Atomic Structure and Theory

Democritus 460 BC

 Greek Philosopher
 Suggested world was made of two things – empty
space and “atomos”
 Atomos – Greek word for uncuttable
 2 Main ideas
 Atoms are the smallest possible particle of matter
 There are different types of atoms for each material
2
John Dalton’s Atomic Theory
1804
1. All matter is made of atoms.
2. Atoms of one element are all the same.
3. Atoms cannot be broken down into smaller parts
4. Compounds form by combining atoms
Dalton’s Early Atomic Model
 “Billiard Ball” model
 he envisioned atoms as solid, hard spheres, like billiard(pool) balls, so he used
wooden balls to model them
J.J. Thomson

1897
Discovered the electron

He was the first scientist to show

the atom was made of even smaller
things
JJ Thomson

 Used the Cathode ray tube to discover electrons

 Thomson’s Experiment
Voltage source
- +

Vacuum tube

Metal Disks
 Thomson’s Experiment
Voltage source
- +
 Thomson’s Experiment
Voltage source
- +
 Thomson’s Experiment
Voltage source
- +

 Passing an electric current makes a

beam appear to move from the
negative to the positive end
 Thomson’s Experiment
Voltage source
- +

 Passing an electric current makes a

beam appear to move from the
negative to the positive end
 Thomson’s Experiment
Voltage source
- +

 Passing an electric current makes a

beam appear to move from the
negative to the positive end
 Thomson’s Experiment
Voltage source
- +

 Passing an electric current makes a

beam appear to move from the
negative to the positive end
 Thomson’s Experiment
Voltage source

By adding an electric field

 Thomson’s Experiment
Voltage source

-
 By adding an electric field
 Thomson’s Experiment
Voltage source

-
 By adding an electric field
 Thomson’s Experiment
Voltage source

-
 By adding an electric field
 Thomson’s Experiment
Voltage source

-
 By adding an electric field
 Thomson’s Experiment
Voltage source

-
 By adding an electric field
 Thomson’s Experiment
Voltage source
+

-
-
 Adding an electric field cause the beam to
move toward the positive plate.
 Thomson concluded the beam was made of
negative moving pieces.
Thomson’s “Plum Pudding” Atom Model
Democritus, Dalton, Thomson Video
Eugen Goldstein 1850-1930
Using a cathode ray tube he discovered
canal rays which are beams of positively
charged particles.
He is credited with the discovery of
protons in an atom.
Canal Rays discovery
Millikan’s Oil Drop Experiment
• Determined the charge on an electron
• Used Thomson’s charge to mass ratio to
calculate the mass of an electron

Millikan’s Oil Drop Millikan’s Oil Drop

Experiment Experiment – another video
 Ernest Rutherford - 1913

• discovered the
nucleus of a
gold atom with
his “gold foil”
experiment
Using J.J Thomson’s Plum Pudding atomic
model, Rutherford predicted the alpha
particles would pass straight though the gold
foil. That’s not what happened.
Gold Foil Experiment Results
most alpha particles go straight through the
gold foil
A few alpha particles are sharply deflected
Rutherford’s Conclusion
The atom is mostly
empty space.
There is a small,
dense center with a
positive charge.
Rutherford
discovered the
nucleus in atoms
Gold Foil video
Rutherford’s Contribution to
the Atomic Theory
The atom is
mostly empty
space.
The nucleus is a
small, dense core
with a positive
charge.
Rutherford’s Atomic Model
Structure of the Atom

 Atom – smallest particle of an element that can exist

alone
 Two regions of an atom
Nucleus
Center of atom
Protons and neutrons
Electron “cloud”
Area surrounding nucleus
containing electrons
Structure of the Atom
 Proton – Positive charge (+), 1 atomic mass unit (amu); found
in the nucleus
 amu -Approximate mass of a proton or a neutron
 Neutron – Neutral charge (0), 1 amu; found in the nucleus
 Electron – Negative charge (-), mass is VERY small
Counting Atoms
 Atomic Number
 Number of protons in nucleus
 The number of protons determines identity of the element!!

 Mass Number 
 Number of protons + neutrons
 Units are  g/mol
Counting Atoms

 Isotopes
 Atoms of the same element with varying
number of neutrons
 Different isotopes have different mass
numbers because the number of
neutrons is different
Composition of the atom video

Start at 3:25
Counting Atoms
 Nuclear Symbol Notation
Atoms
 Protons have a positive (+) charge and electrons
have a negative (-) charge

 In a neutral atom, the number of protons equals

the number of electrons, so the overall charge is
zero (0)

 Example/ Helium, with an atomic number of 2,

has 2 protons and 2 electrons when stable
Ions
 In a neutral atom
 Atomic number = # of protons = #of electrons

 Sometimes atoms will gain or lose electrons and form IONS

 Because an electron has a negative charge:
 When an atom GAINS electrons it becomes NEGATIVE
 When an atom LOSES electrons it becomes POSITIVE
Ions

Cation = a positive ion

Anion = a negative ion

Let’s Practice

 Aluminum (Al) (no periodic table)

 Protons = 13
 Electrons = 13
 Neutrons = 14
 Atomic Number = 13
 Mass Number = no. of p + no. of n
= 13 +14 =27
Let’s Practice w/ nuclear
symbol notation
 Nuclear Symbol notation (no periodic
table)
 Protons = 47
108
 Electrons

 Neutrons

 Atomic
= 47
= 108 -47 = 61 47 Ag
Number = 47
 Mass Number = 108
Let’s Practice w/ isotopes
 use the periodic table
 Protons = 92
 Electrons = 92 Uranium-235
 Neutrons = 235 – 92 = 143
 Atomic Number = 92
 Atomic Mass = 238.03
 Mass Number = 235
Let’s Practice with Ions
Use the periodic table
39
K
 Charge 1+
= 1+
 Protons = 19
 Electrons = 19-1 = 18
 Neutrons = 39 -19 = 20
 Atomic Number = 19
 Atomic Mass = 39.098
 MASS Number = 39