Atomic Structure

Short Notes:

Atom: The smallest particle of matter which can take part independently in a chemical reaction.

Subatomic particles: There are three basic subatomic particles inside an atom. Electron, Proton, Neutron.

Nucleus:

 Nucleus is the core or centre of an atom. It is very small in size but the most massive one.
 Protons and neutrons both live inside the nucleus and are called nucleons.
 Overall charge on nucleus is positive

Electronic Shells:

 Path on which electron revolve around the nucleus.

 Electronic shells are just like the layers of onion and each layer can hold a specific no of electrons.
 The first shell is innermost and is closest to the nucleus and outermost shell is the one farthest and is
called valence shell.
 Valence electrons are the electrons in valence shell and these electrons are responsible for the
different chemical properties of elements.
 The filling of electrons in the shell take place in the order that innermost shell is being filled first and
then electron are filled in the next shell.
 The electronic configuration of first twenty elements is 2,8,8,2.

Proton Number or Atomic Number (z):

 No of protons in an element. Atomic number is unique for each element and no other element can have
the same no. It is written as superscript.

Nucleon Number or Mass no or (A):

 No of protons and neutrons inside the nucleus of an atom is called mass no .It is written as subscript
 Except hydrogen element all other elements possess either equal or more no of neutrons than protons.

Electrical Neutrality of an atom.

 The equal no of protons and electrons cancel each other charge making atom as a whole a neutral
particle.

Isotopes:

 Atoms of same element which differ in no of neutrons only.

 Isotopes differ in physical properties from each other due to different relative atomic mass
 Isotopes possess same chemical properties due to the same no of electrons in outer shell
 Isotopes of same element occur in different isotopic abundance in nature.
 Radioisotopes are the isotopes which emit high energy radiations which can cause damage to living
cells and tissues but by carefully handling them could become extremely useful.
 Nucleus and Fundamental Subatomic Particles

MCQS
1. Which statement about the particles is correct?

A They all contain more electrons than protons. B They all contain more neutrons than protons.
C They all contain the same number of electrons. D They all contain the same number of protons.

2. The diagram shows an atom of an element.

How many protons and neutrons are in the nucleus of the atom and in which group and period of the Periodic
Table is the element found?

3. Caesium, Cs, is an element in Group I of the Periodic Table. When caesium reacts it forms a positive
ion, Cs+.
How is a caesium ion formed?
A A caesium atom gains a proton. B A caesium atom gains an electron.
C A caesium atom loses an electron. D A caesium atom shares an electron.

4. An element Y has the proton number 18.

The next element in the Periodic Table is an element Z. Which statement is correct?
A Element Z has one more electron in its outer shell than element Y.
B Element Z has one more electron shell than element Y.
C Element Z is in the same group of the Periodic Table as element Y.
D Element Z is in the same period of the Periodic Table as element Y.

5. Which atom has twice as many neutrons as protons?

6. How is a calcium ion, Ca2+, formed from a calcium atom?

A by gaining two electrons B by gaining two protons
C by losing two electrons D by losing two protons

7. An oxygen atom contains 8 electrons, 8 protons and 10 neutrons. What is the nucleon number of this
atom?
A8 B 10 C 16 D 18

8. Which statements about a phosphorus atom, 31 P 15 , are correct?

1 The nucleon number is 16. 2 The number of outer electrons is 5.
3 The proton number is 15.
A 1, 2 and 3 B 1 and 2 only C 1 and 3 only D 2 and 3 only

9. Which statements comparing the properties of electrons, neutrons and protons are correct?

10. Q+ is an ion of element Q. What has the highest value in the ion?
A the nucleon number B the number of electrons C the number of neutrons D the proton number

11. Which statement about the numbers of particles in atoms is correct? Apart from hydrogen, most atoms
contain

A more neutrons than protons. B more protons than neutrons.

C more electrons than protons. D more protons than electrons.

12. An ion X+ has 23 nucleons and 10 electrons. What does the nucleus of X contain?
 Structured Questions
A1. Complete the following table which gives the number of protons, electrons and neutrons in each of the five
particles.

A 2. (a) (i) Define the term atomic number.

........................................................................................................................................ [1]

(ii) Define the term nucleon number.

..............................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................ [2]

(b) The table shows the number of protons, neutrons and electrons in some atoms or ions. Complete the table.
The first line is given as an example.

[6]
A 3. (a) The table below gives information about particles. Complete the table. The first line has been done for
you.
 [4]
(b) Gallium is a Group III element. Define the term element.
.....................................................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................................................

