Discovering the Atom

Learning Objectives

• Recognize the importance of John Dalton’s

atomic theory
• Compare the three fundamental laws
established by Dalton and other scientists to
support the atomic theory
• Describe how the structure of the atom
developed
• Describe how electrons are arranged in an
atom
What is the
world made of
How would you
describe matter
Matter

• Matter is anything that takes up space and has

mass.
• All matter is made of atoms
• Atoms are the building blocks of matter, sort of
how bricks are the building blocks of houses.
ATOMIC THEORY OF
MATTER
Dalton’s Atomic Theory

John Dalton (1766-1844)

In 1803, John Dalton, an
English school teacher and
meteorologist, proposed the
atomic theory of matter.

Dalton’s atomic theory was

the first complete attempt to
describe all matter in terms
of atoms and their
properties.
Dalton’s Atomic Theory

1. All matter is composed of tiny, indivisible

particles called atoms.
The yellow blobs in this image
are individual gold atoms, as
seen through an electron
microscope.

Note: Since Dalton did not have

the necessary instruments to
see or otherwise experiment on
individual atoms, he did not have
any insight into whether they
might have any internal
structure. The discovery of
subatomic particles has
shown that atoms can be
divided into smaller parts.
Dalton’s Atomic Theory
2. All atoms of a particular element are identical,
but the atoms of one element differ from the
atoms of any other element. Each element has
unique atoms.

Copper is an
element made up
of copper atoms
only.

Carbon is an
element made up
of carbon atoms
only.
Dalton’s Atomic Theory
2. All atoms of a particular element are identical,
but the atoms of one element differ from the
atoms of any other element. Each element has
unique atoms.

Note: Today, we still know this to be mostly

true. Atoms of the same element can
have different masses because the
number of neutrons can vary for different
isotopes of a given element. They will still
have the same number of protons, though,
because that is what identifies them as
being a particular element.
Dalton’s Atomic Theory
3. Atoms of different elements combine with each
other in certain whole-number proportions to form
compounds. For example, water (H2O) is
combination of any other element. Each element
has unique atoms.

Water
Dalton’s Atomic Theory
4. In a chemical reaction, atoms are arranged to
form new compounds; they are not created,
destroyed, nor changed into atoms of any other
element.

When sodium combines

with chlorine to make
salt, both the sodium
and chlorine atoms still
exist. They simply
rearrange to form a new
compound.
 What have we learned since
Dalton proposed his theory?

Dalton's atomic theory has been largely

accepted by the scientific community, with the
exception of three changes. We know now that
(1) an atom can be further sub-divided (because
they are made up of protons, neutrons and
electrons),
(2) all atoms of an element are not identical in
mass, and
(3) using nuclear fission and fusion techniques,
we can create or destroy atoms by changing
them into other atoms.
 THE THREE
FUNDAMENTAL LAWS
TO SUPPORT THE
ATOMIC THEORY
Law of Conservation of Mass
Law of Definite Proportions
Law of Multiple Proportions
 Law of Conservation of Mass

Mass is neither created nor

destroyed in a chemical reaction.
- there is no detectable change in
mass during an ordinary chemical
reaction

Outlined by Antoine Laurent Lavoisier

-father of modern chemistry
Law of Conservation of Mass
If reacting substances are made up of atoms,
and if the atoms in the different elements in
these substances are unique and cannot be
created nor destroyed but only rearranged,
then it follows that the total mass of the
products must equal the total mass of the
reactants.
Law of Definite Proportions

A given compound always

contains exactly the same
proportion of elements by mass.

Outlined by Joseph-Louis Proust

 Law of Definite Proportions

As an example, any sample of pure

water contains 11.19% hydrogen
and 88.81% oxygen by mass.

It does not matter where the sample of water

came from or how it was prepared. Its
composition, like that of every other compound,
is fixed.
Law of Definite Proportions
 Law of Multiple Proportions
The mass of one element that can combine with
a fixed mass of another element are in a ratio of
small whole numbers.
For example, in ferrous chloride (FeCl2), 56 atomic mass
unit (amu) of iron is combined with 72 amu of chlorine,
while in ferric chloride (FeCl3), 56 amu of iron is
combined with 105 amu of chlorine. Therefore, with the
fixed mass of iron, chlorine has a ratio of 2:3.
Fe Cl
FeCl2 1 2
FeCl3 1 3

Outlined by John Dalton

-father of modern chemistry
Law of Multiple Proportions

any two compounds formed from the same elements

can be described by the mass ratio of one element
to another
 Review

Which of the following statements regarding

Dalton’s atomic theory are still believed to be
true?
I. Elements are made of tiny particles called atoms.
II. All atoms of a given element are identical.
III. A given compound always has the same relative
numbers and types of atoms.
IV. Atoms are indestructible.
 Review

Did Dalton believe that atoms could be

created or destroyed?
According to Dalton’s theory, all atoms of the
same ____ are identical in size, mass, and
other properties.
What parts of the theory are not considered
valid anymore?
 Atomic
Structure
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
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
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 Model
Where did
they come
from?

• This surprised
Thomson,
because the
atoms of the gas
were uncharged.
Where had the
negative charges
come from?
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 concluded that the
negative charges came from
within the atom.

A particle smaller than an atom

had to exist.

The atom was divisible!

Thomson called the negatively

charged “corpuscles,” today
known as electrons.

Since the gas was known to be

neutral, having no charge, he
reasoned that there must be
positively charged particles in
the atom.

But he could never find them.

Thomson’s “Plum Pudding” Atom
Model
Thomson’s Atomic Model

Thomson believed that the electrons were

like plums embedded in a positively charged
“pudding,” thus it was called the “plum
pudding” model.
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.

Cathode Ray Tube | https://www.youtube.com/watch?

www.MyInterAcademy.com v=vXOeehVTcRA
 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
Rutherford’s Contribution to the
Atomic Theory

• The atom is mostly

empty space.
• The nucleus is a
small, dense core
with a positive
charge.
Gold Foil video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EdTw4I6L0U
Rutherford’s Atomic Model
 Bohr Model

• In 1913, the
Danish scientist
Niels Bohr
proposed an
improvement. In
his model, he
placed each
electron in a
specific energy
level.
Bohr Model

• According to Bohr’s
atomic model,
electrons move in
definite orbits around
the nucleus, much like
planets circle the sun.
These orbits, or
energy levels, are
located at certain
distances from the
nucleus.
 Structure of the Atom
Where are subatomic particles found?

Protons, neutrons and electrons are NOT evenly

distributed in an atom.

The protons and neutrons exist in a

dense core at the centre of the atom.
This is called the nucleus.

The electrons are spread out

around the edge of the atom.
They orbit the nucleus in
layers called shells.