Historical Development of the

Atom and Electron

Arrangement

• Textbook: pg. 56-63, 69-73

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Learning Goals

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Atomic Models:
• The atom is the smallest unit of an element that
retains the chemical properties of that element.
• Matter is anything that has mass and takes up space.
This means everything around you is matter. Matter
is made up of tiny particles called atoms. The term
atom was first coined by the Greek Philosopher
Democritus, who proposed that the atom was the
smallest particle that could not be subdivided. As
experimentation and the scientific method gained
importance, the model of the atom began to evolve.
Not until 2000 years later….. 3
Atomic Models:
• John Dalton (1808) – Dalton was a school teacher and
scientist who came up with his atomic theory based on
many years of experimentation with atmospheric
gases.
• Dalton’s Atomic Theory:
1. All matter is composed of tiny particles called atoms
2. Atoms can be neither subdivided nor changed into
one another
3. Atoms cannot be created or destroyed
4. All atoms of one element are the same in shape, size,
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mass and all other properties
Atomic Models:
• Dalton’s Atomic Theory:
5. All atoms of one element differ in these
properties from atoms of all other elements
6. Chemical change is the union or separation of
atoms
7. Atoms combine in small whole-number ratios
such as 1:1, 1:2, 2:3 etc.
Diagram: “Billiard Ball” Model

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His Work Also Lead To….
• 1) The Law of Conservation of Mass: The mass of the reactants
in a chemical reaction is equal to the mass of the products.

• 2) Law of Constant Composition: Atoms of different elements

can be chemically combined in a fixed whole number ratio to
form compounds.

• He really got the "ball" rolling for modern chemistry!

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Atomic Models:
• J.J. Thomson (1897)
• studied the deflection of cathode rays by
electric and magnetic fields.

• Results suggested that the atom was not the

smallest unit of matter; there were subatomic
particles within the atom. 7
Atomic Models:
• J.J. Thomson proposed that the atom is a sphere of
uniform positive electricity in which negative
electrons were embedded like raisins in plum
pudding (or chocolate chips in a cookie)
• “Plum Pudding” Model

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9
Atomic Models:
• Ernest Rutherford (1909)
• The last 4 years of the nineteenth century brought
on the discovery that some elements are
radioactive.
• Radium gives off three different types of radiation
(alpha and beta particles, and gamma rays)
• Alpha particles are Helium nuclei (2 protons, 2
neutrons)
• Using these principles, Rutherford performed his
famous gold foil experiment 10
Atomic Models:
• Rutherford hypothesized that if Thomson’s model is
true, then the high speed positively charged alpha
particles should pass through the gold foil without
being deflected. Although most alpha particles
passed through the gold foil, some were deflected,
and some even reflected back towards the source.
Since opposite charges repel, this meant that there
must be a positive charge present in the center or
nucleus of the atom. From these observations,
Rutherford formulated his own nuclear model of the
atom. 11
Atomic Models:
• Rutherford’s nuclear model of the atom (1911)
• The mass and the positive charge in the gold atoms
is concentrated in a very small region
• Most of the atom is empty space
• This was dubbed the “beehive model” of the atom
• This model with electrons rotating around the
atomic nucleus is also
known as the “nuclear
model”
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•
Atomic Models:
• Problems with the Rutherford Atom:
• A nucleus filled with positive charges should fly apart
due to electrostatic forces of repulsion.
• Could not adequately explain the total mass of the atom
– neutron?
• Rutherford’s atomic model contradicted the laws of 19th
century physics. The motion of the electrons in the
Rutherford model was unstable because, according to
classical mechanics and electromagnetic theory, any
charged particle moving on a curved path emits
electromagnetic radiation; thus, the electrons would 13
lose energy and spiral into the nucleus.
Bohr’s Model of an atom
• Niels Bohr (1913)
-The Bohr Atomic Model:
1. The atom has only specific, allowable energy levels
called stationary states. Each stationary state
corresponds to the atom’s electrons occupying fixed
circular orbits around the nucleus.
2. While in one of its stationary states, atoms do not emit
energy.
3. An atom changes stationary states by emitting or
absorbing a specific quantity of energy that is exactly
equal to the difference in energy between the two
stationary states. 14
Properties of Light
• Visible light is part of a broader continuum of energy called
the electromagnetic spectrum.

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Significance of light in developing Bohr’s model of atom

Properties of Light
The wave nature of light
• The wave properties of EM
radiation are described by
the variables:
• Frequency (ν – greek nu) the
number of cycles the wave
undergoes per second (hertz)
• Wavelength ( - greek
lambda) the distance between
any point on a wave and the corresponding point on the next wave.
• The waves in the spectrum all travel at the same speed (c) 16
through a vacuum but differ in frequency and, therefore,
wavelength. Note: v = c/ 
Properties of Light
• Summary:

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Properties of Light
• When visible light passes through a prism, it
separates into its component colours producing a
continuous spectrum. Sunlight produces a
continuous spectrum, which includes all the
wavelengths in the visible region of the
electromagnetic spectrum.
• According to Rutherford’s atomic model and 19th
century physics, the energy emitted by electrons
should be observed as a continuous spectrum or
“rainbow” of light energy.
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19
light also behaves like a particles - photons.

E = hv 6.62606957 * 10-34 m2 kg / s.

