When you visit a park, you will see a lot of things,

people, pets, benches of trees up to different cars.

You found a piece of shell along the seashore. You
smashed it with a rock until it turned into fine
powder..
ATOMIC STRUCTURE
Various philosophers and scientist contributed to the development of modern concepts of substance and atoms. Today, matter is
known to contain atoms that are composed of protons, electrons, and neutrons. These subatomic particles are found to contain
even smaller fundamental particles.
 The theory of the structure and behavior of atoms
has taken more than two millenia to evolve, from the
abstract musings of ancient Greek philosophers to
the high-tech experiments of modern scientists.
However, prior to the scientific revolution and the
development of the scientific method starting in the
16th century, ideas about the atom were mainly
speculative. It wasn't until the very end of the 19th
century that technology became advanced enough to
allow scientists a glimpse of the atom's constituent
parts: the electron, nucleus, proton, and neutron.
 THE GREEKS
HISTORY OF THE ATOM

• Not the history of atom, but the idea of

the atom

• In 400 B.C the Greeks tried to

understand matter (chemicals) and
broke them down into earth, wind, fire,
and air.

~
~
• Democritus and Leucippus Greek
philosophers
 EARLY GREEK
PHILOSOPHER

 Philosophers were great

thinkers, but not true
scientists.
• Thales of Miletus( 624-524BCE)- thought that water is
the fundamental substance (H2O). He was the first to
propose that everything is made of fundamental matter.

• Empedocles ( 490-430 BCE)- He proposed the four

elemental substance- Earth, air, water, and fire which can
mingle separate and reunite in different proportions to form
different kinds of matter.
THE GREEK PHILOSOPHER
DEMOCRITUS
Developed the “discontinuous” idea of
matter with his teacher, Leucippus.

If we keep splitting matter in half, we

eventually reach a particle that can not
be broken down further. Atomos is
Greek for “uncuttable” or “indivisible”.

The idea of an atom implies that matter

contains a lot of empty space!
• Leucippus(500-401 BCE) and Democritus(460-370
BCE)- The first who introduced the atomic theory of matter.
The theory was based on the following assumptions:

a) Matter is consist of very small invisible particle called

atoms, derived from the Greek word atomos, meaning
“uncuttable”.
b) Atoms differ in size and shape.
c) Atoms exist in an empty space, which he called void,
that separates them from each other. This space allows
atoms to move.
d) Atoms are in constant motion.
e) Observable properties, such as colour and taste , can be
explained by the diff. shapes and arrangements and
orientations of the atoms.

 Aristotle ( 384-322BCE)- famous and influential Greek

philosopher, who criticised the work of Democritus. He
stepulated that no void is existing and adopted and
developed the work of Empedocles idea about the four
substance with four qualities: hot, moist, cold, and dry. He
believed that one substance can be converted into another
by removal of the appropriate qualities.
 THE GREEK PHILOSOPHER
ARISTOTLE
Aristotle was uncomfortable with the idea that
matter contains so much empty space.

Believed that matter could be continuously

divided without end (the “continuous” idea of
matter).

There is no need for empty space.

There are no atoms. All matter is made of the

natural elements (earth, water, air, fire, and
aether, the heavenly substance)
 FOUR ELEMENT THEORY FIRE

Hot Dry

Aristotle’s and his four element theory

AIR EARTH

Aristotle (Greek, born 384 B.C.) moist cold

– Added the idea of “qualities” – heat, cold, dryness, moisture – as basic elements which
combined as shown in the diagram (previous page).
Hot + dry made fire; hot + wet made air, and so on.
WATER
Why weren’t Democritus’s ideas accepted?
(not in notes)

• Aristotle was a very famous Greek philosopher

who believed that matter could be divided into
smaller and smaller pieces forever. He held a
very strong influence on popular belief and his
views on this were accepted for two thousand
years.
 SOME EARLY IDEAS ON
MATTER
Anaxagoras (Greek, born 500 B.C.)
– Suggested every substance had its own kind of “seeds” that clustered together to make the
substance, much as our atoms cluster to make molecules.

Empedocles (Greek, born in Sicily, 490 B.C.)

– Suggested there were only four basic seeds – earth, air, fire, and water. The elementary
substances (atoms to us) combined in various ways to make everything.

