Unit 02 – Atomic Structure

By: Achini Shehara

 Elements and atoms
Every element has its own chemical symbol. The symbols are
often derived from Latin or Greek words.

Chemical elements contain only one type of atom.

An atom is the smallest part of an element that can take part

in a chemical change. Atoms are very small.
Inside the atom
The structure of an atom

Every atom has nearly all of its mass concentrated in a

tiny region in the centre of the atom called the nucleus.

The nucleus is made up of particles called nucleons.

There are two types of nucleon: protons and neutrons.

Atoms of different elements have different numbers of

protons.

Outside the nucleus, particles called electrons move

around in regions of space called orbitals
Atoms are tiny, but the nucleus of an atom is far tinier
still.

If the diameter of an atom were the size of a football

stadium, the nucleus would only be the size of a pea.

This means that most of the atom is empty space! Electrons

are even smaller than protons and neutrons.
We can deduce the electric charge of subatomic particles by
showing how beams of electrons, protons and neutrons
behave in electric fields.

If we fire a beam of electrons past electrically charged

plates, the electrons are deflected (bent) away from
the negative plate and towards the positive plate.

This shows us that the electrons are negatively charged.

A cathode-ray tube can be used to produce beams of

electrons
a The beam of electrons is deflected away from a negatively
charged plate and towards a positively charged plate.

b The electronbeam in a cathode-ray tube is deflected (bent)

by an electromagnetic field. The direction of the deflection
shows us that the electron is negatively charged.
A beam of protons is deflected away from a positively
charged area. This shows us that protons have a
positive charge.
In recent years, experiments have been carried out
with beams of electrons, protons and neutrons. The
results of these experiments show that:

■ a proton beam is deflected away from a positively

charged plate; as like charges repel, the protons must
have a positive charge

■ an electron beam is deflected towards a positively

charged plate; as unlike charges attract, the electrons
must have a negative charge

■ a beam of neutrons is not deflected; this is because

they are uncharged
Masses and charges: a summary
Proton number and nucleon number

The number of protons in the nucleus of an atom is called

the proton number (Z). It is also known as the atomic
number.

The Periodic Table of elements is arranged in order

of the proton numbers of the individual elements

The nucleon number (A) is the number of protons plus

neutrons in the nucleus of an atom. This is also known as
the mass number.
How many neutrons?

We can use the nucleon number and proton number to find

the number of neutrons in an atom

For example, an atom of aluminium has a nucleon number

of 27 and a proton number of 13. So an aluminium atom
has 27 – 13 = 14 neutrons.
Isotopes
All atoms of the same element have the same number of
protons. However, they may have different numbers of
neutrons. Atoms of the same element that have differing
numbers of neutrons are called isotopes.
We can write symbols for isotopes. We write the nucleon
number at the top left of the chemical symbol and
the proton number at the bottom left.
The symbol for the isotope of boron with 5 protons and
11 nucleons is written:
How many protons, neutrons and electrons?
In a neutral atom the number of positively charged protons
in the nucleus equals the number of negatively charged
electrons outside the nucleus. When an atom gains or loses
electrons, ions are formed, which are electrically charged.
Simple Electronic structure
The arrangement of electrons in an atom is called its
electronic structure or electronic configuration.

The electrons are arranged outside the nucleus in energy levels

or quantum shells.

These principal energy levels or principal quantum shells

(symbol n) are numbered according to how far they are from
the nucleus.

The lowest energy level, n = 1, is closest to the nucleus, the

energy level n = 2 is further out, and so on. The electrons
in quantum shells further away from the nucleus have
more energy and are held less tightly to the nucleus.
Each principal quantum shell can hold a maximum
number of electrons:

■■ shell 1 – up to 2 electrons
■■ shell 2 – up to 8 electrons
■■ shell 3 – up to 18 electrons
■■ shell 4 – up to 32 electrons.
Electronic configurations
Representing electronic configurations
Electronic configuration of potassium
Potassium has the electronic structure 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 4s1. The
outer electron goes into the 4s subshell rather than the 3d subshell
because the 4s is below the 3d in terms of its energy.
Filling the 3d subshell
After calcium, a new subshell becomes occupied. The next electron
goes into a 3d subshell rather than a 4p subshell.
So scandium has the electronic configuration [Ar] 3d1 4s2. This is
because electrons occupy the orbitals with the lowest energy – the
3d subshell is just above the 4s subshell but below the 4p subshell.
This begins a pattern of filling the 3d subshell ending with zinc. Zinc
has the electronic configuration [Ar] 3d10 4s2.
Chromium and copper
The electronic configurations of chromium and copperdo not follow
the expected pattern. Chromium has the electronic configuration [Ar]
3d5 4s1 (rather than the expected [Ar] 3d4 4s2). Copper has the
electronic configuration [Ar] 3d10 4s1 (rather than the expected [Ar]
3d9 4s2). You will have to learn that these two elements are exceptions
to the pattern.
Filling the orbitals

