MODULE 1 Summary:

 Rutherford’s nuclear atomic model describes the atom as mostly empty space.
 Its mass is concentrated in the nucleus that consist of protons and neutrons. However it
could not explain the chemical properties of elements.
 Bohr’s atomic model describes the atom like a solar system, where the electron is found
only in specific circular paths, or orbits, around the nucleus.
 In the Bohr model, each electron carries a fixed amount of energy and does not lose
energy as long as it stays in its given orbit. The fixed energies that the electrons have are
called energy levels. An electron that has received enough energy can jump to a higher
energy level. When the electron returns to a lower energy level, energy is emitted in the
form of light.
 The Bohr model was later replaced by a model of the atom that showed that electrons
are not limited to fixed orbits around the nucleus.
 Through mathematical calculations, scientists explained that there is only a probability
that the electron can be found in a certain volume in space around the nucleus. This
volume or region of space around the nucleus where the electron is most likely to be
found is called an atomic orbital
 Schrodinger formulated a mathematical equation that describes the behavior of the
electron. The solution to the equation is used to calculate the probability of finding the
electron at a particular region in space around the nucleus.
 The quantum mechanical model of the atom describes the atom as having a nucleus at
the center around which the electrons move. This model describes a region in space
where the electron is most likely to be found.
 An electron is imagined to be a cloud of negative charge having a certain geometrical
shape. The electrons are arranged in principal or main energy levels that consist of one or
more sublevels.
 The way in which electrons are distributed in the different orbitals around the nucleus
of an atom is called the electron configuration. Filling of electrons start from lower
energy level to highest energy level