Atoms Part 1

Unit 3: Introduction to Atomic Theory
Introduction:
Atoms are indivisible particles. They are extremely important structures that
make up all of the materials that we see and use daily. Atoms are found in the
human body and they bond together to form molecules, which make up
matter.
The discussions that follow shall illustrate the importance of the atom in our
everyday activities.
Learning Outcomes:
At the end of this unit, you should be able to:
1. Give a brief account of the historical development of the atomic model;
2. Identify some features of the subatomic particles;
3. Construct a miniature of the different models of the atom;
4. Determine the nuclear charge, the number of protons, electrons and
neutrons and the atomic mass of both neutral and charged atoms;
5. Characterize isotopes of common substances;
6. Cite some practical applications of radioactive elements in medicine,
industry and the environment;
7. Construct a miniature of the atom showing the location of the sub-atomic
particles.
Activating Prior Learning:
Image Brainstorm. Shown below are images. You are encouraged to share
everything that you know about the pictures.
1 2 3
4
Source: https://www.shutterstock.com/image-vector/atom-models-scientists-1305565675
Picture1: Solid Sphere Model by John Dalton on 1807 He was able to distinguish
how atoms of one element differed from those of other elements. He also
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argued that atoms could not be produced or destroyed. Atoms, on the other
hand, are not indivisible; they are made up of subatomic particles.
Picture2: Plump Pudding Model by JJ. Thomson on 1897 He identified electrons as

atoms, which are negatively charged electrons trapped in a positively charged
"soup." He was also able to refute Dalton's theory of indivisible atoms.
Picture3: Nuclear Model by Ernest Rutherford, 1911 Rutherford found out that the
atom's whole mass is concentrated in the nucleus, located in the atom's center.
Positively charged particles also become present in the nucleus of the atom.
Picture4: Planetary Model by Neils Bohr, 1913 Bohr postulated that electron
orbits be stable. According to him, electrons orbit the nucleus of the atom in
specifically permitted trajectories named orbits, much like the Solar System's
structure
Topic 1: The Nuclear Atom and the Sub-atomic Particles
Learning Objectives:
At the end of this topic, you should be able to:
 Characterize the nuclear atom
 List the three main subatomic particles of an atom.
 Discuss the positions of these particles within the atom and what elec-
tric charge they carry, if any.
Let’s Learn:
Topic 1: The Nuclear Atom and the Subatomic Particles
Let’s Learn
The Nuclear Atom
The precise physical nature of atoms finally emerged from a series of experiments
carried out by scientists between 1895 and 1915.
The most notable of these achievements was Ernest Rutherford's famous alpha-ray
scattering experiment, which established that
-Almost all of the mass of an atom is contained within a tiny (and therefore ex-
tremely dense) nucleus which carries a positive electric charge whose value identi-
fies each element and is known as the atomic number of the element.
-Almost all of the volume of an atom consists of empty space in which electrons, the
fundamental carriers of negative electric charge, reside. The extremely small mass
of the electron (1/1840 the mass of the hydrogen nucleus) causes it to behave as a
quantum particle, which means that its location at any moment cannot be specified;
the best we can do is describe its behavior in terms of the probability of its mani-
festing itself at any point in space. It is common (but somewhat misleading) to de -
scribe the volume of space in which the electrons of an atom have a significant
probability of being found as the electron cloud. The latter has no definite outer
boundary, so neither does the atom. The radius of an atom must be defined arbi -
trarily, such as the boundary in which the electron can be found with 95% probabil -
ity. Atomic radii are typically 30-300 pm.
-All matter contain negatively charged electrons as well as positively charged
protons which are electrically neutral, must also contain positive charges to balance
the negative ones. Thomson proposed that the electrons were embedded in a
uniform sphere that contained both the positive charge and most of the mass of the
atom, the structure being likened to chocolate chips in a cookie.
Fig. 5: The structure of the nuclear atom with a central nucleus and
surrounding electrons.
Source: https://chem.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/General_Chemistry/Map
%3A_General_Chemistry_(Petrucci_et_al.)/02%3A_Atoms_and_The_Atomic_Th
eory/2.3%3A_The_Nuclear_Atom
Subatomic Particles
Atoms are the basic units of matter and the defining structure of
elements. The term "atom" comes from the Greek word for indivisible,
because it was once thought that atoms were the smallest things in the
universe and could not be divided.
A typical atom consists of three subatomic particles: protons, neutrons, and
electrons. Other particles exist as well, such as alpha and beta particles. T
The center of the atom is called the nucleus
The Bohr model of the Helium atom shows the three basic subatomic
particles in a simple manner. Most of an atom's mass is in the nucleus—a small,
dense area at the center of every atom, composed of nucleons. Nucleons include
protons and neutrons. All the positive charge of an atom is contained in the nucleus,
and originates from the protons. Neutrons are neutrally-charged. Electrons, which
are negatively-charged, are located outside of the nucleus.
The Bohr model depicts the three basic subatomic particles in a
comprehensible manner.
Source:https://www.google.com/search?
q=the+helium+atom&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiil4D2vfTiAhVCUN4KHeRlAc8Q_AUI
ECgB&biw=1280&bih=561&dpr=1.5#imgrc=XISClf13ryeNQM:
Protons
The conduct of the gold foil experiment by Ernest Rutherford in 1919 led to
the discovery of the protons. He projected alpha particles at gold foil, and the
positive alpha particles were deflected. This result made him conclude that protons
exist in the nucleus and have a positive nuclear charge. The atomic number,
which determines an element, is the number of protons present in an atom.
Electrons
While the protons were discovered by Rutherford, it was Sir John Joseph
Thomson who discovered the electrons in 1897 after conducting several
experiments involving cathode rays, J.J. Thomson demonstrated the ratio of mass to
electric charge of cathode rays. In his study, he confirmed that cathode rays are
fundamental particles that are negatively-charged. These cathode rays are known
as electrons.
The area surrounding the nucleus of the atom is known as electron cloud. It
is in this area where the electrons are located. The electrons, with the symbol e -,
have the greater probability of being located near the nucleus of the atom.
Electrons have a negative charge that is equal in magnitude to the
positive charge of the protons. However, their mass is considerably less than
that of a proton or neutron, but is usually considered insignificant. If the amount of
protons is not equal to the amount of electrons, we produce charged particles called
IONS.
Neutrons
In 1932, James Chadwick discovered the neutrons. In his experiment, he
demonstrated that penetrating radiation incorporated beams of neutral particles.
Along with the protons, neutrons are located in the nucleus, making up almost all of
the mass of the atom.
The number of neutrons is called the neutron number. This can be
determined by subtracting the proton number from the atomic mass
number. The neutrons in an element determine the isotope of an atom, and often
its stability.
Source: https://www.ndeed.org/EducationResources/HighSchool/Radiography/subatomicparticles.htm
This picture shows the subatomic particles of the elements Hydrogen, Helium
and Beryllium atoms.
Let’s Apply
1. Discuss Rutherford’s findings on his experiment about the physical nature of the
atom.
Together with colleagues Hans Geiger and Ernest Marsden, Rutherford began a
series of breakthrough experiments in 1911 that would completely alter the
accepted concept of the atom. They used fast-moving alpha particles to attack
very thin sheets of gold foil. Alpha particles are positively charged particles
having a mass four times that of a hydrogen atom. Rutherford discovered that a
small proportion of alpha particles were deflected at significant angles, contrary
to his prediction that most alpha particles would straight pass through the gold
foil. This is because, in the plum pudding model, the positive charge was
believed to be evenly distributed across the whole volume of the atom. As a
result, the positively charged "soup's" electric field would be too weak to alter
the course of the comparatively large and fast-moving alpha particles. Yet, most
passed through with a bit of deflection, but this is only possible if the atom was
mostly empty space, with positive charge concentrated at the center – which is
now referred to as nucleus. His discovery explained why an atom has a mostly
empty space, a very tiny, dense, positively charged central nucleus.
Let’s Assess
A. Put the correct answer in the space provided. Use your periodic table.
1. What is the atomic number of Nitrogen (N)? 7
2. How many protons does an aluminum (Al) atom have? 13
3. How many electrons does a Boron (B) atom have? 5
Consider a Carbon (C) atom with a mass number of 12:

