What is an Atom?

Atom comes from the Greek word atomos, which means something
invisible and cannot be cut or divided.

It was coined by Democritus in 450 BC.

But in 19th and the 20th centuries,

physicists discovered that there
are still subatomic particles
within an atom.

And therefore the name is

not appropriate anymore.
Atomic Structure
Atoms are made of smaller particles, called
_
electrons, protons, Naenutdronnseutrons. An
atom consists of a cloud of electrons
surrounding
a small, dense nucleus of protons and
Electrons
neutrons. Electrons and protons haveNuacleus
+ +
property called ele ct ric charge, which
affects the way they interact with each
_
other
and with other electrPircotaonllsy charged
particles
Neutrons
It is a subatomic particle forming
part of the nucleus of an atom. It
has no charge. It is equal in mass _
to a proton or it weighs ~ 1 amu.

Protons
It is a positively charged
+ +
subatomic particle forming part
of the nucleus of an atom and
_
determining the atomic number
of an element. It weighs ~ 1
amu.
Electrons
It contributes greatly to the
atom’s charge, as each electron
has a negative charge equal to _
the positive charge of a proton.
It is located in shells that
surround an atom’s nucleus.

Nucleus + +
It is the central part of an
atom, which is composed of
protons and neutrons and
contains most of an atom’s _
mass.
 Democritus
(460 BC – 37 BC)

 Greek philosopher

 the first to create an atomic model.

 According to him, matter can be cut

down into smaller and smaller pieces,
until it reaches the tiniest piece
called the atom.

Atomic History
Democritus’ Atomic
Model
 John Dalton
(1766 - 1844)

 Born in Cumberland, England

His Theory:
 That atoms are indivisible spheres that
are neither created nor destroyed.

 Atoms of the same element are

identical.

 Atoms of different elements have

different masses.

 Atoms can be rearranged and

combined in fixed ratios to form
Bowling Ball compounds
Atomic Model
 Joseph John
Thomson

 Discovered electron in 1897.

Used a cathode ray tube to show the atoms

of any element emit particles with a
negative charge.

Sea of electron Discovered that the electrons

positive _
charge _ were placed randomly in a
_ positive matrix.
_
_ Came up with the plum pudding
_
_ model
Plum Pudding _
Atomic
Model
Ernest Rutherford
(1871 – 1937)
 Born in Nelson, New Zealand
 Father of nuclear physics
Discovered the nucleus in 1911 when he
conducted the Gold Foil Experiment
with the help of Hans Geiger and Ernest
Marsden.

His Theory:
All the positive charges were
concentrated in the nucleus.
The negatively charged
electrons revolved around the
nucleus.
Came up with the planetary
model or nuclear model of
atom.
Niels Bohr
(1885 – 1962)
 Born in Copenhagen, Denmark

His Theory:
 An atom is made up of protons, which are
concentrated in the nucleus

 Electrons orbit around the nucleus along

some permissible concentric paths where
the Angular Momentum is an integral
multiple of h/2(pi) ,i.e. mvr=nh/2(pi)

 Electrons have quantized energy levels

and they can transfer from one orbit to
another. Energy in the K,L,M,N orbitals
varies as (E2-E1)>(E4-E3)>(E6-E5)
 James
Chadwick
(Discovered neutron in 1932
 Discovery of neutron (mass = 1.67493 x 10-24
g) explained the mass problem of many
atoms.
 Nobel Prize in Physics 1935

His Theory:
 Neutrons have no electrical charge.
proton  Neutrons have a mass nearly equal
to the mass of a proton.
neutron  Unit of measurement for subatomic
particles is the atomic mass unit
(amu).
nucleus
electron
 Atoms of the same element
having different mass numbers
Isotopes
and are therefore found in the
position in the periodic table.
same
 Are different versions of an
element.
 Are radioactive when they emit
radiation (radioisotopes)

Types of Radiation
• Particle radiation
- refers to alpha and beta
particles, protons, and neutrons
given off by isotopes.
• Electromagnetic radiation
- refers to gamma rays and
X-rays emitted by isotopes.
Electron Orbitals
 Is a probability function that describes where electrons may be
found.
 Are not orbits rather they are electron density clouds which
describe the highest probability distribution of electrons.
 Four types of orbitals: s, p, d, and f

Is a sphere, The simplest orbital and

s
can hold up only two electrons

The subshell consists of six three

p dimensional lobes and can hold up to
six electrons.

can hold up to ten electrons. Is

d made of five subshells which can hold
two electrons each.

made up of seven complex orbitals,

f
can hold fourteen electrons.
Electron Configuration
 The distribution of electrons among orbitals in an atom.

 An atom can be configured without drawing or illustrating any

of the s, p, d, and f orbitals.

TWO WAYS OF DETERMINING HOW ELECTRONS ARE

ARRANGED IN AN ATOM.

1. Periodic Table 2. Aufbau law

The Periodic Table of Elements
Elements within a group have similar All have the same number of
physical and chemical properties electrons in their outermost or
valence shells

Example Na
(2,8,1) and
K (2,8,8,1)
are both in
Group 1
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YOU!