How the

Elements
are Formed:
Atoms & Elements
Physical Science week 2 Lesson 2
 Early Concepts of the Atom
• Greek Philosophers (400 B.C.) debated whether
matter was continuous or discrete, but could
prove neither.
• Continuous – could be divided indef initely
• Discrete – ultimate indivisible particle
• Most (including Aristotle) agreed with the
continuous theory.

• The continuous model of matter prevailed for

2200 years,
until 1807.
Dalton’s Model – “The Billard Ball model”
• In 1807 John Dalton presented evidence that matter was
discrete and must exist as particles.
• Dalton’s major hypothesis stated that:
• Each chemical element is composed of small indivisible
particles called atoms,
• identical for each element but different from atoms of other
elements

• Essentially these particles are featureless spheres of

uniform density.
 Dalton’s Model

Dalton’s 1807 “billiard

•
ball model” pictured the
atom as a tiny indivisible,
uniformly dense, solid
sphere.
Thomson – “Plum Pudding model”
• In 1903 J.J. Thomson discovered the electron.
• Further experiments by Thomson and others showed that
1. an electron has a mass of 9.11 x 10-31 kg and a charge of
–1.60 x 10-19 C.
• Thomson produced “rays‟ using several different gas types in
cathode-ray tubes.
• He noted that these rays were def lected by electric and magnetic
f ields.

• Thomson concluded that this ray consisted of negative

particles (now called electrons.)
Thomson – “Plum Pudding model”
• Identical electrons were produced no matter what gas was
in the tube.
• Therefore he concluded that atoms of all types contained
1. “electrons”.
• Since atoms as a whole are electrically neutral, some other
part of the atom must be positive.
• Thomson concluded that the electrons were stuck randomly
in an otherwise homogeneous mass of positively charged
“pudding.”
 Thompson’s Model

•
Thomson’s 1903 “plum pudding
model” conceived the atom as
a sphere of positive charge in
which negatively charged
electrons were embedded.
 Ernest Rutherford’s model”

•
In 1911 Rutherford discovered that 99.97% of the
mass of an atom was concentrated in a tiny core, or
nucleus.
•
Rutherford’s model envisioned the electrons as
circulating in some way around a positively charged
core.
 Rutherford’s Model

•
Rutherford’s 1911
“nuclear model”
envisioned the atom as
having a dense center
of positive charge (the
nucleus) around which
the electrons orbited.
Microwaves
• Electromagnetic radiation that have relatively low frequencies
(about 1010 Hz)
 The Microwave Oven

•
Because most foods contain moisture, their water
molecules absorb the microwave radiation and gain
energy
• As the water molecules gain energy, they rotate more
rapidly,
1. thus heating/cooking the item
• Fats and oils in the foods also preferentially gain energy
from (are excited by) the microwaves
The Microwave Oven
• Paper/plastic/ceramic/glass dishes are not directly heated
by the microwaves
• But may be heated by contact with the food (conduction)

• The interior metal sides of the oven reflect the radiation

1. and remain cool
• Do microwaves penetrate the food and heat it
1. throughout?
• Microwaves only penetrate a few centimeters and therefore they
work better if the food is cut into small pieces
• Inside of food must be heated by conduction
 “Discovery” of
Microwaves as a Cooking Tool
• In 1946 a Raytheon Corporation engineer, Percy Spencer, put
his chocolate bar too close to a microwave source
• The chocolate bar melted of course, and …
• Within a year Raytheon introduced the f irst commercial
microwave oven!
X-Rays
•
Accidentally discovered in 1895 by the German
physicist Wilhelm Roentgen
• He noticed while working with a gas-discharge tube that
a piece
1. of f luorescent paper across the room was glowing
•
Roentgen deduced that some unknown/unseen
radiation from the tube was the cause
• He called this mysterious radiation “X-radiation”
because it was
1. unknown
X-Rays Production
• Electrons from the cathode are accelerated toward the
anode. Upon interacting with the atoms of the anode, the
atoms emit energy in the form of x-rays.
Early use of X-Rays
• Within few months of their discovery, X-
rays were being put to practical use.
• This is an X-ray of bird
1. shot embedded in a hand.
• Unfortunately, much of the early use of
X-rays was far too aggressive, resulting
in later cancer.
Early Thoughts about Elements

