ATOMIC

STRUCTURE

High Yield Notes

 NOTES
NOTES
ATOMIC STRUCTURE
SUB ATOMIC PARTICLES OF
ATOM AND THEIR
DISCOVERIES
Discovery of Electron Procedure:
Current doesn't flow at ordinary
(Cathode Rays)
pressure even at high voltage of
2
5000 volts.
Apparatus: When the pressure inside the
A gas discharge tube is fitted tube is reduced and high
with two electrodes acting as voltage of 5000-10000 volts is
cathode and anode. applied, electric discharge takes
The tube is filled with air, gas or place through gas producing a
vapors of a substance at any uniform glow inside the tube.
desired pressure. When the pressure is reduced to
The electrodes are connected to 0.01 torr, the original glow
high source of voltage. disappears.
The exact voltage required Some rays are produced which
depends upon the length of produces fluorescence opposite
tube and the pressure inside to the cathode and are cathode
the tube. rays.
The tube is attached to vacuum The color of fluorescence on the
pump by means of small pipe wall of glass tube depends upon
so the conduction of electricity the composition of glass.
may be study under any desired
value of pressure.

High Voltage Source

Anode
Cathode
Cathode Rays Discharge Tube

To vaccum

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 NOTES Properties of Cathode Rays They can drive a small paddle
placed in its path which shows
that they are material particles
J.Perrin (1895) showed that
and possess momentum also.
these rays are deflected towards
They produce X-ray when they
magnetic field.
strike anode, particularly with
J.J Thomson (1897) showed that
large atomic mass.
these rays are deflected towards
They produce heat when they
anode showing these are
fall on platinum foil and foils
negatively charged.
begins to glow.
They produce greenish
They can ionize gases.
fluorescence on striking the
They can cause chemical
walls of glass tube.
because they have reducing
Hittorf( 1869) showed that these
effect. change in the material on
rays cast a shadow when an
which it falls.
opaque object is placed in their
J.J Thomson determined the
path. This proves that they travel
e/m ratio of electrons which is
in straight line perpendicular to
equal to 1.7588 x 10 ¹¹ C/kg.
surface of cathode.
2

Light Paddle
Wheel
Cathode rays
Cathode Anode

Cathode Rays can Relate a High Paddle Wheel Placed in their Path

Cathode

Anode Shadow of
(Metal Cross) Metal Cross

Cathode Rays Cast Shadows of the Objects Placed in their Path

Cathode Anode

Electric Field
Cathode Rays
Effects of Electric Field on Cathode Rays

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 NOTES Properties of Cathode Rays They can drive a small paddle
placed in its path which shows
that they are material particles
J.Perrin (1895) showed that
and possess momentum also.
these rays are deflected towards
They produce X-ray when they
magnetic field.
strike anode, particularly with
J.J Thomson (1897) showed that
large atomic mass.
these rays are deflected towards
They produce heat when they
anode showing these are
fall on platinum foil and foils
negatively charged.
begins to glow.
They produce greenish
They can ionize gases.
fluorescence on striking the
They can cause chemical
walls of glass tube.
because they have reducing
Hittorf( 1869) showed that these
effect. change in the material on
rays cast a shadow when an
which it falls.
opaque object is placed in their
J.J Thomson determined the
path. This proves that they travel
e/m ratio of electrons which is
in straight line perpendicular to
equal to 1.7588 x 10 ¹¹ C/kg.
surface of cathode.
2

Light Paddle
Wheel
Cathode rays
Cathode Anode

Cathode Rays can Relate a High Paddle Wheel Placed in their Path

Cathode

Anode Shadow of
(Metal Cross) Metal Cross

Cathode Rays Cast Shadows of the Objects Placed in their Path

Cathode Anode

Electric Field
Cathode Rays
Effects of Electric Field on Cathode Rays

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 NOTES Properties of Cathode Rays They can drive a small paddle
placed in its path which shows
that they are material particles
J.Perrin (1895) showed that
and possess momentum also.
these rays are deflected towards
They produce X-ray when they
magnetic field.
strike anode, particularly with
J.J Thomson (1897) showed that
large atomic mass.
these rays are deflected towards
They produce heat when they
anode showing these are
fall on platinum foil and foils
negatively charged.
begins to glow.
They produce greenish
They can ionize gases.
fluorescence on striking the
They can cause chemical
walls of glass tube.
because they have reducing
Hittorf( 1869) showed that these
effect.
rays cast a shadow when an
opaque object is placed in their
J.J Thomson determined the
path. This proves that they travel
e/m ratio of electrons which is
in straight line perpendicular to
equal to 1.7588 x 10 ¹¹ C/kg.
surface of cathode.
2