Democritus (Thracian, born 470 B.C.)

– Actually proposed the word atom (indivisible) because he believed that all matter
consisted of such tiny units with voids between, an idea quite similar to our own beliefs.
It was rejected by Aristotle and thus lost for 2000 years.

Aristotle (Greek, born 384 B.C.)

– Added the idea of “qualities” – heat, cold, dryness, moisture – as basic elements which
combined as shown in the diagram (previous page).
Hot + dry made fire; hot + wet made air, and so on.
 RECAP
Greek Origins
The idea that all matter is made up of tiny, indivisible particles, or atoms, is believed to have originated
with the Greek philosopher Leucippus of Miletus and his student Democritus of Abdera in the 5th
century B.C. (The word atom comes from the Greek word atomos, which means “indivisible.”) These
thinkers held that, in addition to being too small to be seen, unchangeable, and indestructible, atoms
were also completely solid, with no internal structure, and came in an infinite variety of shapes and
sizes, which accounted for the different kinds of matter. Color, taste, and other intangible qualities were
also thought to be composed of atoms.
While the idea of the atom was supported by some later Greek philosophers, it was fiercely attacked by
others, including Aristotle, who argued against the existence of such particles. During the Middle Ages
in Europe, Roman Catholic theologians were heavily influenced by Aristotle's ideas, and so atomic
philosophy was largely dismissed for centuries. However, the Greeks' conception of the atom survived,
both in Aristotle's works (his arguments against) and in another classical work by the Roman author 
Lucretius, De rerum natura (“On the Nature of Things”), which was rediscovered in Europe at the start
of the Renaissance.
 CHEMISTRY IN THE MIDDLE
AGES:
a) Earliest form of Chemistry.
b) Derived from the French word acquemie, which refers to
mixing of juices and saps obtained from plants.
c) Associated with turning metals into gold and creating the ALCHEM
elixir of life (substance that was believed to prolong life or
render immortality.) Y
d) Influenced by Aristotles idea of converting one substance into
another by the addition or removal of appropriate qualities,
the alchemist attempted to transmute cheap metals into gold
by treating a base metals with a substance they called the
philosophers stone.
• The period of alchemy spanned about three centuries ( 1400-
1650). During this time, several alchemists proposed the
application of alchemy to medicine.
 changing one substance into another
transmutation
 to change or alter in form,
appearance, or nature and
 especially to a higher form. 

Philosopher’s Stone

COPPER GOLD
In ordinary chemical reactions, we cannot
transmute elements into different elements.
THE ALCHEMIST’S DREAM

COPPER “SILVER” “GOLD”

Zinc coated Brass = Copper + Zinc

 TIMELINE

Greeks
(Democratus ~450 BC)
Issac Newton
Discontinuous ALCHEMY (1642 - 1727)
theory of matter

400 BC 300 AD 1000 2000

Greeks
(Aristotle ~350 BC))
Continuous
theory of matter

American
Independence
(1776)
Alchemy was both an inquiry of nature and an early
philosophical and spiritual discipline that combined
chemistry, metal work, physics medicine astrology,
mysticism, spiritualism and art. Its three main goals were
to ---.

1. Find the “ elixir of life” which can bring wealth,

power, and immortality.
2. Find the so called” philosopher’s stone” which can
turn base metals into called (believe to be the purest
form of matter);

3. Discover the cosmological relationship of humans.

• Paracelsus (1493-1541)- introduced Man consisted of three elements
the use of metals and minerals to cure SALT represented the body
SULFUR the soul
illnesses MERCURY the spirit

• Despite of the failure to produce the elixir of life,

alchemists contributed significantly on the
development of chemistry. They studied and found
properties of matter that are known as chemical
properties. They invented apparatuses like reaction
vessels, alembic ( distillation apparatus), bain-marie
( water bath) and kerotakis (tubular metal container).
They studied also the process of distillation,
sublimation, fermentation, and calcination.

• The alchemist unsuccesfull efforts in attaining their

main objectives can be attributed to two major
problems.
• Thermometers were not yet developed.
• Use of different furnaces for conceivable use.
• Dis regard of mass, which is the fundamental
property of matter.
 17TH TO MID-19TH CENTURY:
THE RISE OF EXPERIMENTATION
• Sir Francis Bacon (1561-1626)- father of empiricism,
popularized inductive methodologies ( scientific method) in the
conduct the scientific inquiry.
• Empiricism- is a philosophy in which concepts and beliefs are
learned and justified through experience.