............................................................................................................................................... [1]
(c) The following are gallium atoms.

Complete the following table.

[3]
[Total: 8]

A 4. (a) The table below gives the number of protons, neutrons and electrons in atoms or ions. Complete the
table. The first line is given as an example. You will need to use the Periodic Table.

[6]
(b) Using the data in the table, explain how you can determine whether a particle is an atom, a negative ion or
a positive ion.
...........................................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................... [3]

(c) An isotope of iron has 58 nucleons. Complete the table to show

• the number of electrons and neutrons in this isotope of iron,

• the relative charges on each particle.

[4]
[Total: 13]

A 5. Francium, Fr, is a highly reactive element in Group I of the Periodic Table. The table shows some
information about two isotopes of francium.

(a) Complete the table. [2]

(b) Construct an equation to show the reaction of francium with water.

.............................................................................................................................................. [1]

(c)The table shows the number of electrons, neutrons and protons in seven different particles.
(a) What is the nucleon number for F? ................................[1]

(b) Explain why A is a neutral particle.

..........................................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................... [2]

(c) Which particles are isotopes of the same element? ................................. [1]

(d) What is the charge on E? ................................. [1]

(e) Which particles have the same relative mass? ................................. [1]

Isotopes
13. Which statements about isotopes of the same element are correct?
1 They are atoms which have the same chemical properties because they have the same number of electrons
in their outer shell.
2 They are atoms which have the same number of electrons and neutrons but different numbers of protons.
3 They are atoms which have the same number of electrons and protons but different numbers of neutrons.
A 1 and 2 B 1 and 3 C 2 only D 3 only

14. Which statement explains why isotopes of an element have the same chemical properties?
A They have different numbers of neutrons.
B They have the same number of electrons as protons.
C They have the same number of electrons in the outer shell.
D They have the same number of protons in the nucleus.

15. The table shows the numbers of particles present in the nuclei of four atoms or ions.

Which two particles belong to the same element?

A 1 and 2 B 1 and 4 C 2 and 3 D 2 and 4

16. X and Y are isotopes of the same element. Which statement is correct?
A X and Y have atoms with different numbers of electron shells.
B X and Y have atoms with the same nucleon number.
C X and Y have atoms with the same number of outer shell electrons.
D X and Y have different chemical properties.

17. The diagrams show four particles.

Which two diagrams show atoms that are isotopes of each other?
A 1 and 2 B 1 and 3 C 2 and 3 D 2 and 4
1 1
18. A sample of hydrogen is a mixture of the two isotopes H 1 and H 2 .The relative atomic mass of
oxygen is 16. What are possible values of the relative molecular mass of different molecules of water
formed bythe combination of oxygen and hydrogen?

1. 18 2. 19 3.20

A 1 only B 1 and 2 only C 1 and 3 only D 1, 2 and 3

Structured Questions
A 6. Carbon and silicon are elements in Group IV of the Periodic Table. Both carbon and silicon exist as more
than one isotope.
(a) Define the term isotopes.
.....................................................................................................................................................

............................................................................................................................................... [2]

(a) Complete the following table which gives information about carbon atoms and silicon atoms.
 [3]

A7. The table shows some information about six particles.

(a) Complete the table.

[6]
(b) (i) What is meant by the term isotopes?
...........................................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................................

....................................................................................................................................... [1]

(ii) Identify two atoms which are isotopes of the same element.

................................................................ and ............................................................... [1]

[Total: 8]

A 8. a) Complete the table below to show the number of sub-atomic particles in both an atom and an ion of
potassium.
 [2]

b) Complete the table below to show the number of subatomic particles in each of the two ions. [2]

c) One isotope of technetium has the symbol 98 Tc43. Complete the table below to show the number of
subatomic particles in one atom of this isotope

[2]

Suggest the symbol of another isotope of technetium. [1]

d) The diagram shows the atomic structure of an atom of element X.

Complete the table.

[2]

A 9. Astatine, At, is an element in Group VII of the Periodic Table. The table shows some information about
two isotopes of astatine.

(i) Complete the table. [2]

(ii) What is meant by the term isotopes?

[1]

Answers to MCQS
S# Answer S# Answer S# Answer S# Answer
1 C 6 C 11 A 16 C
2 A 7 D 12 C 17 D
3 C 8 D 13 B 18 D
4 B 9 B 14 C
5 C 10 A 15 C