• Not only is light made up of photons, but all

electromagnetic energy (i.e. microwaves, radio waves, X-
rays) is made up of photons.
• The original concept of the photon was developed by
Albert Einstein. However, it was scientist Gilbert N. Lewis
who first used the word "photon" to describe it.
• The theory that states that light behaves both like a wave
and a particle is called the wave-particle duality theory.
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Atomic Models:

• Absorption line spectrum results when light passes through

gaseous hydrogen atoms, the electrons absorb photons of
red, green, blue and purple light at specific wavelengths.
When electrons return to lower energy levels, they re-emit 21

photons with these same wavelengths.

Atomic Models:
• However, atoms are not continuously emitting light;
only when excited. Also, the emitted light from
excited atoms appears as distinct coloured lines.

• Each coloured line represents a single wavelength of

light, and the pattern of these lines is called an
emission spectrum or line spectrum. This line 22
spectrum is unique for each element.
 Atomic Models: Particle nature
How did Bohr come up with this model?

• Physicists Max Planck and Albert Einstein theorized that electromagnetic radiation not only behaves
like a wave, but also sometimes like particles called photons.
• The physicist Max Planck suggested that matter, at the atomic level, can absorb or emit only discrete
quantities of energy. Each of these specific quantities is called a quantum of energy. The energy of an
atom is quantized like a ladder.
• Planck studied the electromagnetic radiation emitted by heated objects, and he proposed that the
emitted electromagnetic radiation was "quantized" since the energy of light could only have values
given by the following equation: 

• As a consequence, the emitted electromagnetic radiation must have energies that are multiples of nhv.
Einstein used Planck's results to explain why a minimum frequency of light was required to eject
electrons from a metal surface in the photoelectric effect.Albert Einstein proposed the idea that light is
also quantized. It occurs as quanta of electromagnetic energy that have particle-like properties. These
particle-like “packets” of energy were later called photons. Light is emitted as photons of energy, and
light is absorbed as photons of energy.

• When something is quantized, it means that only specific values are allowed, such as when playing a
piano. Since each key of a piano is tuned to a specific note, only a certain set of notes—which
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correspond to frequencies of sound waves—can be produced. As long as your piano is properly tuned,
you can play an F or F sharp, but you can't play the note that is halfway between an F and F sharp.

https://www.britannica.com/
biography/Niels-Bohr/The-atomic-
bomb
The Bohr Brothers: Football’s
scholarly siblings
https://www.vavel.com/en/
international-football/
2018/02/19/881983-the-bohr-
brothers-how-niels-and-harald- 24
became-footballs-scholarly-
siblings.html
The Bohr Model of the Hydrogen Atom
Bohr’s Theory States:
• There are specific allowed energy levels (n) in which an
electron can move.
• The energy of an electron in each level is quantized.
• The larger the n value, the more energy an electron
possesses.
• Each energy level corresponds to an orbit, a circular path
in which the electron can move around the nucleus.
• An electron can travel in one of the allowed orbits
without loss of energy
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The Bohr Model of the Hydrogen Atom
• An electron can “jump” from one allowed orbit to
another. The jump cannot be gradual – it must occur
all at once.
• Only certain energies can be absorbed or emitted as
the electron changes orbits.
• When an electron occupies the lowest energy level,
the atom is said to be in the ground state.
• When an electron moves to a higher level it is said to
be in the excited state.

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Line Spectra

• The energy of the photon light emitted is equal to the energy

change in the atom: ΔEelectron = Ephoton
• It is also related to the frequency of the radiation by Planck’s
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equation: Ephoton = hf which leads to ΔEelectron = hf
The Bohr Model of the Hydrogen Atom

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The Bohr Model of the Hydrogen Atom

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The Bohr Model of the Hydrogen Atom
• The hydrogen atom gives out energy when an electron falls
from a higher to lower energy level.
• Hydrogen produces visible light when the electron falls to the
second energy level (n =2)
• The transition to n =1 energy level corresponds to a higher
energy change and are in the UV region of the spectrum
• The lines converge at higher energies because the energy
levels inside the atoms are closer together.
• When an electron is at the highest energy level n = ∞, it is no
longer in the atom and the atom has been ionized.

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Flame Tests

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The Planetary Model of the Hydrogen Atom
Adantages :
Explained why the hydrogen atom does not collapse
-Explained the line spectrum of hydrogen

• Limitations of the Bohr model of the atom:

1. Was only successful in explaining the line
spectrum of hydrogen or single-electron ions
2. Could not explain the line spectra for atoms that
had two or more electrons. However, the idea of
Bohr’s ideas of quantized energy levels would
prove to be a huge breakthrough in this field.
3. James Chadwick (1932) – Discovered the neutron 33
Summary of Atomic Models
Theory Model Analogy
John Dalton (1897)

J.J. Thomson
(1903)

Ernest Rutherford
(1911)

Niels Bohr (1913)

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TOK – Theory of Knowledge
• Richard Feynman: “If all of scientific knowledge were to
be destroyed and only one sentence passed on to the
next generation, I believe it is that all things are made of
atoms.” Are the models and theories which scientists
create accurate descriptions of the natural world, or are
they primarily useful interpretations for prediction,
explanation and control of the natural world?
• No subatomic particles can be (or will be) directly
observed. Which ways of knowing do we use to interpret
indirect evidence, gained through the use of technology?
Wave Nature
• de Broglie’s equation

• Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLd-6UytkIUainty

•
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