Atomic Structure

INTRODUCTION 1 OF 2
• Atom - smallest unit of matter that can exist on its own
• Molecule - chemical combination of two or more atoms
• Ion - an electrically charged particle
• Element - substance which contains only one type of atom

• An atom contains THREE subatomic particles:- protons, neutrons

and electrons

• Protons are positively charged, electrons are negatively charged and

neutrons have NO charge

• Protons and neutrons are found in the nucleus of an atom, while the
electrons orbit the nucleus in shells
 INTRODUCTION 2 OF 2

● The term relative charge just signifies whether

the particle is positive, negative or neutral
● The term relative mass uses a comparison and
since both protons and neutrons have the
same relative mass, they weigh the same but
an electron weighs 1840 times LESS than
either a proton OR a neutron!
CONFIDENCE BUILDER
• 1. Protons and neutrons are found :-
A always outside the nucleus
B sometimes outside the nucleus
C always inside the nucleus
D sometimes inside the nucleus
• 2. Protons are positively charged, electrons are neutral and
neutrons are negatively charged. True or False?
• 3 Ions are neutral. True or False?
• 4. Electrons have a relative mass of :
A0 B -1 C 1/1840 D 1840/1
CHEMICAL NOTATION OF ELEMENTS
● X represents the symbol of the element
● b represents the atomic number (number of protons in the
nucleus of an atom)
● a represents the mass number (the sum of protons and neutrons)
● c represents the charge of the particle
● d represents the number of atoms for the entity

● In the example to the left ● ALWAYS REMEMBER

● The element is helium THIS!!!
● In an atom, the number of
● Its atomic number is 2 protons is ALWAYS equal to
● Its mass number is 4 the number of electrons
● ● All atoms have a charge of
It has no charge ZERO!
● It contains 1 atom for the entity
PERIODIC TABLE (1st twenty elements)
CONFIDENCE BUILDER
Ions 1 of 2

● Atoms have the same number of protons as electrons

● Ions do NOT have the same number of protons as electrons
● If an ion is positively charged, it is called a CATION. Cations have
MORE protons than electrons.
● If the ion is negatively charged, it is called ANION. Anions have
MORE electrons than protons.
● Note the number of protons in an atom and the corresponding
ion remains the same, it is the number of electrons that change!
CONFIDENCE BUILDER
CONFIDENCE BUILDER
 Ions 2 of 2
● All ions have a CHARGE. The charge is made up of a value and a sign.
● The value is the difference between the number of protons and the
number of electrons
● The sign is POSITIVE if there are more protons than electrons
● The sign is NEGATIVE if there are more electrons than protons
CONFIDENCE BUILDER
CONFIDENCE BUILDER
LET’S PUT IT ALL TOGETHER
 ELECTRONIC CONFIGURATION 1 OF 2
• Electrons exist in shells which orbit the nucleus of an atom
• Each shell can only hold a specific number of electrons
• The first shell can hold a maximum of 2 electrons
• The second shell can hold a maximum of 8 electrons
• The third shell can hold a maximum of 18 electrons,
HOWEVER, after the first 8 electrons are in the third shell,
any more electrons UP TO TWO, enter the FOURTH shell.
Any more electrons reenter the third shell and fill up to 18
ELECTRONIC CONFIGURATION 2 OF 2
DIAGRAM OF AN ATOM
PRACTICE DRAWING

• MAKE SURE YOU CAN DO BOTH ITEMS

LISTED BELOW

• An atom of ANY of the first twenty

elements in the Periodic Table

• An ion (positive or negative) of an

element of the first twenty elements
CASE STUDY
• 1. How many TYPES of isotopes are there?

• 2. LIST the different types of isotopes.

• 3. The isotope 12C is used for

A radiocarbon dating B hairdressing
C generation of energy D none of the options given

• 4. What does radiocarbon dating mean?

• 5. Can radioisotopes be dangerous? If so, why?

Relative atomic mass (Ar)
• It is the ratio of the weighted average mass of
all of the isotopes in a naturally occurring
sample of an element to one unified atomic
mass unit
• One atomic mass unit is 1/12 of the atomic
mass of a carbon-12 atom
Calculation of relative atomic mass
• The element chlorine has two • The element neon has three
isotopes: 35Cl and 37Cl stable isotopes: 20Ne, 21Ne and
• 35Cl has a relative abundance of
22
Ne
75%, while 37Cl has a relative • 20Ne has a relative abundance of
abundance of 25% 90.48%, 21Ne (0.27%) and 22Ne
• The Ar of Cl (9.25%)
= (35 x 75) + (37 x 25) = 35.5 • The Ar of Ne
100 = (20x90.48) + (21x0.27) +
(22x9.25) / 100
= 20.2
CONFIDENCE BUILDER
 PRACTICE QUESTIONS

7. Give the electronic configurations of the following

atoms/ions
a) K+ b) O2- c) Si
8. Isotopes are said to have the same chemical
properties. What TWO things about isotopes are the
same AND which one of those things would be most
likely responsible for chemical properties?
YOU DID IT! ATOMIC STRUCTURE DONE!!
HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THIS TOPIC?
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B E
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C F
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type questions still can give me get help too! PLEASE NOT THIS
trouble though. TOPIC!