Light Paddle
Wheel
Cathode rays
Cathode Anode

Cathode Rays can Relate a High Paddle Wheel Placed in their Path

Cathode

Anode Shadow of
(Metal Cross) Metal Cross

Cathode Rays Cast Shadows of the Objects Placed in their Path

Cathode Anode

Electric Field
Cathode Rays
Effects of Electric Field on Cathode Rays

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 NOTES Discovery of Proton Properties of Positive Rays
(Positive Rays)
They travel in straight line
In 1866, Goldstein discovered perpendicular to anode surface.
proton in cathode ray tube. They can be deflected by electric
field.
Apparatus: They produces flashes on ZnS
A discharge tube is provided plate.
with cathode having extremely Their e/m ratio is smaller than
fine holes in it. that of electron
Their e/m ratio depends upon
Procedure: the nature of gas. The highest
When the large potential e/m ratio is obtained by
difference is applied between hydrogen in the tube.
electrodes, it has been observed mass of +ve particle is never less
that while cathode rays are than that of proton.
traveling away from cathode, The positive particle obtained
there are some other rays from H2 is the lightest among all
2 produced at same time moving the positive particles.
towards cathode. These are Proton was named by
positive rays. Rutherford.
These are also called canal rays Mass of proton is 1837 times
since they pass through holes in greater than that of electron.
cathode.
Discovery of Neutrons

Chadwick discovered neutron in

1932 and proved that there are
some neutral particles present in
nucleus of an atom

Experiment of Chadwick:
A stream of alpha particles from
polonium source were directed
towards the Be target.
Some penetrating radiation
were produced. These are called
neutron and are neutral.

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 NOTES Properties of Neutrons

Free neutron decays into

proton, electron and neutrino
n → p+ + e– + n
They cannot ionize gasses
They are highly penetrating
particles
Fast neutrons: neutrons with
speed 1.2Mev or more
Slow neutrons: neutrons with
speed below than 1 ev
They are not deflected in
electric and magnetic fields
They can knockout high speed
protons from paraffin, water,
paper and cellulose
Slow neutrons are more
2 effective than fast neutrons for
fission purposes
When neutrons are used in
projectiles, they carry out
nuclear reactions

When slow moving neutrons hit

the Cu- metal, beta radiations
are emitted
29Cu⁶⁵ +on¹ → 30 Zn ⁶⁶ + Beta

Relative Relative
Particle Charge / C Mass / Kg
Mass Charge

Protons 1 +1 +1.67 x 10-19 1.67 x 10-27

Neutrons 1 neutal 0 1.67 x 10-27

Electrons 0.0005 -1 -1.67 x 10-19 9.11 x 10-31

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 NOTES
RUTHERFORD’S MODEL
OF AN ATOM
The Rutherford Model of the The Nucleus is Positively
atom, also known as the Charged:
Nuclear Model, was proposed by Rutherford proposed that the
the Ernest Rutherford in 1911. nucleus is positively charged,
Rutherford's model is primarily with the number of protons
based on the results of the (positively charged particles)
famous Rutherford Gold Foil equal to the atomic number of
Experiment, which provided the element. This positive
crucial experimental evidence charge is what holds the
regarding the structure of the negatively charged electrons in
atom. their orbits.
Most of the Atom's Mass is
2 Concentrated in the Nucleus:
Rutherford's model proposed
that the atom consists of a tiny,
dense, positively charged core
called the nucleus. This nucleus
contains nearly all of the atom's
mass. The electrons, which are
negatively charged, orbit
around the nucleus at a
considerable distance.
Electrons Orbit the Nucleus:
According to Rutherford,
electrons are in constant
motion around the nucleus,
similar to planets orbiting the
sun in a solar system. However,
the key distinction here is that
the electrons do not spiral into
the nucleus, as classical
electromagnetic theory
predicted they would. Instead,
they remain in stable orbits.

