HISTORY OF ATOM and

ATOMIC STRUCTURE
Integrated Science 2

Ref: PSHS IS2 LGs 5.1 and 5.2.1

 WHAT IS AN ATOM?
 Fundamental building
blocks of matter
 The smallest unit of an
element
 Consists of a central
nucleus surrounded by one
or more electrons.
History of the Atom
Important Experiments Leading to
Atomic Theory
Early Ideas about the atom:
The Greek Concept (400 BC)

• a Greek philosopher and one of

the first “atomists”
• believed that all matter has these
small particles which are called
atoms that can be divided until
its pieces cannot be split into Democritus

smaller particles anymore

John Dalton (1766-1844)
Dalton’s Atomic Theory

• known as the “Founder of the

Modern Atomic Theory”
• he had experimental evidence to
support his theory
• Dalton had four major postulates
to his theory
John Dalton’s Atomic Theory

a. Elements are made of indivisible and indestructible

particles called atoms
b. The atoms of a certain element are identical
c. Different elements have different atoms
d. Compounds are formed by the joining of the atoms
of two or more elements
John Dalton also proposed the “Billiard Ball’ Model

• this theory proposed that matter

was composed of small, spherical
particles

• but evidence was later gathered

that matter was composed of even
smaller bits
Joseph John (J.J.) Thompson (1859-1940)
Cathode Ray Tube Experiment

• discovered electrons through his

research on cathode rays
• The discovery of the electron
disproved the part of Dalton's atomic
theory that assumed atoms were
indivisible
• proposed the plum pudding model for
the structure of the atom
Thompson’s model was said to resemble a popular English
dessert called Plum Pudding, and so his model was deemed
the “Plum Pudding Model”
Ernest Rutherford
Gold Foil Experiment

• In Rutherford’s experiment, he
discovered the nucleus by
bombarding thin gold foil with
the positively charged alpha (α)
rays
• proposed the “Nuclear Model”
for the atom’s structure
 OBSERVATIONS CONCLUSIONS

Most of the α- rays went The majority of the atom is mostly empty
through the gold foil space

Some α- rays were deflected There must be a positively charged particle

within the atom which occupies a very small
space

There was a much smaller The α- particles that bounced right back
portion of the α- particles must be traveling directly into the core that
bouncing right back was positively charged
Neils Bohr

• Danish scientist who improved Rutherford’s

model of the atom
• Discovered that electrons orbit or revolve
around the nucleus like how planets orbit the
Sun
• Electrons can jump between levels with
energy being added/released
• Proposed the “Solar System Model”
Erwin Schrödinger

• came up with the “Electron Cloud

Model”
• debunked the idea that electrons move
in a fixed orbit
• electrons are likely to be found in the
“cloud” around the nucleus
• there is a great probability of seeing
the electron where the cloud is most
dense; these dense regions are called
“electron orbitals”
 Properties of Subatomic Particles

Location of Particles
• Protons – In the nucleus
• Neutrons – In the nucleus
• Electrons – In the electron cloud outside the nucleus in energy
levels
Determining Atomic Number (Z) and Atomic Mass/Mass Number (A)

Note: if an atom is neutral (all elements in the periodic table have a neutral charge) then the
number of protons and electrons are equal
The number of neutrons in an atom is the difference between the mass
number and the atomic number, or (A-Z)

Example:
If a Boron atom has an atomic mass
of 11 and the atomic # is 5, then there
are (11-5=6) 6 neutrons

Note: The value of the three quantities (atomic #, # of neutrons, and mass #) are always positive
integers, or whole numbers.
How is a copper (Cu) atom different from that of gold’s (Au)?

Copper’s atomic number is 29, and since copper is

neutral (0 overall charge), this means that the protons
and electrons of copper are the same= 29

In determining the # of neutrons, round off the mass

number and subtract the atomic number.

Thus,

# of protons= 29
# of electrons= 29
# of neutrons= 35
Thus,

# of protons= 79
# of electrons= 79
# of neutrons= 117
Note: In the periodic table of elements, the notation usually is…
Thus,

# of protons= 20
# of electrons= 20
# of neutrons= 20
Practice Drill
use your periodic table in answering
Practice Drill (Answer Key)
What are ions?
An ion is a charged atom. It is charged because the number of electrons do not
equal the number of protons in the atom. An atom can acquire a positive charge
or a negative charge depending on whether the number of electrons in an atom
is greater or less then the number of protons in the atom.

Cation (+) – LOSS of one or

more ELECTRONS

Anion (-) – GAIN of one or

more ELECTRONS
 Anion (-)
has more electrons than protons

Cation (+)
has more protons than electrons
Practice Drill
use your periodic table in answering
Practice Drill (Answer Key)
 ISOTOPES, ISOTONES, and ISOBARS
To understand the difference among these terms, let us call atoms as nuclei.

Nuclei = specific type of atom

And let us not forget that atoms or nuclei have specific types and let us call them nuclides or
nuclear species

Nuclide = an atom with a particular number of protons and neutrons

To determine and differentiate each nuclide in the environment, we usually refer to their
chemical symbols, atomic numbers and mass numbers or the combined numbers of protons
and neutrons (nucleons).
ISOTOPES
Atoms (nuclide) of the same element with the same number
of protons but different numbers of neutrons
 Iso means Same, P stands for Proton
ISOBARS
Atoms (nuclide) of separate elements having the same
mass number but a different atomic number (protons)
Iso means Same, Baros means Weight
ISOTONES
Atoms (nuclide) of separate elements having the same
number of neutrons but a different atomic number (protons)
Iso means Same, N stands for Neutron

Example……

36
S, 3717Cl, 3818Ar, 3919K, and 4020Ca
16

are all isotones of 20 since they all contain 20 neutrons

a. Which elements are isotopes?
b. Which are isobars?
c. Which are isotones?
a. Which elements are isotopes?
b. Which are isobars?
c. Which are isotones?