ATOMIC STRUCTURE

Intended Learning Outcomes

The students should be able to:
 Identify atom, ions, isotopes and molecules

 Determine the atomic number, mass number and relative

atomic mass of an atom

 Write the atomic symbol

 Count the number of electrons, protons and neutrons

 Differentiate cations and anions

Importance of atoms
 Properties of matter are determined by the
arrangement of the atoms
 Chemical processes depend on the atomic
structures of the reacting substances
DEFINITION OF ATOM
 Basic unit of an element that can enter into
chemical reaction
 Tiny particles that composed matter
 The smallest particle of any element that still
retains the characteristics of that element
 From a Greek word “atomos”, which means
uncuttable orindivisible
(by Democritus – a Greek philosopher)
The Structure of Atom
Atom is composed of smaller particles
called subatomic particles which
include:
 Electrons
 Protons
 Neutrons
 Subatomic Particles
 1 amu = 1.6605 x 10-24 g
 Protons and neutrons are nearly 2000 times
more massive than electrons

Particle mass (amu) charge

Proton 1.007 +
Neutron 1.009 0
Electron 0.00055 –
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
 DALTON’S ATOMIC THEORY
By John Dalton (1808)

 Elements are composed of extremely small

particles called atoms.
 All atoms of a given element are identical,
having the same size, mass and chemical
properties
DALTON’S ATOMIC THEORY
By John Dalton (1808)
 Compounds are composed of atoms of more
than one element. In any compound, the
ratio of the numbers of atoms of any two of
the element present is either an integer or a
simple fraction
 A chemical reaction involves only the
separation, combination or rearrangement of
atoms; it does not result in their creation or
destruction.
Joseph John Thomson (1897)
 Physicist who worked on cathode rays in
1897
 discovered the electron, and concluded
that they were a component of every
atom
 overturned the belief that atoms are the
indivisible, ultimate particles of matter
Plum pudding model
by J. J. Thomson (1904)
 postulated that the low mass,
negatively charged electrons
were distributed throughout
the atom, possibly rotating in
rings, with their charge
balanced by the presence of a
uniform sea of positive charge
Earnest Rutherford
 gold foil experiment or
Geiger–Marsden experiment
 bombarded a sheet of gold foil with
alpha rays—by positively charged
helium atoms—and discovered that a
small percentage of these particles
were deflected through much larger
angles than was predicted using
Thomson's proposal
Rutherford Model
 Based on gold foil
experiment suggesting
that the positive charge
of a heavy gold atom
and most of its mass
was concentrated in a
nucleus at the center of
the atom
James Chadwick
 an English physicist who was awarded
the 1935 Nobel Prize in physics for his
discovery of the neutron in 1932
Neil Bohr model of Atom
Nucleus- centermost
part of atom where
protons and neutrons
are located
Energy level/orbit/shell-
where electrons are
located
Valence electrons-
electrons in the
outermost energy level
 Bohr’s postulate
(a) The electron revolves in circular orbits around the
nucleus which are restricted by the quantization of
angular momentum i.e. they revolve in orbits where
the angular momentum of electron is an integral
multiple of h/2p, where h is Planck's constant.
 mvr = nh/2p
(b) The energy of the atom has a definite value in a
stationary orbit. The electron can also absorb energy
from some source and jump from a lower energy
level to a higher energy level.
Sommerfield model of atom
 Solar system
depiction of atomic
structure.

 Emphasizes proton,
neutron and electron
distribution; does
not accurately depict
current accepted
model of atomic
structure.
Modern atomic model
 Electrons are
depicted as clouds
of negative charge
surrounding the
nucleus.