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 NOTES The Atom is Mostly Empty
Space:
The Rutherford Model also
implies that the majority of the
atomic volume is empty space,
with the electrons occupying a
very small fraction of the total
volume. This was a
groundbreaking idea, as it
challenged the earlier notion
that atoms were uniformly filled
spheres.
One of the shortcomings of
Rutherford's model was that it
couldn't explain why electrons
didn't radiate energy and spiral
into the nucleus, as accelerated
charges are expected to do
according to classical
2 electromagnetic theory.
This problem was later resolved
by Niels Bohr's quantum model.

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 NOTES
PLANCK’S QUANTUM
THEORY
In 1900, Max Plank put forward
theory to explain the emission
and absorption of radiation.
This theory gives relationship of
energy, frequency, wavelength
and wave number of photons.
Energy is emitted and absorbed
only in terms of wave packets in
a discontinuous manner. These
wave packets are called quanta
or photon.
2 Energy of photon ∝ v
E= hv
= hc/ λ
= hcv⁻
Where;
h= Planck's constant
=6.63 x 10 ⁻³⁴ Js
v= frequency
c= speed of light
λ= wavelength
v⁻ = Wave number i.e 1/ λ
v⁻

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 NOTES
BOHR’S ATOMIC MODEL
Postulates Radius of nth orbit:

rn= (o.529A⁰) n²
In an atom, electrons
Thus, r2-r1< r3-r2< r4-r3
(negatively charged) revolve
around the positively charged
Energy of revolving electron:
nucleus in a definite circular
path called orbits or shells.
En = - 1313.315/ n² kJ/mol
Each orbit or shell has a fixed
Thus, E2-E1> E3-E2> E4-E3
energy and these circular orbits
are known as orbital shells.
Only those electrons whose
angular momentum is equal to
integral multiple of h/ 2𝜋 can
2
revolve around nucleus.
mvr= nh/ 2𝜋
The energy levels are
represented by an integer (n=1,
2, 3…) known as the principal
quantum number. This range
of quantum numbers starts
from the nucleus side with n=1
having the lowest energy level.
The orbits n=1, 2, 3, 4… are
assigned as K, L, M, N…. shells
and when an electron attains
the lowest energy level, it is
said to be in the ground state.
The electrons in an atom move
from a lower energy level to a
higher energy level by gaining
the required energy and an
electron moves from a higher
energy level to lower energy
level by losing energy.
ΔE= E2- E1

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 NOTES
ATOMIC SPECTRUM
An atomic spectrum, also Absorption Spectrum
known as a line spectrum, is a
unique set of spectral lines or
Conversely, when
discrete wavelengths of light
electromagnetic radiation of
emitted or absorbed by atoms
specific wavelengths is incident
when they undergo transitions
on an atom, electrons can
between different energy
absorb this energy and move to
levels.
higher energy levels.
Electrons in atoms occupy
The absorbed wavelengths are
specific energy levels or orbitals,
subtracted from the continuous
which are quantized, meaning
spectrum, resulting in dark lines
they can only have certain
or bands in the spectrum. This is
discrete energy values.
known as an absorption
2 Electrons can transition
spectrum.
between these energy levels by
The dark lines correspond to the
either absorbing energy
wavelengths that were
(moving to higher levels) or
absorbed by the atom.
emitting energy (moving to
lower levels).

Emission Spectrum

When an electron in an excited

state (higher energy level)
transitions to a lower energy
level, it releases energy in the
form of electromagnetic
radiation, often in the visible or
ultraviolet part of the
electromagnetic spectrum.
This emitted radiation consists
of discrete lines of specific
wavelengths, producing what is
called an emission spectrum.
Each line corresponds to a
specific transition between two
energy levels, and each element
has a unique emission
spectrum.

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 NOTES
WAVE-PARTICLE NATURE
OF MATTER
It states that matter, such as
electrons and other subatomic
particles, exhibits both
particle-like and wave-like
properties under certain
conditions.
The dual nature of matter,
which is a fundamental concept
in quantum mechanics, is often
described by the de Broglie
wavelength equation. This
2 equation relates the wave-like
and particle-like properties of
matter, such as electrons, by
expressing the wavelength (λ)
associated with a particle's
motion.
λ=h/p
λ (lambda) represents the de
Broglie wavelength of the
particle.
h (Planck's constant) is a
fundamental constant of
nature, approximately equal to
6.626 x 10^-34 joule-seconds
(J·s).
p (momentum) is the
momentum of the particle.