4. How many protons does this atom have? 6
5. How many electrons does this atom have? 6
6. How many neutrons does this atom have? 6
Consider the atom with A = 32 and Z = 16:

7. How many neutrons does this atom have? 16
8. How many protons does this atom have? 16
9. What is the atomic symbol for this element? S
B.Fill in the missing items in the table. The first element is done for you.
Element Atomic Mass No. of No. of Number

Numbe Numb Proto Electrons of
r er ns (e-#) Neutrons
(z) (a) (p+ (n0)
#)
Oxygen 8 16 8 8 8
Calcium 20 40 20 20 20
Lithium 3 7 3 3 4
Helium 2 4 2 2 2
Flourine 9 19 9 9 10
C. Choose the letter of the correct answer

1.Which subatomic particle has a positive charge?
a. proton
b. neutron
c. electron
d. atom
2. Which subatomic particle is located outside of the nucleus?
a. proton
b. neutron
c. electron
d. atom
3. Which particle has no charge”
a. proton
b. neutron
c. electron
d. atom
4. Where is the proton located?
a. inside the nucleus
b. outside the nucleus
5. Which subatomic particle identifies isotopes?
a. proton
b. neutron
c. electron
d. atom
C. Given the following subatomic particles present, identify the element. (The
periodic table is required to solve these problems)
 Charge +1, 3 protons, mass number 6. Lithium
 Charge -2, 7 neutrons, mass number 17. Oxygen
 26 protons, 20 neutrons. Iron
 28 protons, mass number 62. Nickel
 5 electrons, mass number 10. Boron
 Charge -1, 18 electrons, mass number 36. Chlorine
Let’s Summarize
1. Atoms are indivisible particles that make up all the materials that we see
and use everyday.
2. Subatomic particles are particles that are smaller than the atom.
3. Protons, neutrons, and electrons are the three main subatomic particles
found in an atom.
4. Protons have a positive (+) charge. An easy way to remember this is to re-
member that both proton and positive start with the letter "P."
5. Neutrons have no electrical charge. An easy way to remember this is to re-
member that both neutron and no electrical charge start with the letter "N."
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Unit 3: Introduction to Atomic Theory

Activating Prior Learning:

Picture2: Plump Pudding Model by JJ. Thomson on 1897 He identified electrons as

Topic 1: The Nuclear Atom and the Sub-atomic Particles

Consider a Carbon (C) atom with a mass number of 12:

Consider the atom with A = 32 and Z = 16:

Element Atomic Mass No. of No. of Number

C. Choose the letter of the correct answer

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