 The density of the

small dots is related
to the probability of
finding an electron
at a particular
location.
Atom
 The atom is a
basic unit of matter
that consists of a
dense central
nucleus
surrounded by a
cloud of negatively
charged electrons
Scanning Tunneling Microscope
 an instrument for
imaging surfaces at
the atomic level
 Invented by Gerd
Binnig and Heinrich
Rohrer
Atomic Number, Mass number
and Atomic Symbol
Atomic Number
 Atomic Number, Z, is the number of
protons in a nucleus.
 identifies the element
 Atomic Number = number of protons
If Atom is neutral:
number of protons = number of electrons
 Mass Number

Mass Number, A, is the sum of the number of

protons and neutrons (nucleons) in a
nucleus
 Mass Number = Protons + Neutrons
 Mass Number = number of nucleons
Atomic Symbols
 Information regarding atomic structure is
written in scientific shorthand called the
atomic symbol.
A
Z E
 E is the atomic symbol for element
 Superscript A is the mass number.
 Subscript Z is the atomic number.
Atomic Masses
 Entry for carbon on
the periodic table.

 Z=6

 Relative atomic
mass = 12.011
(~99% carbon-12)
12
6 C  Element Symbol: C
 Determining the number of protons,neutrons
and electrons
Symbol Atomic Mass proton neutrons electrons
number Number
Zn 30 65

Cl 17 18 17

Mn 25 55

82 125 82
Au
Isotopes, Ions and Molecules
Isotopes
 Atoms that have the same atomic number but
different mass number
 Atoms of an element that differ in the
number of neutrons in their nucleus.
 same Z but different A

 Isotopic abundance is the mass percentage of

an isotope in a naturally occurring element.
 Isotopes of Hydrogen

Isotopes protons electrons neutrons

Protium 1 1 0
Deuterium 1 1 1
Tritium 1 1 2
Isotopes of Carbon
Isotopes

 Mass spectrometers can measure the masses

of atoms, isotopes, and molecules.
Isotopes

 Mass spectrum showing carbon isotopes.

ATOMIC MASS AND
RELATIVE(AVERAGE) ATOMIC MASS
Atomic Mass
 Sometimes called atomic weight
 Mass of the atom in atomic mass unit
(amu)
 Atomic Mass Unit (amu)

 Atomic Mass Unit (amu) – mass exactly equal to

one-twelfh the mass of Carbon-12 atom
 Provides relative scale for the mass of elements
 Setting the atomic mass of carbon-12 at
12.000amu provides the standard for measuring
the atomic mass of other elements
Ions
 Charged particles
 Formed when the number of protons
and electrons in an atom are not equal.
 Formed when electrons are lost or
gained
 An atom or a group of atoms that has a
net (+) or (-) charge.
IONS

CATION
 Ion formed when electron is lost in a
chemical reaction
 Ion with a net positive (+) charge
Example:
Proton Electron Net Charge
Na 11 11 0
Na+ 11 10 +1
Formation of Cation

ANION
 Ion formed when electron is gained in a
chemical reaction
 Ion with a net negative (-) charged
Proton Electron Net Charge
Cl 17 17 0
Cl- 17 18 -1
Formation of Anion

monoatomic ions


 Ions and Their Properties
 An element and its ion have the same chemical
symbol but different properties.
 Sodium metal atoms lose an electron to form sodium
cations.
 Sodium metal reacts violently with water.
 Chlorine gas molecules gain electrons to form chlorine
anions (chloride).
 Chlorine gas reacts violently with sodium metal.
 Ionic compounds containing sodium cation and chlorine
anion dissolve in water without reacting.
MOLECULES
 An aggregate of at least 2 atoms in a
definite arrangement held together by
chemical bond
 May contain atoms of the same element
or atoms of 2 or more elements joined
in a fixed ratio.
 Molecules are electrically neutral.
MOLECULES
 Diatomic molecules
(a) containing 2 atoms of the same element
Example: H2, N2, O2, F2, Cl2, Br2, I2
(b) containing 2 atoms of different element
Example: CO
 Polyatomic molecules – contain more that 2
atoms
Example: H20, NH3
Examples of polyatomic
molecules

 Exercise
Symbol Atomic Mass protons neutrons electrons
number number
Mg2+
20 18
19 20 18
16 16 18

35 45 36
7 10