Atoms and Their

Structure

History of the Atom

Original idea (400 B.C.) came from
Democritus, a Greek philosopher
Democritus expressed the belief that all
matter is composed of very small, indivisible
particles, which he named atomos.

Whos Next?

John Dalton (17661844), an English

school teacher and
chemist, studied
the results of
experiments by
other scientists.

Daltons Atomic Theory

John Dalton proposed his atomic theory
of matter in 1803.

Although his theory has been modified

slightly to accommodate new

discoveries, Daltons theory was so
insightful that it has remained
essentially intact up to the present time.

Daltons Atomic Theory

1. All matter is made of tiny indivisible

particles called atoms.

2. Atoms of the same element are
identical; those of different atoms are
different.

Daltons Atomic Theory, cont.

3. Atoms of different elements combine in

whole number ratios to form

compounds
4. Chemical reactions involve the
rearrangement of atoms. No new atoms
are created or destroyed.

Parts of the Atom

Because of Daltons atomic theory,
most scientists in the 1800s believed
that the atom was like a tiny solid ball
that could not be broken up into parts.
In 1897, a British physicist,
J.J. Thomson, discovered that this
solid-ball model was not accurate.

Parts of the Atom

Thomsons experiments used a cathode

ray tube.

It is a vacuum tube - all the air has been

pumped out.

Thomsons Experiment

Voltage source

Vacuum tube
Metal Disks

Thomsons Experiment

Voltage source

At each end of the tube is a metal

piece called an electrode, which is
connected through the glass to a
metal terminal outside the tube.

Thomsons Experiment

Voltage source

When the electrodes are charged, rays

travel in the tube from the negative
electrode, which is the cathode, to the
positive electrode, the anode.

Thomsons Experiment

Voltage source

Because these rays originate at the

cathode, they are called cathode rays.

Thomsons Experiment

Voltage source

Thomsons Experiment

Voltage source

Thomsons Experiment

Voltage source

Thomsons Experiment

Voltage source

Thomsons Experiment
Voltage source
+

By adding an electric field,

Thomsons Experiment
Voltage source
+

Thomsons Experiment
Voltage source
+

Thomson found that the rays bent

toward a positively charged plate and
away from a negatively charged plate.

Thomsons Experiment
Voltage source
+

He knew that objects with like charges

repel each other, and objects with unlike
charges attract each other.

Thomsons Experiment
Voltage source
+

By adding an electric field he found that

the moving rays were negative.

Thomsons Experiment
Voltage source
+

J.J. Thomson concluded that cathode rays

are made up of invisible, negatively
charged particles referred to as electrons.

Cathode Ray Tube

Thomsons Model

From Thomsons
experiments,
scientists had to
conclude that atoms
were not just neutral
spheres, but
somehow were
composed of
electrically charged
particles.

Thomsons Model

Sketch
Thomsons
model of the
atom in your
notes.

Thomsons Model
Matter is not negatively charged, so
atoms cant be negatively charged
either.
If atoms contained extremely light,
negatively charged particles, then they
must also contain positively charged
particles probably with a much
greater mass than electrons.

Thomsons Model

J.J. Thomson said

the atom was like
plum pudding, a
popular English
dessert.

Millikans Oil Drop Experiment

R.A. Millikan found the charge of an

electron to be -1.60 x 10-19 Coulombs in
his famous oil drop experiment.

The Proton

In 1886, scientists discovered that a

cathode-ray tube emitted rays not only
from the cathode but also from the
positively charged anode.

Years later, scientists determined that

the rays were composed of positively
charged subatomic particles called
protons.

The Proton

At this point, it seemed that atoms were

made up of equal numbers of electrons
and protons.

Ernest Rutherford

In 1909, a team of scientists

led by Ernest Rutherford in
England carried out the first
of several important
experiments that revealed
an arrangement far different
from the plum pudding
model of the atom and
discovered the nucleus.

Rutherfords Experiment

The experimenters set up a leadshielded box containing radioactive

polonium, which emitted a beam of
positively charged subatomic particles
through a small hole.

Rutherfords Experiment

The sheet of gold foil was surrounded

by a screen coated with zinc sulfide,
which glows when struck by the
positively charged particles of the
beam.

