Lesson 2

Defining the Atom

 Focus Question

What does an atom look like?

 New Vocabulary

atom
cathode ray
electron
nucleus
proton
neutron
 Review Vocabulary

model: a visual, verbal, and/or mathematical

explanation of data collected from many experiments
The Atom

• The smallest particle of an element

that retains the properties of the
element is called an atom.
• Imagine that you could increase the
size of an atom to make it as big as
an orange. At this scale, an orange
would be as big as Earth.
• An instrument called the scanning
tunneling microscope (STM)
allows individual atoms to be seen.
The Electron

The Cathode-Ray Tube

• When an electric charge is
applied, a ray of radiation,
called a cathode ray, travels
from the cathode to the
anode. It is called a cathode
ray.
• Cathode rays are a stream of
particles carrying a negative
charge. The particles
carrying a negative charge
are known as electrons.
 Mass and Charge of the Electron

Charge-to-Mass Ratio
• Cathode-ray experiments were used to
determine the ratio of an electron’s charge to
its mass.
• Results showed that the mass of the charged
particle was much less than that of a hydrogen
atom, the lightest known atom.
• Results showed that Dalton had been
incorrect; atoms were divisible into smaller
subatomic particles.
 Mass and Charge of the Electron

The Plum Pudding Model

• J. J. Thomson’s proposed model of the atom had:
• A spherical shape
• Uniformly distributed positive charge in which the
individual negatively charged electrons resided
 The Nucleus

Rutherford’s Experiment
• Rutherford studied how positively charged
alpha particles interacted with solid matter.
• By aiming the particles at a thin sheet of gold
foil, he expected the paths of the alpha
particles to be only slightly altered by a
collision with an electron.
• The experiment is illustrated on the next slide.
The Nucleus
 The Nucleus

• Although most of the alpha particles went

through the gold foil, a few of them bounced
back, some at large angles.
 The Nucleus
• Rutherford concluded that the plum pudding
model was incorrect because it could not explain
the results of the gold foil experiment.

• In Rutherford’s
nuclear model, the
atom is composed
of a dense,
positively charged
nucleus surrounded
by negative
electrons.
 The Nucleus

The Proton and the Neutron

• A proton is a subatomic particle carrying a
charge equal to but opposite that of an
electron.
• A neutron is a subatomic particle that has a
mass nearly equal to that of a proton, but
which carries no electric charge.
 Quiz
1. What is the smallest particle of matter that retains the
properties of the element called?

A atom CORRECT

B neutron

C electron

D nucleus
 Quiz
2. What tool was used to determine the charge of an
electron?

A plum pudding C silver pellets

B gold foil D cathode-ray tube

CORRECT
 Quiz

3. Which of the following is incorrect?

A Atoms are divisible into smaller subatomic particles.

B Almost all of an atom’s mass is contained in a tiny,

dense region in the center of the atom.

C Rutherford concluded that the plum

pudding model was correct. CORRECT

D Rutherford concluded that the nucleus contains

positively charged particles called protons.
 Quiz

4. Which of the following is correct about the atom?

A Its dense nucleus is C It is made up of two

negatively charged. subatomic particles.

B Its nucleus is composed D It is spherical.

of neutrons and
CORRECT
electrons.