• The Greek philosophers (600 – 200 B.C.) were the f irst

people to speculate about the basic substances of matter.
• Aristotle speculated that all matter on earth is composed
of only four elements: earth, air, fire, and water.
• He was wrong on all counts!
 Symbols of the Elements

•
Swedish chemist, Jons
Jakob Berzelius (early
1800‟s) used one or two
letters of the Latin name to
designate each element.
Names and Symbols of Common Elements
The Atom
• All matter is composed of atoms.
• An atom is composed of three subatomic particles:
1. electrons (-), protons (+), and neutrons (0)

• The nucleus of the atom contains the protons and the

1. neutrons (also called nucleons.)

• The electrons surround (orbit) the nucleus.

• Electrons and protons have equal but opposite charges.
Major Constituents of an Atom

1. U=unif ied atomic mass units

 The Atomic Nucleus

Protons and neutrons have nearly the same

•
mass and are 2000 times more massive
than an electron.
•
Discovery – Electron (J.J. Thomson in
1897), Proton (Ernest Rutherford in 1918),
and Neutron (James Chadwick in 1932)
Rutherford's Alpha- Scattering Experiment
• J.J. Thomson’s “plum pudding” model predicted the alpha
particles would pass through the evenly distributed
positive charges in the gold atoms.
Rutherford's Alpha- Scattering Experiment
• Only 1 out of 20,000 alpha particles bounced back.
• Rutherford could only explain this by assuming that each
gold atom had its positive charge concentrated in a very
small “nucleus.”
• Diameter of nucleus = about 10-14 m
• Electron orbit diameter = about 10-10 m
• Atomic Mass is concentrated in the nucleus (>99.97%)
Atomic Mass is Concentrated in the Nucleus!
•
Therefore the volume (or size) of an atom is
determined by the orbiting electrons.
The diameter of an atom is approximately
10,000 times the diameter of the nucleus.
•

•
If only nuclear material (protons and neutrons)
could be closely packed into a sphere the size of a
ping-pong ball it would have the incredible mass of
2.5 billion metric tons!
Visual Representation of a Nucleus

•
Tightly Packed Protons and
Neutrons
Atomic Designations
• Atomic Number (Z) – the # of protons in the nucleus
(“def ines” the element – the # of protons is always the
same for a given element)
• Atomic Number also designates the number of electrons
1. in an element.
• If an element either gains or loses electrons, the resulting
1. particle is called and ion.
• For example, if a sodium atom (Na) loses an electron it
becomes a sodium ion (Na+.)
More Atomic Designations

•
Mass Number (A) – protons +
neutrons, or the total number of
nucleons
•
Isotope – when the number of
neutrons vary in the nucleus of
a given element (always same
number of protons)
•
Only 112 elements are known,
but the total number of
1.
isotopes is about 2000.
 Determining the Composition of an Atom
•
Determine the number of protons,
electrons, and neutrons in the fluorine
atom 19F
9

•
Atomic Number (Z) = 9
•
protons = 9 & electrons = 9
•
Mass Number (A) = 19
•
A = N + Z {N = Neutron Number}
•
 N = A – Z = 19 – 9 = 10
•
neutrons = 10
Atomic Review

•
Protons & Neutrons – in nucleus
•
Electrons – orbit around nucleus
•
Mass Number (A) = protons + neutrons
•
Atomic Number (Z) = # of protons
•
Neutron Number (N) = # of neutrons
•
Isotope – an element with different # of neutrons
(same # of protons)
Atomic Mass

•
The weighted average mass of an atom of the element
in a naturally occurring sample
•
The Atomic Mass is measured in unified atomic mass
units (u) – basically the weight of a proton or neutron.
•
The 12C atom is used as the standard, and is assigned
the Atomic Mass of exactly 12 u.
•
The weighted average mass of all carbon is slightly
higher than 12 (12.011) because some is 13C and 14C.
 Atomic Review

•
Mass Number (A) – protons +
neutrons, or the total number of
nucleons
•
Isotope – when the number of
neutrons vary in the nucleus of a
given element (always same
number of protons)
•
Atomic Number (Z) – number of
protons
THANK YOU !
Andro O. Aynera
Physical Science Teacher