Topic 2: Atomic structure

6 hours (SL & HL)

2.1 The nuclear atom (3 hours)

You should know:

Ø Each atom contains a positively charged, dense nucleus composed of protons and neutrons (nucleons);
Ø Negatively charged electrons occupy the space around the nucleus;
Ø Mass spectrometry is used to determine the relative atomic mass of an element from its isotopic composition

You should be able to:

Ø Deduce the number of protons, neutrons and electrons in atoms and ions from nuclear symbol notation;
Ø Calculate non-integer relative atomic masses and isotopic abundances from given data, including mass
spectra.
A- Subparticles:

Every atom is made up of the subatomic particles

listed in the table below:
Particle Charge Mass/amu Location

Proton +1 ~1 nucleus

Neutron 0 ~1 nucleus

Electron -1 1/1836 Outside

(negligible) nucleus

Particles in atoms and their properties

B- Atomic number and relative atomic mass, Ar
Z = atomic number which represents the number of protons in the nucleus

A = atomic mass number which represents the total number of protons and neutrons in the nucleus
(the nucleons)

The nuclear symbol= includes A and Z for a particular element, X and is represented as:
Example
Deduce the number of protons,electrons and neutrons present in the species 32 16X2- and identify
element X.

Solution:
The first thing to notice is that 32 16X2- is a nuclear symbol so has the for of AZX.
As Z =16, there are 16 protons. Since the species is negatively charged, there are two extra electrons
associated with the 2- charge, so there are 18 electrons in total.
As A=32, there are 32-16 = 16 neutrons.
Since Z= 16, element X is sulfur, S.
C- Isotopes
Isotopes are different forms of the
same element that have different
numbers of neutrons in their nuclei:
same Z different A. The identify of an
element is defined by its atomic
number, and its chemistry depends on
its number of electrons, so isotopes
have identical chemical properties.
However, as their masses differ
slightly, they have different physical
properties.

Assessment tip:
You should be familiar with the
various types of notation that can be
used in examination questions:
Isotopes are often written with just
their mass number, A: for example,
Chlorine can be written as 35Cl,
Chlorine-35 or Cl-35
D- Mass Spectra

The mass spectrometer is used to

determine the relative atomic mass of
an element from its isotopic
composition. It splits molecules into
positively charged fragments and
records their mass to charge ratios,
m/z.
Relative atomic mass: Ar, is the ratio
of the average mass of the atom to
the unified atomic mass unit and
therefore has no units.
 Example 1:
Bromine has two naturally occuring isotopes with the following percentage natural
abundances.
Isotope Abundance %
79Br 50.69
81Br 49.31

Calculate the relative atomic mass of bromine correct to two decimal places.
Solution:

The relative atomic mass is the weighted average of the atomic masses of the isotopes and their
relative abundance. Therefore:
Ar = (79 x 50.69) + (81 x 49.31) / 100 = 79.9862 = 79.99

Assessment tip: it is best practice to write relative atomic mass correct to two decimal places as given in the data booklet. For
example, Ar for Hydrogen is written 1.01 not 1. Use of integer values can lead to possible inaccuracies in multi steps
calculations.
Example 2:
Antimony has a relative atomic mass Ar=121.76 and consists of two naturally
occuring isotopes, antimony-121 (Ar=120.09) and antimony-123 (Ar=122.90).
Calculate the percentages of these isotopes in a naturally occuring sample of
antimony.
Solution:
Ar = 121.76 = (120.90x + 122.90(100-x)) /100

Solve for x :
120.90x + 122.90(100-x) = 12176
x = 57.00 and 100-x = 43.00
The sample contains : 57.00% 121Sb and 43.00% 123Sb
 2.2 Electron configuration (3 hours)
You should know:

Ø The line emission spectrum of hydrogen provides evidence for the existence of electrons in discrete energy levels, which get progressively
closer together at higher energies;

Ø Emission spectra are produced when electrons fall from higher energy level to lower energy levels, emitting a photon that corresponds to the
energy difference between th levels;

Ø The main energy level or shell in an atom is given in integer number n, and can hold up to 2n2 electrons;

Ø Energy levels split into sublevels, s,p,d and f, of progressively higher energy, and each sublevel contains a fixed number of orbitals;