Lead
block

Polonium

Florescent
Screen

Gold Foil

What Rutherford Expected

The alpha particles to pass through

without changing direction very much.

Because he thought the mass was

evenly distributed in the atom,

the alpha particles

should go straight
through.

What Rutherford Observed

How Rutherford Explained It

To explain the results of the experiment,
Rutherfords team proposed a new
model of the atom.
Because most of the particles
passed through the foil, they
concluded that the atom is
nearly all empty space.

How Rutherford Explained It

Alpha particles are deflected by the

nucleus if they get close enough it.

How Rutherford Explained It

Because so few particles were deflected,
they proposed that the atom has a small,
dense, positively charged central core,
called a nucleus.
Most of the atoms mass is located in the
nucleus.

The Nuclear Model of the Atom

Sketch Rutherfords model of the atom

in your notes.

Isotopes

In 1910, J.J. Thomson discovered that

neon consisted of atoms of two different
masses.

Isotopes
Carbon-12 and
carbon-14 are
isotopes of one
another.
They are the
same element
with different
masses.

12

14

12

C
6

Isotopes
Atoms of an element that are
chemically alike but differ in mass are
called isotopes of the element.
Because of the discovery of isotopes,
scientists hypothesized that atoms
contained still a third type of particle
that explained these differences in
mass.

The Neutron

Isotopes of an element differ in the

number of the subatomic particle called
neutrons.

The Neutron
Calculations showed that the neutron
should have a mass equal to that of a
proton but no electrical charge.
The existence of this neutral particle,
called a neutron, was confirmed in the
early 1930s.
James Chadwick is given credit for
discovering the neutron.

Naming Isotopes

Put the mass number after the symbol

of the element.
Carbon 12.000000 amu
C-12
Carbon

14.003242 amu

C-14

Lead

209.98418 amu

Pb-210

Lead

211.99188 amu

Pb-212

Modern View of the Atom

The atom has two regions and is
3-dimensional.
The nucleus is at the center and
contains the protons and neutrons.

Modern View of the Atom

The electron
cloud is the
region where you
might find an
electron and most
of the volume of
an atom.

Model of Atoms

Subatomic Particles
Name

Symbol Charge

Relative
mass

Electron

e-

-1

1/2000

Proton

p+

+1

Neutron

n0

Atomic Number
The atomic number (Z) of an element
is the number of protons in the nucleus
of an atom of that element.
The number of protons determines
identity of an element, as well as many
of its chemical and physical properties.

Atomic Number
Because atoms have no overall
electrical charge, an atom must have as
many electrons as there are protons in
its nucleus.
Therefore, the atomic number of an
element also tells the number of
electrons in a neutral atom of that
element.

Masses
The mass of a neutron is almost the
same as the mass of a proton.
The sum of the protons and neutrons in
the nucleus is the mass number of that
particular atom.
The mass number (A) is the atomic
mass rounded to a whole number.

SYMBOLS

108

Ag
47

The smaller number is the atomic

number. The atomic number equals the
number of protons and the number of
electrons in neutral atoms.

108

Ag
47

The larger number is the mass number.

The mass number equals the number of
protons PLUS the number of neutrons.
mass # - atomic # = # neutrons

108

Ag
47

Silver-108 has ____

47 protons,
47 electrons, and _____
61 neutrons.
____

Model of a Hydrogen Atom

one proton,
Hydrogen has _____
one
zero
_____ electron, and
_____
neutrons.

Model of a Helium Atom

Helium has _____

two protons,
two electrons, and _____
two neutrons.
_____

Model of a Boron Atom

5 p+
6 no

Boron has _____

five protons, _____
five
six neutrons.
electrons and _____

Model of a Carbon Atom

six protons, _____

six
Carbon has _____
six neutrons.
electrons and _____

Isotopes

Remember, isotopes of an element have

different mass numbers because they
have different numbers of neutrons, but
they all have the same atomic number.

Isotopes
Subtract the atomic number from the
mass number to determine the number
of neutrons.
How many neutrons are in each lithium
isotope below?
4 neutrons

3
neutrons

5
neutrons

Information in the Periodic Table

The average atomic mass is the

weighted average mass of all the
naturally occurring isotopes of that
element.

