The Development of Atomic

Theory

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 The Atom
• The term atom is derived from the
Greek word (atomos)
meaning indivisible

• Democritius (470-370 BC )
suggested that all matter was made
up of indivisible particles called
atoms

2
Law of Constant Composition

A compound always contains atoms of two or

More elements combined in definite proportions
by mass

Example:
Water H2O always contains 8
grams of oxygen to 1 gram of
hydrogen
3
Law of Multiple Proportions

Atoms of two or more elements may

combine in different ratios to produce
more than one compound.

Examples:
NO NO2 N 2O N2O5

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 Dalton’s Atomic Theory
1. All elements are
composed of indivisible
and indestructible
particles called atoms.
2. Atoms of the same
element are exactly
alike, They have the
same masses. 3. Atoms of different
elements have different
masses.
4. Atoms combine to form
compounds in small
whole number ratios..
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 SomeObjections to Dalton’s
Atomic Theory
1. Atoms are not indivisible. They
are composed of subatomic
particles.
2. Not all atoms of a particular
element have exactly the same
mass.
3. Some nuclear transformations
alter (destroy) atoms 6
 Crookes Experiment

Crookes found that passing an electrical current

through a gas at very low pressure caused the gas to
glow. Putting a magnet next to the beam caused it to
be deflected. 7
 The Electron
1. The electron was the first subatomic
particle to be identified.
2. In 1897 J.J Thomson used a cathode ray
tube to establish the presence of a
charged particle known as the electron
3. Thomson established the charge to
mass ratio

E/m = 1.76 x 108 coulombs/gram

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 A Cathode Ray Tube

Thomson found that an electrical field would

also deflect an electron beam. He surmised
that the ratio of charge to mass is constant.
 Thomsen’s Charge to Mass
Ratio
Thomson proposed that the cathode rays
were in fact charged particles coming
from the traces gases in the Cathode Ray
Tube.
He then determined that the ratio of
charge to mass is constant E/m = 1.76 x
108 coulombs/gram
 Thomsen’s Plum Pudding
Model
Thompson proposed that
an atom was made up of
electrons scattered
unevenly through out an
elastic sphere. These
charges were surrounded
by a sea of positive This early model of the atom
charge to balance the was called The Plum
Pudding Model. A more
electron's charge like contemporary American
plums surrounded by label might be the “chocolate
chip cookie” model 11
pudding.
 Millikan’s Experiment

 By varying the charge on the plates, Millikan found

that he could suspend the oil drops or make them
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levitate.
 Millikan’s Experiment
Millikan used his data to
measure the charge of an
electron and then to
calculate the mass of the
electron from Thomson’s
charge to mass ratio.
Given the charge =
1.60 x 10-19 coulomb and
the ratio of E/m = 1.76 x
108 coulombs/gram it is Mass
possible to calculate the = 9.11 x 10-28 gram
mass
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 Protons
First observed by E. Goldstein in 1896
J.J. Thomson established the presence
of positive charges.

The mass of the proton is

1.673 x 10-24 grams

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 Rutherford’s Experiment
Rutherford oversaw Geiger and
1910 Marsden carrying out his famous
experiment.

They fired high speed alpha

particles (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 and were deflected
Ernest Rutherford

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Rutherford’s Experiment

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Rutherford’s Experiment

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Rutherford’s Experiment

By studying this
pattern, Rutherford
concluded that
atoms have a very
dense nucleus, but
there are mostly
empty space.

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 Subatomic Particles
The diameter of a single atom ranges
From 0.1 to 0.5 nm. (1 nm = 10-9 m).

Within the atom are smaller particles:

Electrons
Protons
Neutrons

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 Neutrons

Discovered by James Chadwick in 1932

Slightly heavier than a proton
Mass of a neutron = 1.675 x 10-24 grams

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The Bohr Model
Niels Bohr proposed the
Planetary Model in 1913.
Electrons move in
definite orbits around the
nucleus like planets
moving around the
nucleus. Bohr proposed
that each electron moves
in a specific energy level.
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Aspects of the Bohr Model
Bohr put together Balmer’s and
Plank’s discoveries to form a new
atomic model
In Bohr’s model:
1. Electrons can orbit only at certain
allowed distances from the
nucleus.
2. Electrons that are further away
from the nucleus have higher
energy levels (explaining the
faults with Rutherford’s model). 22
The Electromagnetic Spectrum
Emission Spectra

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Flame Tests
According to Bohr
Atoms radiate energy
whenever an electron jumps
from a higher-energy orbit to a
lower-energy orbit. Also, an
atom absorbs energy when an
electron gets boosted from a
low-energy orbit to a high-
energy orbit.