A useful way of representing electronic configurations is a

diagram that places electrons in boxes.

■■ Each box represents an atomic orbital.

■■ The boxes (orbitals) can be arranged in order of increasing
energy from bottom to top.
■■ An electron is represented by an arrow.
■■ The direction of the arrow represents the ‘spin’ of the
electron. (We imagine an electron rotating around its own
axis either in a clockwise or anticlockwise direction.)
■■ When there are two electrons in an orbital, the ‘spins’ of
the electrons are opposite, so the two arrows in this box point
in opposite directions.
Boron
Electronic configuration of ions
Patterns in ionisation energies in the Periodic Table
Patterns across a period
The graph shows how the first ionisation energy, ΔHi1,
changes across the first two periods. We can explain the
form of the graph mainly by referring to the factors that
influence ionisation energies
1. There is a general increase in ΔHi1 across a period.

This applies to Period 1 (hydrogen and helium), Period 2

(lithium to neon) and also to other periods.
As you go across a period the nuclear charge increases. But the
electron removed comes from the same shell.

So, the force of attraction between the positive nucleus and

the outer negative electrons increases across the
period because:

i the nuclear charge increases

ii the distance between the nucleus and the outer electron
remains reasonably constant
iii the shielding by inner shells remains reasonably constant.
2. There is a rapid decrease in ionisation energy between the last
element in one period and the first element in the next period.

The ΔHi1 for lithium is much smaller than the ΔHi1 for helium.
Helium has two electrons.
These are in the first quantum shell. But lithium has three
electrons. The third electron must go into the next quantum shell
further away from the nucleus.

So,the force of attraction between the positive nucleus and

the outer negative electrons decreases because:

i the distance between the nucleus and the outer

electron increases
ii the shielding by inner shells increases
iii these two factors outweigh the increased nuclear
charge
3. There is a slight decrease in ΔHi1 between beryllium and
boron. Although boron has one more proton than beryllium,
there is a slight decrease in ΔHi1 on removal of the outer
electron. Beryllium has the electronic structure 1s2 2s2 and
boron has the electronic structure 1s2 2s2 2p1.

The fifth electron in boron must be in the 2p subshell, which is

slightly further away from the nucleus than the 2s subshell.
There is less attraction between the fifth electron in boron and
the nucleus because:

i the distance between the nucleus and the outer electron

increases slightly
ii the shielding by inner shells increases slightly
iii these two factors outweigh the increased nuclear charge.
4. There is a slight decrease in ΔHi1 between nitrogen and
oxygen. Oxygen has one more proton than nitrogen and
the electron removed is in the same 2p subshell. So, you
might think that ΔHi1 would increase.

However, the spin-pairing of the electrons plays a part

here. If you look back at the graph, you will see that the
electron removed from the nitrogen is from an orbital that
contains an unpaired electron.

The electron removed from the oxygen is from the orbital

that contains a pair of electrons. The extra repulsion
between the pair of electrons in this orbital results in less
energy being needed to remove an electron. So, ΔHi1 for
oxygen is lower, because of spin-pair repulsion.
Patterns down a group

The first ionisation energy decreases as you go down a

group in the Periodic Table. For example, in Group 1
the values of ΔHi1 are:

■■ Li = 519 kJ mol–1
■■ Na = 494 kJ mol–1
■■ K = 418 kJ mol–1
■■ Rb = 403 kJ mol–1
As you go down the group, the outer electron removed is
from the same type of orbital but from a successively higher
principal quantum level – 2s from lithium, 3s for sodium and
4s for potassium. Although the nuclear charge is increasing
down the group there is less attraction between the outer
electron and the nucleus because:

1 the distance between the nucleus and the outer electron

increases
2 the shielding by complete inner shells increases
3 these two factors outweigh the increased nuclear charge