Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Atomic Structure: Urning Back Time - The Theory of Atoms
Atomic Structure: Urning Back Time - The Theory of Atoms
Atomic Structure: Urning Back Time - The Theory of Atoms
5. Atomic Structure
Democritus believed that there would be a point in time whereby no further division could take place, and he called the
resulting ‘fundamental’ units atoms.
In the 1800s, John Dalton proposed a more modern theory of atoms. Today, several experiments have been carried out
to verify to a high degree of certainty the true structure of atoms, and with the inception of Quantum Physics, electrons are
no longer viewed as merely particles but instead, possess a particle-wave duality nature.
Learning Outcomes
1. State the relative charges and approximate masses of the proton, neutron and electron.
2. Define proton (atomic) number, nucleon (mass) number and isotope.
3. Describe, with the aid of diagrams, the structure of simple atoms in terms of protons, neutrons (in the nucleus) and
electrons (arranged in shells).
4. Interpret and use symbols such as 126C.
5. Deduce the number of protons, neutrons and electrons in atoms and ions, given proton and nucleon numbers.
6. Define the term isotope.
7. Describe the formation of ions by electron loss of gain in order to obtain the electronic configuration of a noble gas.
1
Atomic Structure
The sub-atomic particles that make up most atoms are the protons, neutrons and electrons.
Electron Nucleus
Figure 1.1 Bohr model of an atom (not technically accurate but still widely
accepted)
Each sub-atomic particle has a relative mass and a relative charge as shown in the table below.
The nucleus is in the centre of the atom, surrounded by electrons orbiting at fixed distance
from the nucleus.
The orbits of the electrons are also known as shells, and each shell is given a number, n.
Almost all the mass of an atom is contained in its nucleus as the mass of the electrons is
negligible compared to the mass of the protons and neutrons.
An atom has the same number of protons and electrons, making it electrically neutral, i.e.,
the positive (+) charge of the protons will 'cancel out' the negative (-) charge of the electrons.
2
Atomic Structure
2
1
2
-particle source
Using the Bohr model previously described to explain these phenomena, it would look something like
Figure 1.3.
3
3
Atomic Structure
electron
+
neutron
proton
Figure 2.1 Deflection of sub-atomic particles in an electric field
Electrons are deflected towards the positively charged plate. They are much lighter compared to
protons and are deflected to a larger extent.
3. Atomic Structure
Checkpoint 1
1. What is the name, mass number, atomic number and neutron number of the following elements:
a)
1
b) H
c) 40Ca
4
Atomic Structure
Isotopes are atoms of the same element (or same number of protons) with different
number of neutrons, e.g., 35Cl (chlorine-35) and 37Cl (chlorine-37).
Isotopes have different physical properties but similar chemical properties, e.g. 1H2 has a
boiling point of -252.88 oC while 2H2 has a boiling point of -249.49 oC.
Checkpoint 2
1. Hydrogen has three isotopes, with nucleon numbers 1, 2 and 3. Complete the table below with
details of the structure of the three isotopes.
2. The particles present in four atoms are shown in the table below.
5
Atomic Structure
The arrangement of electrons in an atom in the different shells is known as the electronic
structure of an atom.
The following rules are followed during the filling of electrons into the shells:
(1) Each shell is numbered 1, 2, 3 and so on, going outwards from the nucleus.
(2) The shell nearer the nucleus is lower in energy level, and this is where electrons are first filled,
i.e., the shells are filled in order of increasing energy level.
(3) A maximum number of electrons can be accommodated in each shell. For the 1st 20 elements
in the Periodic Table, we can use the formula 2n2 (where n is shell/principal quantum number).
n = 1, first shell
closest to the nucleus
lowest energy level
always filled first
can hold a max of 2 electrons
n = 2, second shell
can hold a max of 8 electrons
n = 3, third shell
can hold a max of 18 electrons
Checkpoint 3
Draw the electronic structures for the atoms of the following elements:
a) Hydrogen [This is a worked example.]
Step 1: Determine the mass number and proton number from the Periodic Table. We see that
hydrogen, H, has a mass number of 1 and a proton number of 1.
Step 2: Determine the number of protons, neutrons and electrons. We see that H has 1 proton, 0
neutron and 1 electron.
Step 3: Draw the nucleus first. Because we are representing protons with the symbol p, we will
need a key to be included later.
1p
6
Atomic Structure
Step 4: Because we only have 1 electron, we only need to fill the 1st shell. Recall that the 1st shell
can take up to 2 electrons. Draw the 1st shell and place the electron on the circle.
