Atomic Structure
Atoms are the building blocks of all matter
They are incredibly small, with a radius of only 1 × 10-10 m
o This means that about one hundred million atoms could fit side by side across your thumbnail
Atoms have a tiny, dense nucleus at their centre, with electrons orbiting around the nucleus
The radius of the nucleus is over 10,000 times smaller than the whole atom, but it contains almost all
of the mass of the atom
Diagram showing the structure of a Lithium atom. If drawn to scale then the electrons would be around
100 metres away from the nucleus!
Parts of the Atom
The nucleus contains:
o Protons - positively charged particles with a relative atomic mass of one unit
o Neutrons – no charge, and also with a relative atomic mass of one unit
Almost all of the atom is empty space, but moving around the nucleus there are:
o Electrons – negative charge with almost no mass (1/2000 the mass of a proton or neutron)
The properties of each of the particles are shown in the table below:
Charge in the Atom
Although atoms contain particles of different charge, the total charge within an atom is zero
1
o This is because the number of electrons is equal to the number of protons
The following table sets out the calculation of the total charge in the Lithium atom in the diagram
above:
Total Charge Calculation Table
If an atom loses electrons, then it is said to be ionised
Symbols are used to describe particular nuclear by their element symbol, atomic number and mass
number
o This notation is called nuclear notation
Carbon 12 in nuclear notation
Worked Example
A nucleus of carbon-12 is shown below.
How many electrons are there in an atom of carbon-12?
2
Step 1: Count the number of protons in the carbon nucleus
o There are 6 protons in the carbon atom
Step 2: Determine the number of electrons
o Remember, the number of electrons in an atom is equal to the number of protons
o Therefore there must be 6 electrons in the carbon atom
Exam Tip
You may have noticed that the number of electrons is not part of the mass number. This is because electrons
have a tiny mass compared to neutrons and protons. We say their mass is negligible when compared to the
particles in the nucleus.
Atomic & Mass Number
Atomic Number
The number of protons in an atom is called its atomic number (it can also be called
the proton number)
o Elements in the periodic table are ordered by their atomic number
o Therefore, the number of protons determines which element an atom is
The atomic number of a particular element is always the same
For example:
o Hydrogen has an atomic number of 1. It always has just one proton
o Sodium has an atomic number of 11. It has 11 protons
o Uranium has an atomic number of 92. It has 92 protons
The atomic number is also equal to the number of electrons in an atom
o This is because atoms have the same number of electrons and protons in order to have no
overall charge
Mass Number
The total number of particles in the nucleus of an atom is called its mass number (it can also be
called the nucleon number)
The mass number is the number of protons and neutrons in the atom
The number of neutrons can be found by subtracting the atomic number from the mass number
Number of Neutron = Mass Number – Atomic Number
For example, if a sodium atom has a mass number of 23 and an atomic number of 11, then the
number of neutrons would be 23 – 11 = 12
Nuclear Notation
The mass number and atomic number of an atom are shown by writing them with the atomic symbol
3
o This is called nuclear notation
Here are three examples:
Examples of nuclear notation for atoms of Hydrogen, Sodium and Uranium
The top number is the mass number
o This is equal to the total number of particles (protons and neutrons) in the nucleus
The lower number is the atomic number
o This is equal to the total number of protons in the nucleus
The atomic and mass number of each type of atom in the examples above is shown in this table:
Number of Protons, Neutrons & Electrons Table
Worked Example
4
The element symbol for gold is Au. How many protons, neutrons and electrons are in the gold atom?
ANSWER: D
Step 1: Determine the atomic and mass number
o The gold atom has an atomic number of 79 (lower number) and a mass number of 197 (top
number)
Step 2: Determine the number of protons
o The atomic number is equal to the number of protons
o The atom has 79 protons
Step 3: Calculate the number of neutrons
o The mass number is equal to the number of protons and neutrons
o The number of neutrons is equal to the mass number minus the atomic number
197 - 79 = 118
o The atom has 118 neutrons
Step 4: Determine the number of electrons
o An atom has the same number of protons and electrons
o The atom has 79 electrons
Isotopes
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Although the number of protons in a particular element is always the same, the number
of neutrons can be different
Isotopes are atoms of the same element that have an equal number of protons but a different
number of neutrons
In the diagram below are three isotopes of Hydrogen:
Hydrogen has three isotopes, each with a different number of neutrons
Isotopes occur naturally, but some are more rare than others
For example, about 2 in every 10,000 Hydrogen atoms is Deuterium
o Tritium is even more rare (about 1 in every billion billion hydrogen atoms)
Differences Between Isotopes
The number of neutrons in an atom does not affect the chemical properties of an atom, such as its
charge, but only its mass
o This is because neutrons have no charge but do have mass
The charge of the nucleus of a particular element is always the same
In the periodic table, the mass number of Chlorine is often given as 35.5
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This section of a periodic table shows Chlorine as having a mass number of 35.5, but other elements have
an integer mass number
The mass number of Chlorine is given as 35.5 because it has roughly equal numbers of isotopes with
a mass number of 35, and of 36
The number of electrons and protons in different isotopes remains the same
Isotopes tend to be more unstable due to the imbalance of protons and neutrons
Worked Example
State the number of protons, neutrons and electrons in Chlorine-35 and Chlorine-36 atoms.
Step 1: Determine the number of protons
o The atomic number is the number of protons
o Both Chlorine-35 and Chlorine-36 have 17 protons
Step 2: Determine the number of neutrons
o The mass number is the number of protons and neutrons
o Chlorine-35 neutrons: 35 - 17 = 18 neutrons
o Chlorine-36 neutrons: 36 - 17 = 19 neutrons
Step 3: Determine the number of electrons
o The number of electrons is equal to the number of protons
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o Both Chlorine-35 and Chlorine-36 have 17 electrons
Rutherford Scattering
Evidence for the structure of the atom was discovered by Ernest Rutherford in the beginning of the
20th century from the study of α-particle scattering
The experimental setup consists of alpha particles fired at thin gold foil and a detector on the other
side to detect how many particles deflected at different angles
α-particle scattering experiment set up
α-particles are the nucleus of a helium atom and are positively charged
When α-particles are fired at thin gold foil, most of them go straight through but a small number bounce
straight back
From this experiment, Rutherford results were:
The majority of α-particles went straight through (A)
o This suggested the atom is mainly empty space
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Some α-particles deflected through small angles of < 10o
o This suggested there is a positive nucleus at the centre (since two positive charges would
repel)
Only a small number of α-particles deflected straight back at angles of > 90o (C)
o This suggested the nucleus is extremely small and this is where the mass and charge of the
atom is concentrated
o It was therefore concluded that atoms consist of small dense positively charged nuclei,
surrounded by negatively charged electrons
An atom: a small positive nucleus, surrounded by negative electrons
(Note: The atom is around 100,000 times larger than the nucleus!