Average Atomic Mass

The average atomic mass of the

element is the sum of the mass
contributions of each isotope.

You are NOT responsible for knowing

how to calculate average atomic mass,
although a detailed example follows.

Calculating Atomic Mass

Calculating Atomic Mass

Copper exists as a mixture of two
isotopes.
The lighter isotope (Cu-63), with 29
protons and 34 neutrons, makes up
69.17% of copper atoms.
The heavier isotope (Cu-65), with 29
protons and 36 neutrons, constitutes
the remaining 30.83% of copper atoms.

Calculating Atomic Mass

To determine the average atomic mass,

first calculate the contribution of each
isotope to the average atomic mass,
being sure to convert each percent to a
fractional abundance.

Calculating Atomic Mass

Mass contribution = mass of isotope x
abundance of isotope
For Cu-63:
Mass contribution = 62.930 amu x 0.6917 =
43.529 amu
For Cu-65:
Mass contribution = 64.928 amu x 0.3083 =
20.017 amu

Calculating Atomic Mass

The average atomic mass of the element

is the sum of the mass contributions of
each isotope.

Atomic mass Cu = mass contribution Cu-63 +

mass contribution Cu-65

Atomic mass Cu = 43.529 + 20.017 = 63.546 amu

SYMBOLS

Write the complete symbol for sodium.

23
Na
11

Round
mass
to a whole
To writethe
theatomic
complete
symbol
for an element,
number
andnumber
place the
the left
the atomic
will number
go in theinlower
upper
corner
of thesymbol.
element symbol.
cornerleft
of the
element

Write the complete symbol for magnesium-26.

26
Mg
12

Although the atomic mass rounds to 24, the

mass
number
was given
(26) which
a
To write
the complete
symbol
for anmeans
element,
different
isotope
waswill
chosen
on purpose.
the atomic
number
go in the
lower left
Place
this
(26) symbol.
in the upper left
corner
of number
the element
corner of the element symbol.

Symbols Example
19
9

Determine the complete symbol for a

fluorine atom with a mass number of 19 .

Symbols Example
1) Determine the following for the
fluorine atom depicted below.
19
a) number of protons (9)
b) number of neutrons (10)
c) number of electrons (9)
d) atomic number (9)
e) mass number (19)

F
9

Symbols Example
80
35

Br

Determine the complete symbol for a

bromine atom with a mass number of
80.

Symbols Problem
2) Determine the following for the
bromine atom depicted below.
80
a) number of protons (35)
b) number of neutrons (45)
c) number of electrons (35)
d) atomic number (35)
e) mass number (80)

Br
35

Symbols Problem
3) If an element has an atomic number of
34 and a mass number of 78 what is
the
a) number of protons (34)

b) number of neutrons (44)

c) number of electrons (34)
d) complete symbol

78
34

Se

Symbols Problem
4) If an element has 91 protons and 140
neutrons what is the
a) atomic number (91)
b) mass number (231)
c) number of electrons (91)
d) complete symbol

231
91

Pa

Symbols Problem
5) If an element has 78 electrons and
117 neutrons what is the
a) atomic number (78)
b) mass number (195)
c) number of protons
d) complete symbol

(78)

195
78

Pt

EXIT TICKET
PLEASE GET OUT A SHEET OF PAPER.
PUT YOUR NAME AT THE TOP.
ON THE FIRST LINE WRITE
EXIT TICKET SUBATOMIC PARTICLES
AND TODAYS DATE

Fill in the chart below.

Element

Potassium
Argon

# of
# of
# of
Protons Neutrons Electrons

Mass
#

Atomic
#

19

20

19

39

19

18

22

18

40

18

Fill in the chart below. (When numbers are

provided, the isotope represented by each
space may NOT be the most common
isotope or the one closest in atomic mass
to the value on the periodic table.)
table.

Element
Chlorine

Oxygen

# of
# of
# of
Protons Neutrons Electrons

Mass
#

Atomic
#

17

20

17

37

17

10

18

End of Day 1