Introduction to Atomic Theory

An atom is a fundamental piece of matter (matter is anything that can be touched physically.)
Everything in the universe (except energy) is made of matter, and, so, everything in the universe
is made of atoms.

An atom itself is made up of three tiny kinds of particles called subatomic particles: protons,
neutrons, and electrons. The protons and the neutrons make up the center of the atom
called the nucleus and the electrons fly around above the nucleus in a small cloud. The
electrons carry a negative charge and the protons carry a positive charge. In a normal (neutral)
atom the number of protons and the number of electrons are equal. Often, but not always,
the number of neutrons is the same, too.

The negative electrons are attracted to the positive nucleus by the same electrical force
which causes magnets to work. That's what keeps the atom together.

Atom, smallest unit into which matter can be divided without the release of electrically
charged particles. It also is the smallest unit of matter that has the characteristic properties
of a chemical element. As such, the atom is the basic building block of chemistry.

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Shell Atomic Model. In the shell atomic model, electrons occupy different energy levels, or
shells. The K and L shells are shown for a neon atom.
Atomic number and mass number
Atomic number

The number of protons in an atom of an element is its atomic number. Remember that:

 all atoms of a given element have the same number of protons

 atoms of different elements have different numbers of protons

An atom contains equal numbers of protons and electrons. Since protons and electrons have
equal and opposite charges, this means that atoms are have no overall electrical charge.

For example, the atomic number of sodium is 11. Every sodium atom has 11 protons and 11
electrons. It has 11 positive charges and 11 negative charges.

Mass number

The mass number of an atom is its total number of protons and neutrons.
Atoms of different elements usually have different mass numbers, but they can be the same. For
example, the mass number of argon atoms and calcium atoms can both be 40.

Calculating numbers of subatomic particles

The symbol for an atom can be written to show its mass number at the top, and its atomic
number at the bottom.

To calculate the numbers of subatomic particles in an atom, use its atomic number and mass
number:

 number of protons = atomic number

 number of electrons = atomic number
 number of neutrons = mass number - atomic number

Question
The atomic number of a sodium atom is 11 and its mass number is 23. Calculate the
number of protons, neutrons and electrons it contains.
Number of protons = 11
Number of electrons = 11
Number of neutrons (mass number - atomic number) = 23 - 11 = 12

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 Electrons and Orbitals
The electron is the subatomic particle that is fundamental to chemical bonding.
Simply put, chemical reactions are about reorganizing bonds
And bonds are due to electrons
So that means chemistry is all about electrons.
Study Tip:
Learn to keep track of electrons! Pay attention to charges.
You will find that if you know where the electrons are and what they are doing, then it is much
easier to master organic chemistry.

Electrons have always been thought of as particles since their discovery in 1897.
But in 1924 it was also suggested that electrons also have wave-like properties.
This is the concept of "wave-particle duality" due to De Broglie.

Question: Can you think of an example of particle-type and wave-type properties?

Answer

particle properties: mass, momentum

wave properties: diffraction, interference, refraction, frequency, wavelength

In 1926 Schrodinger was able to show that electrons in a hydrogen atom could be described by a
wave function, .
Electrons are often described as being in orbitals around an atom that are mathematical
"constructs" based on the wave function,  that describes the motion of an electron.

An orbital is, more correctly, a mathematical function, 4r22, that describes the region of
high probability in 3D space, around a nucleus, where an electron may be found. Orbitals
are commonly represented by the boundary surfaces that enclose the region where there is a 90-
95 % probability of finding the electron.

In organic chemistry one needs to be most familiar with the s- and p-type orbitals. These
orbitals can be described by using quantum numbers. Quantum numbers arise from the
wave functions and quantum mechanics.
The orbitals for the electrons in carbon, and the necessary quantum numbers are given
below. The nucleus of the carbon atom would reside at the centre of the x, y, z coordinate.

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You should be familiar with the meaning of quantum numbers, and how to describe an orbital
using its quantum numbers or what orbital a set of quantum numbers defines.

