

➢ exact pack of the electrons are restricted to circular orbits around the nucleus
➢ orbits

Schrödinger’s Quantum Mechanical Model

➢ gives only the probability of finding an electron at a given point around the nucleus
➢ electron cloud (electrons are most likely to be found at the darker region)

⛧ orbits of the Bohr’s Planetary Model are also called as electron shells.

Valence Shell
➢ outermost shell (most far away from the nucleus)
➢ electrons in this shell is called as valence electrons
➢ the number of valence electrons determines its reactivity to form chemical bonds with other atoms

⛧ electrons are always added to the first electron shell (closest to the nucleus) first, until it has maximum
electrons possible.
⛧ atoms are most stable when their valence shell is full.
⛧ maximum number depends on the number of orbitals at a given electron shell.
⛧ first shell (closest to the nucleus) can have 2 electrons, second shell can have 8 electrons, third shell
can have 8~18 electrons.
⛧ elements in each column in the periodic table have the same number of valence electrons
Arrangement of electrons in atoms

Electronic structure
➢ diagram of the structure including the orbits and the number of electrons

Electronic configurations
➢ gives the arrangement of the numbers of electrons in each shell

Subatomic particles in real life

➢ static electricity
➢ volcanic lightning
➢ auroras

*･☪·̩͙ I did not include MT 2.4 (Aufbau Principle) and MT 2.5 (Pauli Exclusion
Principle and Haul’s Rule) because we haven’t done it yet in class as of now.
*･☪·̩͙ All the notes are based on the video lectures from the science google site.
*･☪·̩͙ Even though you studied all these notes, I recommend you to watch the video
lectures because it contains some practices as well.
*･☪·̩͙ Good luck for everyone!