Atomic Model (1808)
(1904)
Scientist/s involved in the study/experiment/model:
o First discovered by Greek philosophers named
Democritus and Leucippus.
o Proposed by John Dalton.
The contribution/s:
o Leucippus uses scientific reasoning and observation,
positing that the whole universe is made up of solid
atoms constantly moving through void, or empty
space.
o Democritus theorized that all material bodies are
made up of indivisibly small “atoms.”
o John Dalton hypothesized that the law of conservation
of mass and the law of definite proportions could be
explained using the idea of atoms and proposed that
all matter was composed of atoms, indivisible and
indestructible building blocks.
Nuclear Model (1911)
Scientist/s involved in the study/experiment/model:
o Proposed by physicist Ernest Rutherford.
o British physicist James Chadwick joined Rutherford.
The contribution/s:
o Ernest Rutherford postulated the nuclear structure of
the atom, discovered alpha and beta rays, and
proposed the laws of radioactive decay.
o James Chadwick, a former student of Rutherford, who
later becomes his co-researcher, discovered the other
type of particle in the nucleus – the neutron.
Plum-Pudding Model
Scientist/s involved in the study/experiment/model:
o Proposed by JJ Thomson, who had also discovered the
electron.
The contribution/s:
o Though defunct by modern standards, the Plum
Pudding Model represents an important step in the
development of atomic theory.
o Thomson realized that the accepted model of an atom
did not account for negatively or positively charged
particles. Therefore, he proposed a model of the atom
which he likened to plum pudding. The negative
electrons represented the raisins in the pudding and
Planetary Model (1913)
Scientist/s involved in the study/experiment/model:
o Proposed by Danish physicist, Niels Bohr.
The contribution/s:
o Neils Bohr proposed a model of the atom in which the
electron was able to occupy only certain orbits around
the nucleus. This model is patterned on the solar
system and is known as the planetary model. Each
orbit has an energy associated with it.
 Quantum Mechanical Model
(1926-presemt)
Scientist/s involved in the study/experiment/model:
o Proposed by Austrian-Irish physicist Erwin Schrödinger.
The contribution/s:
o Erwin Schrödinger showed that the quantization of the hydrogen atom's energy
levels that appeared in Niels Bohr's atomic model could be calculated from the
Schrödinger equation, which describes how the wave function of a quantum
mechanical system (in this case, a hydrogen atom's electron) evolves.
o He used mathematical equations to describe the likelihood of finding an electron
in a certain position. This atomic model is known as the quantum mechanical