2023/2024 TERM 2 RESL STUDENT NOTES

TEACHER’S NAME
SUBJECT
CLASS
LIST OF TOPICS COVERED
WEEK TOPIC

6 HTA

7 HTB

10

11

12

13 FTA

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WEEK 1 NOTES

Atomic structure and periodic table (I)

HISTORY OF THE ATOM
The word atom comes from a Greek word which something that
cannot be split. The scientists that contributed to the history of
atom are:
1.Democritus: suggested that all things are made of particles and
scientists still believe this.
2.John Dalton’s in 1805 proposed the atomic theory. Atoms of the
same are all alike. They combine to make compound.
3.JJ Thomson: in 1897 found the electron, a negatively charged
particle that flies round the nucleus.
4.Ernest Rutherford in 1911 discovered the nucleus of the atom
is made up of positively charged nucleus containing protons and
neutrons. OR nucleus with electrons surrounding the nucleus.

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5.Neils Bohr in 1913 suggested that electrons are found in the shells or
orbits around the nucleus.
6,James Chadwick in 1932 discovered that the existence of neutrons. A
partticle of equal mass with proton but carries no charge.
DALTON’S ATOMIC THEORY
1.All elements are made up of small indivisible particle called atoms.
2. Atoms can neither be created nor destroyed during the course of
chemical reaction.
3. Atoms of the same elements are exactly alike in every aspect and are
different from atoms of all other elements.
4.Atoms of different elements can combine in simple whole numbers ratio
to form compound.

MODIFICATION OF DALTON’S ATOMIC THEORY

1.Atom is made up of three main sub atomic particles called protons,
neutrons and electrons.
2.Atoms can be created and destroyed in nuclear reactions.

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3.Atoms of the same elements are alike in every aspect and differ from
atoms of other elements, the discovery of Isotopes contradicts the
statement e.g Chlorine for example has two isotopes
35 37
17Cl; and 17Cl
4.This statement is still acceptable for inorganic compounds which usually
contain few atoms per molecule not for organic compounds e.g carbon
forms very large organic compounds such as polymers like proteins , fats
and starch.
ATOMS
ATOM: is the smallest indivisible particle of an element, which can take
part in a chemical reactions.
ATOMIC STRUCTURE

Atoms contain three types of sub-atomic particles namely protons,

neutrons and electrons. An atom consists of a centrally placed nucleus
(that contains protons and neutrons) which is surrounded by a cloud of
electrons.
The proton and the neutron each have a mass of one. Protons are
positively charged while neutrons have no charge. The electrons are very
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light and negatively charged. The atom is electrically neutral because the
number of electrons revolving round the nucleus is equal to the number
of protons in the nucleus.
Properties of sub-atomic particles

Particle Mass Charge

Proton 1 unit +ve (positive)
Neutron 1 unit Neutral (no charge)
1
Electron /1840 unit -ve (negative)

ATOMIC NUMBER AND MASS NUMBER

The atomic number (Proton Number) of an element is the number of protons
present in the atomic nucleus of that element. It is a whole number which is
denoted by letter Z. It is also known as the Proton number. The atomic number of
an element determines the nature of the atom and also differentiates it from
atoms of all other elements. In the periodic table, elements are arranged in order
of their atomic number.

The mass number (Nucleon number) of an element is the sum of the

number of protons and neutrons in the atomic nucleus of the element
which is denoted by letter A. Therefore the number of neutrons in an
atom is calculated by simply subtracting the atomic number (Z) from the
mass number (A) , Where X represent the symbol of the element.
i.e. Number of neutrons = A- Z
A
X
z

e.g 2311 Na, 4020Ca, 3216S In the following elements, the

upper number represents the mass number while the lower
number represents the atomic number
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Due to the fact that the mass of the electrons in an atom is

negligible, the mass number is also the mass of the atom. The
atomic mass/mass number is also called nucleon number.
ATOMIC MASS NO = PROTON NO + NEUTRON NO

MASS NO= P + n

NEUTRON NO = ATOMIC MASS NO - PROTON NO

NOTE: (I) In a neutral atom, the no of proton is equal to the number of

electron e.g
40 36
23
11 Na, 20 Ca, 16 S
etc.
(II) For positively charged atom or cation, the number of electron is less
than the number of proton because it has lost an electron. e.g 2311 Na+,
40 2+
20Ca ,

(iii) For negatively charged atom or anion, the number of electron is

more than the number of proton because it has gained electron or
accepted electron e.g 3616S2- , 3616Cl-