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 Problems with the Bohr Model
 The Bohr model provided a model that gave
precise results for simple atoms like hydrogen.
 Using the Bohr model precise energies could
be calculated for energy level transitions in
hydrogen.
 Unfortunately these calculations did not work
for atoms with more than 1 electron.

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 Weakness of the Bohr Model

• According to the Bohr model electrons could

be found in orbitals with distinct energies.
• When the data for energies measured using
spectral methods where compared to the
values predicted by the Rydberg equation, they
were accurate only for hydrogen.
• By the 1920s, further experiments showed that
Bohr's model of the atom had some difficulties.
Bohr's atom seemed too simple to describe the
heavier elements. 28
 Modern View of the Atom
The wave mechanical model for the
atom was developed to answer some of
the objections that were raised about
the Bohr model. It is based on the
work of a number of scientists and
evolved over a period of time

The quantum theorists such as Maxwell

Planck suggested that energy Maxwell Planck
consists of small particles known as
photons. These photons can have only
discreet energies
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Modern View of the Atom
Albert Einstein demonstrated the equivalence
of matter and energy. Hence matter and energy in
Einstein’s theory were not different entities but
different expressions of the same thing

Einstein then proposed the

equivalence of Matter and
Energy given by his famous
equation

E = mc2
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 Modern View of the Atom

Louis de Broglie suggested

that if energy could be
thought of as having particle
properties, perhaps matter
could be thought of as having
wave like characteristics
Louis de Broglie

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Modern View of the Atom
Louis de Broglie proposed
that an electron is not just a
particle but it also has wave
characteristics.

mc2 = h

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Modern View of the Atom
The more precisely the position is determined, the less precisely
the momentum is known in this instant, and vice versa.

--Heisenberg, Uncertainty paper, 1927

Heisenberg proposed that it was

impossible to know the location
and the momentum of a high
speed particle such as an
electron.

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Modern View of the Atom
The more precisely the position is determined, the
less precisely the momentum is known in this
instant, and vice versa.
--Werner Heisenberg,
Uncertainty paper, 1927

The atom cannot be defined as a

solar system with discreet orbits
for the electrons. The best that
we could do was define the
probability of finding an electron
in a particular location.
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 Modern View of the Atom
Edwin Schroedinger proposed
that the electron is really a
wave. It only exists when we
identify its location. Therefore
the electrons are best thought of
probability distributions rather
than discreet particles.

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Modern View of the Atom
The modern view of the atom suggests
that the atom is more like a cloud.
Atomic orbitals around the nucleus
define the places where electrons are
most likely to be found.

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Wave Mechanical Model
The location of the
electron in a hydrogen
atom is a probability
distribution.

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Progression of Atomic Models

Our view of the atom has changed over time 38

 ATOMIC STRUCTURE

Particle Charge Mass

proton + charge 1

neutron No charge 1

electron - charge 0

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ATOMIC NUMBER AND MASS NUMBER

He
Mass Number
4 the number of protons and
neutrons in an atom

2 Atomic Number
the number of protons in an
atom

Number of electrons = Number of protons

in a neutral atom 40
 Atomic Mass
The atomic mass of an atom is a relative
number that is used to compare the
mass of atoms.
An atomic mass unit is defined as 1/12
of the mass of an atom of carbon 12.

The atomic masses of all other atoms

are a ratio to carbon 12

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 Isotopes
Many elements have atoms that have multiple
forms
Different forms of the same element having
different numbers of neutrons are called isotopes.

For example: Carbon exists as both Carbon 12

and Carbon 14
Carbon 12 Carbon 14
6 electrons 6 electrons
6 protons 6 protons
6 neutrons 8 neutrons 42
Isotopes and Atomic Mass
Many elements have atoms that have
multiple isotopes.
Isotopes vary in abundance. Some are
quite common while others are very rare.
The atomic mass that appears in the
periodic table is a weighted average taking
into account the relative abundance of each
isotope.

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 or Na-23 or Na-24

Isotope: one of two or more atoms having the

same number of protons but different
numbers of neutrons
Measuring Atomic Mass
--the Mass Spectrometer

The mass
spectrometer
can be used to
determine the
atomic mass of
isotopes.