Ø An atomic orbital is a region of space where there is a high probability of finding an electron;

Ø Each orbital has a defined energy state and can hold two electrons of opposite spin

You should be able to:

Ø Describe the relationship between colour, wavelength, frequency and energy across the electromagnetic spectrum,

Ø Distinguish between a continuous spectrum and line spectrum;

Ø Describe in detail the line emission spectrum of the hydrogen atom;

Ø Recognize the shapes of the s and p atomic orbitals;

Ø Apply the Aufbau principle, Hund’s rule of maximum multiplicity and the pauli exclusion principle to deduce electron configurations for atoms
and ions up to Z=36
A- Levels and sub levels
An energy level is a quantized (discrete) amount of energy that an electron in an atom may have.

A sub level is a part of an energy level, made up of orbitals.

An electron configuration is a notation that describes the arrangement of electrons in the energy levels and sublevels of
an atom
B- Orbitals
An orbital is a region of space where there is a high probability of finding an electron
C- Electron configuration
The Aufbau principle: states that
electrons fill orbitals of the lowest
available energy.

Hund’s rule of maximum multiplicity:

states that for orbitals of the same
energy (degenrate orbitals), electrons
fills the orbitals singly before pairing.

The Pauli exclusion principle: states

that any orbital has a maximum
capacity of two electrons and these
electrons have opposite spins (up and
down)
There are some points to remember when working out electron
configurations:

• Label all energy levels and sublevels clearly

• Use all three principles and rules
• Know the electron configurations of chromium and copper, which can be
considered as two exceptions within the first 36 elements
• In cations, electrons are always removed from energy levels with the highest value
of n. For example, the configuration of Fe2+ is :
[Ar] 3d6 NOT [Ar]3d4 4s2
D- Electromagnetic spectrum
Topic 12: Atomic structure

2 hours (HL only)

12.1 Electrons in atoms
You should know:
ØIn line emission spectrum, the limit of convergence at higher frequency corresponds to the
first ionization energy, IE1;
ØTrends in IE1 across periods account for the existence of the electron energy levels (n) and
sublevels (s,p,d and f) in atoms;
ØSuccessive ionization energy values provide information about electron configurations

You should be able to:

ØSolve problems using the equation E=hv
ØCalculate the value of IE1 from the convergence limit of line spectrum;
ØDeduce the group to which an element belongs from its successive IE data;
ØExplain the trends and discontinuities in IE1 across a period
Example 1:
Remarq: Line emission spectra provide experimental evidence for the existence of atomic energy
levels. The lines in these spectra converge at higher energies. The frequency of the radiation at the
limit of convergence can be used to determine IE1.

A beam of infrared radiation emitted from a chemical oxygen-iodine laser (COIL) has a wavelength
= 1.315um. Determine the energy in J, per photon of this radiation.
Given c= 3.00 x 108 m.s-1
h= 6.63 x 10-34 Js

Solution :
E = hv = h x c/lambda = 6.63 x 10-34 Js x 3.00 x 108 m.s-1 / 1.315 x 10-6 m = 1.51 x 10-19 J
Example 2:
Calculate the first ionization energy IE1, in KJ.mol-1, for hydrogen, given that the
frequency of convergence occurs in the Lyman series, (the series of spectral lines for
electrons returning to the n=1 level) is v= 3.288x1015Hz

IE1= hv = 6.63 x 10-34 Js x 3.288 x 1015 Hz = 2.18 x 10-18 J

The question requires IE1, to be expressed in KJ.mol-1, so dimentsional analysis should be

applied:

IE1= 2.18 X 10-18 J / 103 x 6.02 x 1023 mol-1 = 1.31 x 103 KJ.mol-1
Successive ionization energies increase as electrons are removed from
an increasingly positive species. However, this increase is not a smooth
pregressive trend. A large jump in value between IEx and IEx+1 means
that the (x+1)th electron has been removed from a lower energy level/
sublevel or a half-filled sublevel
Oxygen atom:

1s2 : the last 2 e- that will be removed but

with a large jump between the energy values
since it’s from another energy level
2s2
2p4 : the first 6 e- that will be removed with
increasing energies (small differences
between sublevels)