MODULE 1: FUNDAMENTALS IN

CHEMISTRY

ATOMIC STRUCTURE AND THE PERIODIC

TABLE
Objectives

 Explain the phenomenon of radioactivity

 Cite the use of radioisotopes
 Calculate the relative atomic mass of an element given isotopic masses and
abundances
 Explain how data from emission spectra provide evidence for discrete energy
levels within the atom
 Describe the atomic orbitals
 Describe the shape of s and p orbitals
 Determine the electronic configurations of atoms and ions in terms of s, p, and d
orbitals
Radioactivity

 YouTube video- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dY10s71rv80

 Some nuclear force exist which maintains the existence of nucleus,
because there is a repulsion force between positively charged
proton which are collected in a small region of nucleus.
 If the number of proton is less in an atom, other forces can hold the
protons together and atom becomes stables.
 But as the ratio of protons to neutrons is increases, protons cannot
be held firmly together and hence form an unstable nucleus.
Explain the phenomenon of
radioactivity
 Discovered in 1896 by a French Physicist called Henri Becquerel
 He was experimenting with salts which flurosced (glow in the dark).
 He discovered a new type of radiation and gave the problem to a young research
worker called Marie Curie
 She was assisted by her husband Pierre and in 1898 discovered two new radioactive
elements: Polonium and radium (meaning “giver of rays”
 They shared the Nobel prize with Becquerel in 1903
 After Pierre’s accidental death Marie continued her research and received a second
Nobel prize for isolation of radium in 1911
 This research was quickly applied to the treatment of cancer and other diseases
Types of radiation
 Atoms become unstable due to large neutron to proton ratio.
 Such unstable nucleus emitted some radiations and convert in to some
other stable nucleus and known as radioactive elements.
 These radiations are termed as radioactive rays.
 This process is called radioactive decay and the element is said to be
radioactive
Types of radiation

 Radioactive isotopes have unstable nuclei which spontaneously

disintegrate and emit radiation
 Three types of radiation are emitted
 Alpha (α)particles
 Beta (β) particles
 Gamma (γ)rays
 YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oUagoF_viQ
Alpha particles

 Helium nuclei
 The emissions of alpha particles leads to a decease in atomic number by
2 and mass number by 4
 Heavy nuclei which have atomic number greater than 83 usually emits
alpha particles
 Alpha Decay (increases N:Z ratio)
Alpha Emission

A-4 4
•ZAX Y + 2
Z-2
•Identity of the atom
changes
235 231 4
•92 U 90 Th + 2 

•Quick way for a large atom

to lose a lot of nucleons
Beta particles

 Formed when a neutron disintegrates giving a proton and an electron

 The beta particle is a high speed electron
 The proton remains in the nucleus of the atom so its atomic number
increase by 1
 The mass number is unchanged
 This increased proton makes the atom of the new element more stable
 Elements with atomic number less than 83 has too many neutrons and
decays by emitting beta particles
 Beta Decay (decreases N:Z ratio)
Beta Emission

• Ejection of a high speed electron from the

nucleus
A -1
• ZAX Z+1 Y + 0 
40 40 -1
• 19 K 20 Ca +0 
• Identity of atom changes
Gamma rays
 High energy electromagnetic waves of short
wavelength
 Emission of alpha or beta particles are often
accompanied by the emission of gamma rays
 When particles are emitted, the atomic nucleus
becomes excited and the excess energy is
released as gamma radiation
 This allows the nucleus to return to a more stable
energy level.
 Gamma radiation on its own does not result in
the formation of a new element
Gamma Emission

•Emission of high energy

electromagnetic radiation
•Usually occurs after
emission of a decay
particle forms a
metastable nucleus
•Does not change the
isotope or element
Properties of Ionizing Radiation
 Tro: Chemistry: A Molecular Approach
14
Important Atomic Symbols
Band of Stability

 The presence of neutrons in the nucleus

helps to minimise the repulsion between
the positive charges of the protons
 Asthe atomic number increases the
neutron to proton ratio also increases
 Inlarger atoms, the nucleus is unstable
even though the increasing number of
neutrons are present
Band of Nuclear Stability

 A plot of the known

isotopes on a
neutron/proton grid gives
 Stable isotopes form a
band of stability from H to
U
 Z:N ratios to either side of
this band are too
unstable & are not known
Nuclear Band of Stability
Uses of Radioactivity
 Discovery of new elements particles - fundamental particles
like neutrons, positrons, deuterons, alpha particles etc which
are highly useful in causing artificial transmutation of elements
and adding to our knowledge of atomic structure.
 Discovery of new elements: The discovery of trans uranic
elements of atomic numbers higher than 92 not known to exist
in nature. A large number of different radioactive isotopes of
known elements have been discovered by artificial means.
 Release of atomic energy: Nuclear reactions like nuclear
fusion and nuclear fission release enormous amount of energy
which can be used for different purpose.
Uses of Radioactivity
 Radioactive tracer: Many radioactive isotopes are
used in tracing various processes in surgery,
medicine, biology, agriculture, industry and
chemistry.
 Rock dating and carbon dating: Radioactive
isotope of carbon(C-14) is used to estimate the age
of earth and for the estimation of age of fossils. The
half life for C-14 is around 5568 years.