Examples: Calculate the no of proton, electron and neutron in the following elements and ions.
40 40
Ca
20 Ca2+
20

No of proton = 20 No of proton = 20

No of electron=20 No of electron=18

No of neutron=40-20=20 No of neutron=40-20=20

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(ii) Copy and complete the table below as appropriate

Particle Number of Proton Number of electron No of neutron

1
1H 1 1 1-1=0
----------------- ------------------ -------------------------
27
13 10 27-13=14
13 Al3+ ------------------------- ----------------------- -------------------------
8 10 16-8= 8
16
8 O2- -------------------- ----------------------- ----------------------------

ISOTOPY AND RELATIVE ATOMIC MASS

Isotopes: are atoms of the same element with the same atomic
number but different mass numbers. This is due to differences in
the number of neutrons present in their respective atomic
nucleus because of different mass number.
Isotopy: is the occurrence or Phenomenon or existence of atoms
of the same element with the same atomic number but different
mass numbers.
Isotopes of an element have the same chemical properties
because both have the same number of electrons in their outer
shell but exhibit different physical properties.
Isotopes of an element are the Similar because they have the
same number of protons, electrons and atomic number.
Examples of common isotopes include:

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i. Oxygen: 168O; 178O

ii. Hydrogen: 11H; 21H; 31H
9 10 11
iii. Boron: 5B; 5B; 5B

iv. Carbon: 126C; 136C; 146C

v. Chlorine 3517Cl; 3717Cl
vi. Uranium 23592U; 23892U
Carbon-12 scale: is a scale that uses the 12C isotope as the
standard for comparing the atomic masses of other elements.
Relative Atomic Mass: The relative atomic mass of an element is
the number of times the average mass of an atom of the element
is heavier than one-twelfth of the mass of one atom of carbon-12
i.e. for an element X
Relative atomic mass = average mass of one atom of X
1
/12 mass of 1 atom of carbon-12
NOTE: The relative atomic mass of an element is the average mass of
isotopes of the element and it is not usually a whole number because of
the relative abundance of the isotopes (isotopic abundance), which must
be taken into consideration in calculating the relative atomic masses.

NOTE: The relative atomic mass of chlorine is not a whole number

because of isotopy.

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Example 1: Chlorine exhibits two isotopic forms 3517Cl and3717Cl

with relative abundance of 75% and 25% respectively.
Therefore the relative atomic mass of chlorine is calculated as
follows:
35 37
75% of 17 Cl + 25% of 17 Cl
= 75×35 25×37
100 100
= 26.25 + 9.25
= 35.5

Lithium isotopes 63Li and 73Li exist in the ratio 2:25. Calculate
Example 2:

the relative atomic mass of lithium.

Therefore the relative atomic mass of lithium is calculated as
follows: Total ratio = 2 + 25 = 27
6 7
3 Li + 3 Li
= 2×6 25×7
27 + 27
= 0.44 + 6.48

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= 6.92

Example 3: Consider the following table:

Relative abundance(%)
Atom
20
Ne
10 90.48

21
Ne
10 0.27

22
10 Ne 9.27

Use the information in the table to calculate the relative atomic mass

20 21 22
Ne
10 Ne
10 10Ne
Relative atomic mass= 90.48 X 20 + 0.27 X 21 + 9.27 X 22
100 100 100

18.096 + 0.0567 + 2.0394

RELATIVE ATOMIC MASS= 20.1921

Approximate = 20.2

The relative atomic mass of an element is determined with a Mass

Spectrometer. This instrument is also used to determine the
isotopic composition of elements as well as their relative
abundance.
RADIOACTIVE ISOTOPES

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Some isotopes are radioactive e.g Uranium 23592U; 23892U. The

nuclei of radioactive isotopes are unstable and give off
radiation due to tendency to release subatomic particles to
obtain stability. In medicine (e.g cobalt-60 is used in
radiotherapy treatment and uranium-236 is used as a
source of power in nuclear reaction). Radioactive isotopes
are also known as radioisotopes.

USES OF RADIOACTIVE ISOTOPES

Medical uses of radioactive isotopes.
-Treatment of cancer
-Measuring of flow of fluid around the body.
-Treatment for an overactive thyroid
-Location of tumours.
-Sterilising medical instruments.
Industrial uses of radioactive isotopes
-Measuring and controlling thickness of paper and metal foil.
-Measuring flow in pipelines.

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-Locating leakage
-Measuring engine wear.
Using electronic structures to illustrate isotopes of elements

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