Learning Outcomes – Week 1

Atomic structure and properties

 Know the basic structure of an atom (sub-atomic particles) and discuss their basic properties and how they
are arranged in the atom.
 Protons, neutrons and electrons.
 Isotopes and mass spectroscopy.
 Electron configuration, quantum shells, orbitals and sub-shells.
 Interpret the periodic table, and identify, describe and
explain particular trends in the periodic table .
 Atomic and ionic radii.
 Nuclear shielding and effective nuclear charge.
 Ionisation energy.
 Electron affinity.
 Electronegativity.
Isotopes
➢ Isotopes
➢ are atoms of the same element that have different mass numbers, A.
➢ have the same number of protons (Z), but different numbers of neutrons.
➢ An atomic symbol
➢ represents a particular isotope of an element.
➢ gives the mass number in the upper left corner and the atomic number in the
lower left corner.

Mass number Chemical symbol

Atomic
number

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An atomic symbol
 Look at the following examples and make sure that you can remember the
relationship between the mass number, and the number of protons and
neutrons.

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 Learning Check 1 minute

There are three naturally occurring isotopes of carbon: 12C, 13C, and 14C. State
the number of protons, neutrons, and electrons in each of these isotopes.

© 2017 Pearson Education, Ltd.

 Learning Check Solution

There are three naturally occurring isotopes of carbon: 12C, 13C, and 14C. State
the number of protons, neutrons, and electrons in each of these isotopes.

© 2017 Pearson Education, Ltd.

Learning Check 2 minutes
Write the atomic symbols for atoms with the following subatomic particles:

A. 8 protons, 8 neutrons, 8 electrons ____

B. 17 protons, 20 neutrons, 17 electrons ____

C. 47 protons, 60 neutrons, 47 electrons ____

© 2017 Pearson Education, Ltd.

Solution
Write the atomic symbols for atoms with the following subatomic
particles:

A. 8 protons, 8 neutrons, 8 electrons

B. 17 protons, 20 neutrons, 17 electrons

C. 47 protons, 60 neutrons, 47 electrons

© 2017 Pearson Education, Ltd.

Atomic Mass
➢ Look at your periodic table.
➢ The relative atomic mass of an element is…
➢ listed below the symbol of each element on the periodic table.
➢ calculated based on the weighted average of all naturally occurring isotopes.
➢ based on its comparison to the mass of 12C.
➢ not the same as the mass number.
7 24 35

Relative atomic mass N Cr Br

Nitrogen Chromium Bromine
14.01 51.99 79.90
Isotopes and Atomic Mass
➢ The relative atomic mass of an element is…
➢ The average mass of one atom of an element compared to one twelfth of the
mass of one atom of carbon – 12

Most elements have two or

more isotopes that
contribute to the (relative)
atomic mass of that element.
Look at the table for some
examples.

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Isotopes of Magnesium - example
➢ Magnesium has three naturally occurring isotopes – see table.
➢ To calculate the relative atomic mass of magnesium…
➢ Percent abundance and mass of each isotope is required.
𝑟𝑒𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑎𝑡𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑐 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 = ෍(𝑓𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑎𝑏𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑥 𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑝𝑖𝑐 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠)𝑖
𝑖

© 2017 Pearson Education, Ltd.

Calculating relative atomic mass
𝑟𝑒𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑎𝑡𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑐 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 = ෍(𝑓𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑎𝑏𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑥 𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑝𝑖𝑐 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠)𝑖
𝑖

Isotope Mass Abundance

24Mg = 23.99 amu × 78.70/100 = 18.88 amu

25Mg = 24.99 amu × 10.13/100 = 2.53 amu
26Mg = 25.98 amu × 11.17/100 = 2.90 amu
Add these three values.
12
Relative atomic mass of Mg = 24.31 amu
Mg
24.31

© 2017 Pearson Education, Ltd.

Calculating Atomic Mass – You try
Chorine has two stable isotopes.
35Cl has a mass of 34.97 amu (75.76%)
37C has a mass of 36.97 amu (24.24%).
Use the atomic mass and percent abundance of each isotope to calculate the
relative atomic mass of chlorine.

𝑟𝑒𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑎𝑡𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑐 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 = ෍(𝑓𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑎𝑏𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑥 𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑝𝑖𝑐 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠)𝑖

𝑖

© 2017 Pearson Education, Ltd.

Calculating relative atomic mass – you try
Chorine has two stable isotopes.
35Cl has a mass of 34.97 amu (75.76%)
37C has a mass of 36.97 amu (24.24%).
Use the atomic mass and percent abundance of each isotope to calculate the
relative atomic mass of chlorine.
𝑟𝑒𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑎𝑡𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑐 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 = ෍(𝑓𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑎𝑏𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑥 𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑝𝑖𝑐 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠)𝑖
𝑖

34.97 amu × 75.76/100 = 26.49 amu

35.97 amu × 24.24/100 = 8.962 amu
Relative atomic mass of Cl = 35.45 amu
© 2017 Pearson Education, Ltd.
 Mass spectrometry – time of flight
➢ Allows separation of atoms, ions and fractions of molecules based on their mass.
➢ Identify unknown compounds.
➢ Gain information about structure and chemical properties of molecules.
➢ Determine the abundance of each isotope in an element.
➢The mass-to-charge ratio of
ions are measured.
➢Ionisation.
➢Acceleration.
➢Deflection.
➢Detection.

Image credit: Chemistry 2e Openstax

https://openstax.org/apps/image-
cdn/v1/f=webp/apps/archive/20230620.181811/res
ources/be7348afdde7a17ba4d9d33c39887be44aff
b235
Mass spectrometry – time of flight
➢ Ionisation – done under vacuum to remove air molecules.
➢ Gaseous atoms/molecules are bombarded with high energy electrons to form +1 ions.

➢ Acceleration
➢ Positive ions are accelerated using an electric field to give them the same kinetic energy.
➢ Particle velocity will depend on its mass.
➢ Lighter particles will have a higher velocity.
➢ Heavier particles will have a lower velocity.
➢ Deflection ➢ Detection
➢ The ions are deflected by a magnetic field. ➢ The magnetic field is gradually increased to allow
➢ Ions are sorted according to mass: detection of lighter particles, and then heavier
➢ Lighter particles – deflected more. particles
➢ Heavier particles – deflected less.
Mass spectrometry – time of flight
Image credit: Chemistry 2e
Openstax
https://openstax.org/apps/image-
cdn/v1/f=webp/apps/archive/2023
0620.181811/resources/be7348af
dde7a17ba4d9d33c39887be44aff
b235

➢ As the isotopes of an element pass through the mass spectrometer, they are separated
according to their mass.
➢ The intensity of the peak is proportional to the relative abundance of each isotope.

𝑟𝑒𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑎𝑡𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑐 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 = ෍(𝑓𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑎𝑏𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑥 𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑝𝑖𝑐 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠)𝑖

𝑖
 What now…
 Click on this link to practice answering some questions on isotopes and atomic mass
topic.
 Mass spectrometer_questons.pdf
 In the next set of slides you will find out about atomic spectra, and the way in
which electrons are arranged in an atom.
➢ For more information and extra reading on the topics covered in these
slides, access the Openstax Chemistry 2e book.
➢ Chapter 2 - Atoms, molecules and ions.
➢ Chapter 6 - Electronic structure and periodic properties of elements.

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