• Robert Boyle (1627-1629)- quantitatively studied the

compression and expansion of air, which led to the idea that air
was composed of particles he called corpuscles that are in
constant motion. He came up with the definition of an element,
which we still use today as “ any substance that cannot be
broken down into simpler substance.”
• Antonie-Laurent Lavoisier(1743-1691) performed
quantiative experiment that led to an operational definition of
an element that was written in his book “ Elements of
Chemistry”.
 CONTRIBUTIONS OF DALTON
• John Dalton (1766-1844)- father of modern physics,
He use the idea of the invisible atom to explain the laws
of chemical combination. He pictured out that atom is a
tiny , indestructible sphere with mass.

• Postulates of Daltons Theory

• Matter is made up of extremely small,
indestructible atoms.
• All atoms of a given element are identical in shape,
mass, and other properties.
• Atoms can combine with other atoms to form
compounds but remain uncharged during ordinary
chemical reactions.
• Atoms can combine in small whole number ratios
1:1, 1:2, 2:3 and so on.
• Daltons atomic theory sufficiently explains the
three laws of chemical combination.
• Law of Conservation of Mass states that when an
ordinary chemical reaction occurs, there is no
detectable change in the masses of the substance
involved before and after of the reaction.

• Law of Definite proportion states that a given

compound always contains the same elements in the
same percentage of the mass. When two elements
combine to form a given compound , they always do so
in fixed proportion.

• Law of multiple proportions states that when two

elements combine to form more than one compound,
the mass of one element that combines with fixed mass
of the other element is in a ratio of small whole
number such as 2:1, 1:1, 2:3 etc.
In 1803, the English school teacher and part-time
scientist, John Dalton published his first list of elements
when he printed his atomic theory and his early gas law
work. His original list showed only five
elements: hydrogen, oxygen, azote (nitrogen), carbon 
and sulfur, along with their atomic weights.
• Jons Jacob Berzelius (1779-1848)- one
of the founders of the modern chemistry,
suggested that the presently known atomic mass
of oxygen ( atomic mass= 16) should serve as
standard for comparison because oxygen
combines readily with many elements.
• ... He discovered three chemical elements:
cerium, thorium, and selenium, and devised the
modern method by which one or two letters are
used to symbolize the elements.

• Dmitry Mendeleev (1834-1907)- develop and

create the periodic table of elements. His table
provided the means of discovering new elements
with predicted atomic weights . Mendeleev left
spaces for these to undescovered elements.
 ATOMS AND ATOMIC STRUCTURE
ATOM NUCLEUS PROTON NEUTRON ELECTRON
 WHAT IS AN ATOM?
oThe smallest unit of an
element.

oConsists of a central
nucleus surrounded by
one or more electrons.
WHAT IS THE NUCLEUS?
oThe central part of an
atom.
oComposed of protons
and neutrons.
oContains most of an
atom's mass.
 WHAT IS A PROTON?

oPositively charged
particle.

oFound within an
atomic nucleus.
WHAT IS A NEUTRON?

o Uncharged particle.

oFound within an
atomic nucleus.
 WHAT IS AN ELECTRON?

oNegatively charged
particle.

oLocated in shells
that surround an
atom's nucleus.
 Mid-19th century to Present
• Electrons and Thomson’s Plum Pudding Model

• George Johnstone Stoney (1826-1911)

• William Crooks(1832-1919) – confirmed the idea
that matter has an electrical property. Crookes
demonstrated that cathode rays travel in a straight line
and produce light and heat when they strike certain
materials.
• J.J Thomson (1856-1940)- further experiment and
establish, disproved Dalton’s postulate on the
indivisibility of atoms.
• Robert Millikan (1868-1953)- determined the charge
of an electron through his oil-drop experiment. He
found it to be 1.60 x coulomb.
• With the discovery of the electrons, Thomson proposed a model of an atom that
describes its electrical neutrality. The model, known as plum pudding model or raisin
bread model, pictured the atoms as a positively charged sphere in which sphere in
which electrons are embedded.

Sphere of positive charge

plums

electrons