History and

Models of the
Atom
 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
 Nuclear Model
Ernest Rutherford discovered a huge flaw
in the previous concept of the atom during
his now famous gold foil experiment
 Rutherford

► Discovered the
Nucleus and the
Positive Protons
► Surmised atoms are
made of mostly
empty space
► Didn’t know about
the Neutrons
► Famous Gold Foil
Experiment
 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
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 (Atomic Mass)

 Number of protons + neutrons
 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
► Protonshave 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 =
 Neutrons = 14
 Atomic Number =
 Atomic Mass =
 Let’s Practice w/ nuclear symbol
notation
► NuclearSymbol notation
(no periodic table)
 Protons =
108
Ag
 Electrons =
 Neutrons =
47
 Atomic Number =
 Atomic Mass =
 Let’s Practice w/ isotopes
► use the periodic table


Protons =
Uranium-235
Electrons =
 Neutrons =
 Atomic Number =
 Atomic Mass =
 Let’s Practice with Ions
Use the periodic table

K
 Charge = 39 1+

 Protons =
 Electrons =
 Neutrons =
 Atomic Number =
 Atomic Mass =