Unit 3

The Atom

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 The atom
• Nucleus (protons and neutrons) in the
centre
• Surrounded by electrons that constantly
moves around.
• Protons and neutrons have the same mass.
• Very small: 1,67 × 10-27 kg.
• Called the atomic mass unit – symbol u.
• The mass of a proton and a neutron is 1u
each.
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 Atomic number
• The number of protons found in the nucleus of
the atom is known as the atomic number of
that element.
• Indicated by symbol – Z.

Mass number
 The total number of protons and neutrons (i.e.
the number of nucleons) in the nucleus is
known as the mass number of the atom.
 Indicated by symbol – A.
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 Electron
• Electron’s mass is much smaller than protons
and neutrons.
• positive charge of a proton = negative of an
electron
•  Neutral atom has equal number of protons
and electrons
• The number of electrons also equal to the
number Z.

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Example:

 Cl is the formula of the chlorine atom.

 The mass number of this chlorine atom is
35.
 The atomic number of chlorine 17.
 There are 17 protons in the nucleus of the
chlorine atom.
 There are 17 electrons in the space around
the nucleus of the chlorine atom.
 There are 18 (35 – 17) neutrons in the 5
 Isotopes
• An element can be defined as a substance of
which all atoms have the same atomic number.
• Isotopes are atoms of the same element with
the same atomic number (same number of
protons), but different mass numbers.
• Example:

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 Relative atomic mass
• Hydrogen atom has a mass of 1,67 × 10-27 kg.
• So small it cannot be weight on a balance.
• Use a mass spectrometer to compare the masses of
different atoms.
• Carbon-12 was chosen as the standard, and one
carbon-12 has a mass of 12 atomic mass unit (u).
• The atomic mass of hydrogen is one (1u), and
magnesium is 24u.
• These comparative values are called the element’s
relative atomic mass.
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• In a sample of carbon, there will be atoms
with different masses.
• If you took 100 carbon atoms, you might
find that 99 of them were carbon-12
atoms and one was a carbon-13 atom.
• If you sorted through millions of carbon
atoms, you might find a carbon-14 atom.
• So if you took the average of a random
sample of 100 carbon atoms, it would be
just over 12.
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• The relative atomic masses of elements are seldom
whole numbers, because they represent the average
mass of a sample of that element.
• It takes into account all the isotopes of the element
and their percentage occurrence in nature.
• Chlorine has two common isotopes, chlorine-35
and chlorine-37.
• In a sample of chlorine there are nearly three times
more chlorine-35 atoms than chlorine-37 atoms.
• This makes the average mass of the atoms, 35,45.
• The relative atomic mass or Ar, of chlorine is 35,5.

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Element Relative atomic mass Isotopes
Ar
20Ne 90,92%
Neon
20,18 21Ne 0,26%
(Ne) 22Ne 8,82%

Copper 63Cu 69,20%

63,55 65Cu 30,80%
(Cu)
10B 20,00%
Boron (B) 10,81 11B 80,00%

Bromine 79Br 50,69%

79,90 81Br 49,31%
(Br) 10
 The electron structure
• Electrons are negatively charged particles.
• Electrons have almost no mass.
• Electrons move in an area around the
nucleus of the atom.
• Electrons do not move randomly around the
nucleus, but occupy specific areas.
• The way in which electrons are arranged
around the nucleus is called the atom’s
electron configuration.
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• Electrons hold the key to almost the
whole chemistry.
• Protons and neutrons give atoms their
mass, but electrons are the outer part of
the atom and they can interact with one
another.
• Only electrons are involved in the
changes that happen during chemical
reactions.

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 Orbitals
• Each energy level contains sub-shells called
orbitals.
• Four types – s; p; d; f

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• Each orbital can only contain 2 electrons
• Number of orbitals determine number of
electrons per energy level.
• 1st – 1 orbital – 2 electrons
• 2nd – 4 orbital – 8 electrons
• 3rd – 4 orbital – 8 electrons
• 4th – 1 orbital – 2 electrons before filling
up the remaining orbitals of the third
energy level.

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20 electrons – electron arrangement:

1st energy level – 2 electrons

2nd energy level – 8 electrons
3rd energy level – 8 electrons
4th energy level – 2 electrons

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 Aufbau principle
• Orbitals are represented by blocks (or
circles) in an energy level diagram.

• Electrons in the orbitals are represented

by arrows.

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 Three rules
1. A maximum of two electrons are allowed in each
orbital and they have opposite spins (Pauli’s
Exclusion rule).

2. Electrons fill orbitals with the lowest energy level

first, because the atom is most stable in the lowest
possible energy level.
1s → 2s → 2p → 3s → 3p → 4s → 3d → 4p
3. When the same kind of orbital (e.g. The three p-
orbitals) is available, each orbital is first filled by
an electron, before electrons are paired (Hund’s
rule).
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First 20 elements
H He
Li Be B C N O F Ne
Na Mg Al Si P S Cl Ar
K Ca

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 sp-notation
• The way in which the electrons are distributed in the
orbitals of an atom is known as the atom’s electron
configuration.
• Example:
The electron configuration (sp-notation) to show the
electron distribution of a P-atom is as follows:
1s22s22p63s23p3
The sum of the numbers namely; 2 + 2 + 6 + 2 + 3 = 15
corresponds with the atomic number of phosphorus (P).
• The electrons in p-orbitals are found in px-, py- and pz-
orbitals with a maximum of two electrons in each,
shortened to a p-orbital with a maximum of:
2 (for px) + 2 (for py) + 2 (for pz) = 6 electrons = p6 19
 Explanation:

Main energy level

3p 3 Number of electrons in
the orbital (3 electrons)

Orbital (p-orbital)
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 Abbreviated electron configuration
• Because electron configuration of, for
example Lithium is the same as Helium plus
one electron in the 2s-orbital, the electron
configuration can be written as follows:
Li: [He]2s 1
3
• And for Chlorine and Calcium the
abbreviated electron configuration is...
Cl: [Ne]3s 23p5
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Ca: [Ar]4s2
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 Conclusion
• The electrons in the outermost energy level are called the
valence electrons.
• The electrons in the inner, full energy levels are called the core
electrons.
• The diameter of atoms increases from top to bottom in a
group.
• The diameter of atoms decreases from left to right in a period.
• A charged atom is called an ion.
• If an atom loses electrons, the atom will have more protons than
electrons and will thus become positively charged.
• A positively charged ion is called a cation.
• If an atom gains electrons, the atom will have more electrons
than protons and thus becomes negatively charged.
• A negatively charged ion is called an anion.
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Examples of cations

Na Na+

Al Al 3+

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Examples of anions

Cl Cl-

O O2-

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Homework
Study and Master
Activity 2 p. 61
Activity 3 p. 63
DocScientia (Pink)
Exercise 5 p. 89 – 91

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Homework
Study and Master
Activity 4 p.67
DocScientia (Pink)
Exercise 6 p. 83 – 88

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