Key
1p p: proton
: electron
b) Helium
c) Lithium
d) Carbon
e) Magnesium
f) Nitrogen
7
Atomic Structure
g) Neon
h) Argon
The shell which is furthest from the nucleus is called the outer shell or valence shell.
The electrons in the valence shell are known as valence electrons. Valence electrons are
involved in the formation of chemical bonds between atoms during a chemical reaction, i.e., the
valence electrons determine the chemical properties of an element.
8
Atomic Structure
Generally, we only draw these valence electrons outer electronic structure, or we call them
Lewis diagrams, e.g.,
Cl C
chlorine atom carbon atom
Figure 5.2.2 Outer electronic structures for chlorine and carbon
The electronic configuration refers to the numerical expression of the number of electrons in
each shell in an atom, e.g.,
Checkpoint 4
b) Helium
c) Lithium
d) Carbon
9
Atomic Structure
e) Magnesium
f) Nitrogen
g) Neon
h) Argon
A horizontal set of
elements is called
a Period. Periods
are numbered 1, 2,
3, etc. This is
Period 1.
6. Formation of Ions
Recall: An atom or group of atoms that has an electrical charge is called an ion.
10
Atomic Structure
Atoms lose or gain valence electrons to attain the stable electronic structure of a noble gas.In
doing so, they form ions, e.g., sodium chloride is made up of sodium cation and chloride anion.
Atoms also share valence electrons to attain the stable electronic structure of a noble gas. In
doing so, they form molecules, e.g., water is made up of oxygen and two hydrogen atoms.
Noble gases have a valence shell with 8 electrons (with the exception of Helium with 2 valence
electrons). We call this the noble gas configuration or octet configuration (see Figure 5.4.1).
Noble gases are extremely unreactive because of this octet configuration as it makes the noble
gas atoms very stable.
Electronic
Noble gas
configuration
Helium, He 2
Neon, Ne 2.8
Argon, Ar 2.8.8
Krypton, Kr 2.8.18.8
Metals tend to form cations by losing their valence electron(s) to attain the noble gas
configuration. It is more energetically favourable to lose 1 to 3 electrons, compared to gaining5
to 7 electrons to attain the noble gas configuration.
The positive charge arises because there are now more protons than electrons.
Number of protons (+) in an ion of Na+: 11 [Note: Protons are in the nucleus and not involved in
the chemical reaction]
Number of electrons (-) in an ion of Na+: 10
Overall charge =
Written as charge of
Group I metals lose one valence electron to form an ion with a charge of 1+, e.g., Na+.
11
Atomic Structure
Group II metals lose two valence electrons to form an ion with a charge of 2+, e.g., Mg2+.
Group III metals lose three valence electrons to form an ion with a charge of 3+, e.g., Al3+.
In doing so, the atoms of Groups I to III metals can attain the stable noble gas configuration.
Non-metals tend to form anions by gaining valence electrons to attain the noble gas
configuration. It is more energetically favourable to gain 1 to 3 electrons than to lose 5 to 7
electrons.
The negative charge arises because there are now more electrons than protons.
Number of protons (+) in an ion of Cl: 17 [Note: Protons are in the nucleus and not involved in
the chemical reaction]
Number of electrons (-) in an ion of Cl: 18
Overall charge =
Written as charge of
Group V non-metals gain three valence electron to form an ion with a charge of 3-, e.g., N3-.
Group VI non-metals gain two valence electrons to form an ion with a charge of 2-, e.g., O2-.
12
Atomic Structure
Group VII non-metals gain one valence electron to form an ion with a charge of 1-, e.g., Cl.
Checkpoint 5
1. Draw the full electronic structures for the atoms of the following elements, and write their
electronic configurations. Write the formula of the ion you would expect each element to form.
a) Be b) F
13
Atomic Structure
c) Mg d) S
2. Which of the following ions has the correct number of electrons, neutrons and protons shown?
B 25Mg2+ 10 13 12
12
C 2H+ 1 1 1
1
D 19F– 8 10 9
9
3. Which one of the following does not have the same number of electrons as an atom of argon?
A S2- B Cl
2+
C Ca D Al3+
4. Which particle has a different number of electron shells from the others?
A Al3+ B O2-
C Cl D Ne
If element Y is a noble gas, what will be the symbol for the ions formed by elements X and Z in
their compounds?
A X and Z+ B X2- and Z2+
C X and Z
+
D X2+ and Z2-
14