ATOMIC STRUCTURE

Atomic Structure
All matter is composed of atoms.

Understanding the structure of atoms is

critical to understanding the properties
of matter
 HISTORY OF THE ATOM

1808 John Dalton

suggested that all matter was made up of

tiny spheres that were able to bounce around

with perfect elasticity and called them

ATOMS
 DALTONS ATOMIC THEORY

16 X + 8Y 8 X2Y
 Subatomic Particles

Mass Charge Charge

Particle
(g) (Coulombs) (units)

Electron (e-) 9.1 x 10-28 -1.6 x 10-19 -1

-24 -19
Proton (p) 1.67 x 10 +1.6 x 10 +1

Neutron (n) 1.67 x 10-24 0 0

mass p = mass n = 1840 x mass e-

 HISTORY OF THE ATOM

1898 Joseph John Thompson

found that atoms could sometimes eject a far

smaller negative particle which he called an

ELECTRON
A = alpha J.J. Thomson, measured mass/charge of e-
B = gamma
C = beta (1906 Nobel Prize in Physics)
CHARGE OF AN ELECTRON
gold foil

helium nuclei

Millikan oil drop

experiment
 HISTORY OF THE ATOM

1910 Ernest Rutherford

oversaw Geiger and Marsden carrying out his

famous experiment.

they fired Helium nuclei at a piece of gold foil

which was only a few atoms thick.

they found that although most of them

passed through. About 1 in 10,000 hit
Rutherford’s experiment.
Plum Pudding model of an atom.
Results of foil experiment if Plum
Pudding model had been correct.
Actual Results.
A nuclear atom viewed in cross
section.
Rutherford’s Model of the Atom

atomic radius ~ 100 pm = 1 x 10-10 m

nuclear radius ~ 5 x 10-3 pm = 5 x 10-15 m
 Atomic Structure
Atoms are composed of
-protons – positively charged particles
-neutrons – neutral particles
-electrons – negatively charged particles

Protons and neutrons are located in the

nucleus. Electrons are found in orbitals
surrounding the nucleus.
 HELIUM ATOM
Shell
proton

+
N
-
+
- N

electron neutron
 Atomic Structure
Every different atom has a characteristic
number of protons in the nucleus.

atomic number = number of protons

Atoms with the same atomic number

have the same chemical properties and
belong to the same element.
 Atomic Structure
Each proton and neutron has a mass of
approximately 1 dalton.

The sum of protons and neutrons is the atom’s

atomic mass.

Isotopes – atoms of the same element that

have different atomic mass numbers due to
different numbers of neutrons.
 ATOMIC STRUCTURE

He
2
Atomic number
the number of protons in an atom

Atomic mass
the number of protons and
4
neutrons in an atom

number of electrons = number of protons

ATOMIC NUMBER (Z) = number of protons in nucleus
MASS NUMBER (A) = number of protons + number of neutrons
= atomic number (Z) + number of neutrons
ISOTOPS are atoms of the same element (X) with different numbers of
neutrons in the nucleus

Mass Number A
ZX
Element Symbol
Atomic Number

1 2 3
1H 1H (D) 1H (T)
235 238
92 U 92 U
Atomic Structure
Atomic Structure
Two isotopes of sodium.
 HISTORY OF THE ATOM

1913 Niels Bohr

studied under Rutherford at the Victoria

University in Manchester.

Bohr refined Rutherford's idea by adding

that the electrons were in orbits. Rather
like planets orbiting the sun. With each
orbit only able to contain a set number of
electrons.
MULTIELECTRON ATOMS
ELECTRONS IN ORBIT ABOUT
THE NUCLEUS
 Bohr’s Model of
the Atom (1913)
1. e- can have only specific
(quantized) energy values
2. light is emitted as e- moves
from one energy level to a
lower energy level

1
En = -RH ( )
n2

n (principal quantum number) = 1,2,3,…

RH (Rydberg constant) = 2.18 x 10-18J
The Bohr Model of the Atom
Atomic Structure
 The Bohr Model of the Atom:
Ground and Excited States
• In the Bohr model of hydrogen, the lowest amount
of energy hydrogen’s one electron can have
corresponds to being in the n = 1 orbit. We call this
its ground state.
• When the atom gains energy, the electron leaps to a
higher energy orbit. We call this an excited state.
• The atom is less stable in an excited state and so it
will release the extra energy to return to the ground
state.
– Either all at once or in several steps.
 Line Emission Spectrum of Hydrogen Atoms

Every element has a unique emission spectrum

 The Bohr Model of the Atom:
Hydrogen Spectrum
• Every hydrogen atom has identical orbits, so every
hydrogen atom can undergo the same energy
transitions.
• However, since the distances between the orbits in
an atom are not all the same, no two leaps in an
atom will have the same energy.
– The closer the orbits are in energy, the lower
the energy of the photon emitted.
– Lower energy photon = longer wavelength.
• Therefore, we get an emission spectrum that has a
lot of lines that are unique to hydrogen.
The Bohr Model of the Atom:
Hydrogen Spectrum
 Bohr showed the energy a H
atom can have is equal to:

1
En = -RH ( )
n2

Ephoton = DE = Ef - Ei
1
Ef = -RH ( 2 )
nf
1
Ei = -RH ( 2 )
ni
1 1
DE = RH( 2 )
ni n2f
RH is the Rydberg constant
n is the principal quantum number
Line spectrum of
some elements
 LIGHT EMISSION OF SODIUM ATOM

Line spectrum
 Atomic Structure
Neutral atoms have the same number of
protons and electrons.

Ions are charged atoms.

-cations – have more protons than
electrons and are positively charged
-anions – have more electrons than
protons and are negatively charged
An ion is formed when an atom, or group of atoms, has a
net positive or negative charge (why?).
If a neutral atom looses one or more electrons
it becomes a cation.

11 protons 11 protons
Na 11 electrons Na+ 10 electrons

If a neutral atom gains one or more electrons

it becomes an anion.

17 protons 17 protons
Cl 17 electrons Cl- 18 electrons