Shell

A shell is the pathway followed by electrons around an atom’s nucleus. These are also called
energy levels since these shells are arranged around the nucleus according to the energy that
an electron in that shell is composed of. The shell that has the lowest energy is nearest to the
nucleus. The next energy level is located beyond that shell.

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In order to recognize these shells, they are named as K, L, M, N, etc. The shell in the lowest energy
level is K shell. But, scientists have named these shells using quantum numbers. Each and every
shell has its own quantum number. The quantum number given for the shells is named as the
principal quantum number. Then the shell at the lowest energy level is n = 1.

All shells do not hold the same number of electrons. The lowest energy level can only hold a
maximum of 2 electrons. The next energy level can hold up to 8 electrons. There is a pattern of
the number of electrons that a shell can hold. This pattern is given below.

Principal Quantum Number (n) Maximum Number of Electrons

n=1 2
n=2 8
n=3 18
n=4 32
n=5 32
n=6 32

Therefore, the maximum number of electrons that any shell can hold is 32. No shell can have
more than 32 electrons. Higher shells can hold more electrons than that of lower shells.

The presence of these shells indicates that the energy of an atom is quantized. In other words,
there are discrete energy values for the electrons that are in the movement around the nucleus.

Atomic Shells

The electrons in these shells can be transferred from one shell to another by either absorbing or
releasing energy. The amount of energy that is being absorbed or released should be equal to the
energy difference between two shells. If not, this transition would not occur.

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Subshell

A subshell is the area in which an electron moves within a shell. These are named according to
the angular momentum quantum number. There are 4 major types of subshells that can be found
in a shell. They are named as s, p, d, f. Each subshell is composed of several orbitals. The number
of orbitals that are in subshells is given below.

Maximum Number of
Subshell Number of Orbitals
Electrons
s 1 2
p 3 6
d 5 10
f 7 14

These subshells are also arranged according to the energy that they are composed of. At
lower shells, the ascending order of the energy of subshells is as s < p < d < f. But at higher
shells, this order will be different.

Shapes of Subshells

These subshells have a unique 3D structure. s subshell is spherical. p subshell is dumbbell

shaped. These shapes are given above.

Orbital

An Orbital is a mathematical function that describes the wave-like behavior of an electron. In

other words, the term orbital explains the exact movement of an electron. A subshell is
composed of orbitals. The number of orbitals that a subshell has depends on the subshell. This
means the number of orbitals present in a subshell is a unique feature for a subshell.

However, one orbital can hold only a maximum of two electrons. These electrons are in the
same energy level, but different from each other according to their spin. They always have
opposite spins. When electrons are filled into the orbitals, they are filled according to the
Hund’s Rule. This rule indicates that every orbital in a subshell is singly occupied with
electrons before any orbital is doubly coupled.

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Differences between Shell, Subshell and Orbital

Definition

Shell: Shell is the pathway followed by electrons around an atom’s nucleus.

Subshell: Subshell is the pathway in which an electron moves within a shell.
Orbital: Orbital is a mathematical function that describes the wave-like behavior of an electron.

Name of the Quantum Number

Shell: A shell is given the principal quantum number.

Subshell: A subshell is given the angular momentum quantum number.
Orbital: An orbital is given the magnetic quantum number.

Maximum Number of Electrons

Shell: A shell can hold up to a maximum of 32 electrons.

Subshell: The maximum number of electrons that a subshell can hold depends on the type of
subshell.
Orbital: The maximum number of electrons that an orbital can hold is 2.

The electron configuration of an atom describes how the electrons of an atom are arranged.

e.g. Electron configuration of carbon

simple 1s2 2s2 2p2

short form [He]2s2 2p2

orbital energy diagram

You should be familiar with how to determine an electron configuration for an atom and
identify the valence electrons. You should be able to identify both ground and excited state
electron configurations.

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 Electron Configuration of Main Atoms

Carbon Valence Electrons.

Valency is the measure of the potential of the atom of an element to form a bond with the atom
of another element to reach the octet or the inert gas stage.

Since the Carbon atom has four electrons in its outer shell and needs four more electrons to
complete its octet, its valency is 4.

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