 6C14 → 7N14 +beta particles

7N
14 + n1 → 6C14 +1H1
0
Calculate Relative Atomic Mass from
isotopic masses and abundance
 The average atomic mass of an element is the sum of the
masses of its isotopes, each multiplied by its natural
abundance (the decimal associated with percent of atoms
of that element that are of a given isotope).
 For helium, there is approximately one isotope of Helium-3 for
every million isotopes of Helium-4; therefore, the average
atomic mass is very close to 4 amu (4.002602 amu).
 Chlorine consists of two major isotopes, one with 18 neutrons
(75.77 percent of natural chlorine atoms) and one with 20
neutrons (24.23 percent of natural chlorine atoms). The
atomic number of chlorine is 17 (it has 17 protons in its
nucleus).
Calculate Relative Atomic Mass
from isotopic masses and
abundance
 To calculate the average mass, first convert the percentages into
fractions (divide them by 100). Then, calculate the mass numbers.
 Average atomic mass of chlorine = (0.7577 ⋅⋅ 35 amu) + (0.2423 ⋅⋅ 37 amu)
= 35.48 amu
 Calculate the RAM of copper given Cu-63(69%) and Cu-65(31%)
 The element rhenium consists of two isotopes 185Re and 187Re, in the
atomic ratio of 2:3. Calculate the relative atomic mass of rhenium to
three significant figures.
 Given that Lead has four isotopes: 204Pb, 206Pb, 207Pb and 208Pb. Relative
abundance is 2%, 24%, 22% and 52% respectively. Calculate the relative
atomic mass of Lead.
 Emission Spectra
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKKFojwX_2g

 When atoms absorb energy, electrons move

into higher energy levels. These electrons then
lose energy by emitting light when they return
to lower energy levels.
 If the light is observed through a spectroscope
each element will be seen to produce a pattern
of lines
Emission Spectrum of Hydrogen

When an electric current is passed through a glass tube that

contains hydrogen gas at low pressure the tube gives off blue light.
When this light is passed through a prism (as shown in the figure
below), four narrow bands of bright light are observed against a
black background.
 Extending hydrogen's emission spectrum
into the UV and IR

The spectral lines are grouped into

series according to n′. Lines are
named sequentially starting from the
longest wavelength/lowest frequency
of the series using Greek letters
within each series.
For example, the 2 → 1 line is called
Lyman-alpha (Ly-α), while the 7 → 3
line is called Paschen-delta (Pa-δ).
Extending hydrogen's emission
spectrum into the UV and IR
Fingerprints
of certain
atoms
Describe the atomic orbitals
Orbital Model/Electron Cloud
Model
 The energy levels of electrons are
labeled by principal quantum
numbers (n)
 Each energy sublevel corresponds to
an orbital of a different shape, which
describes where the electron is likely
to be found.
Atomic Orbitals
 5.1

Atomic Orbitals
The numbers and kinds of atomic orbitals depend on the energy

sublevel.
Energy # of Letter of # of orbitals # of Total
Level, n sublevels sublevels per electrons in electrons in
sublevel each energy
orbital level

1 1 s 1 2 2

s 1 2
2 2 8
p 3 6

s 1 2
3 3 p 3 6 18
d 5 10
s 1 2
4 p 3 6
4 32
d 5 10
f 7 14
Shapes and Orientations
of Orbitals
1s Orbital

Sphere around the

nucleus

The one tells you that the

electron is in the orbital
closest to the nucleus
 S tells you about the shape
S and P Orbitals
D Orbitals
Remember….
MAX NUMBER OF ELECTRONS IN AN
ENERGY LEVEL
ENERGY LEVEL MAX # OF ELECTRONS

1 2
2 8
3 18
4 32
5 50
 Determine the electronic configurations of
atoms and ions in terms of s, p, and d orbitals

 Electron Configuration
 A detailed way of showing the order in which electrons fill in around the
nucleus

1s
-

2
# of e in
sub level

Sub Level
Energy Level
(s, p, d, f )
We must follow 3 rules…
 Aufbau priciple
 Electrons occupy energy levels with lowest
energy first.
Pauli exclusion principle

 If2 electrons occupy the same energy

level they must have opposite spins.
Hund’s rule…

 Electronsthat occupy orbitals of the same

energy will have the maximum number of
electrons with the same spin.
2p
Periodic table arrangement
s (n) d (n - 1) p (n)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
f (n -2)

 the quantum theory helps to explain the structure of the periodic table.
 n - 1 indicates that the d subshell in period 4 actually starts at 3 (4 - 1 =
3).