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 NOTES
HEISENBERG UNCERTAINTY
PRINCIPLE
The Heisenberg Uncertainty
Principle, formulated by the
German physicist Werner
Heisenberg in 1927, is one of the
fundamental principles of
quantum mechanics.
Heisenberg's principle asserts
that the more accurately we
know the position of a particle,
the less accurately we can
simultaneously know its
2 momentum, and vice versa.
The Heisenberg Uncertainty
Principle is mathematically
represented as follows:
Δx * Δp ≥ ħ/2
1. Δx represents the uncertainty in
position.
2. Δp represents the uncertainty
in momentum.
3. ħ (pronounced "h-bar") is the
reduced Planck constant, which
is a fundamental constant of
nature.
The principle places a
fundamental limit on how
accurately we can measure
certain properties of quantum
systems. For example, it is
impossible to measure both the
exact position and momentum
of a particle simultaneously with
arbitrary precision.

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 NOTES
QUANTUM NUMBERS
The set of numerical value Azimuthal quantum number:
which gives the acceptable
solution to Schrodinger wave It represents different sub-
equation. shells(l).
There are 4 quantum numbers; It describes the shape of an
1. Principal quantum number (n) orbit.
2. Azimuthal quantum number (l) Its value is always one less than
3. Magnetic quantum number (m) that of “n” and always starts
4. Spin quantum number (s) from zero.
The various subshells are;
1.Principal quantum number: s= 2 electrons p= 6 electrons
d= 10 electrons f=14 electrons
It represents different energy s → sharp
levels. p → principal
2
Its values are non-zero, positive d → diffuse
integers up to infinity. f → fundamental
It determines the size of orbit
and the distance from the
nucleus.
Greater the distance from the
nucleus, larger the size of orbi.t
The shells are named as;
n=1 → K shell
n=2 → L shell
n=3 → M shell
n=4 → N shell

The number of electrons

accommodated in orbit is given
by = 2n²
The number of electrons
accommodate in previous orbits
are;
K= 2 L= 8 M=18 N= 32

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 NOTES The value of “l” are;
l= 0 ……. (n-1)
Magnetic quantum number:

The maximum number of It explains effect of orbital in

electrons in subshell is given by: magnetic field.
2(2l+1) The value of “m” depends on the
i. n=1 (K) , l= 0(s) → e=2 value of “l”.
ii. n=2 (L) , l= 0(s) and 1(p) → e=2, 6 m= +l →0 → -l
iii. n=3(M) , l= 0(s), 1(p) and 2(d) → When
e = 2,6,10 l=0 (s- subshell) → m=0
iv. n=4(N), l=0 (s), 1(p), 2(d) and 3 l=1 (p-subshell) → m=0 , ±1
(f) → e= 2,6,10, 14 (p-subshell has 3 degenerate
orbitals)
Therefore, no. of orbits gives no. l= 2 (d-subshell) → m= 0 , ±1, ±2
of orbitals (d-subshell has 5 orbitals)
i. n=1 (K) , orbitals= 1s l= 3 (f-subshell) → m= 0, ±1, ±2,
ii. n=2 (L) , orbitals= 2s and 2p ±3, (f-subshell has 7 orbitals)
iii. n=3 (M), orbitals= 3s, 3p and 3d
iv. n=4 (N), orbitals= 4s,4p,4d and This shows that total values of
4f “m” are: (2l+1)
2
The shapes of orbitals described Orientation of orbitals:
by Azimuthal quantum number
are;
s=spherical p=dumbbell
d= sausage f=complicated

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 NOTES Spin quantum number:

In 1925, Goudsmith and

Uhlenbech suggested that
electrons while moving in orbit
around the nucleus also rotates
or spin either in clockwise or
anticlockwise direction.
It describes the direction of spin
of electron.
It may be 50% clockwise or 50%
anticlockwise.

Summary of quantum numbers

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 NOTES
ELECTRONIC CONFIGURATION
Electronic configuration, also Hund’s Rule
known as an electron
configuration, refers to the
Hund's Rule is a principle that
arrangement of electrons within
describes the filling of
the electron shells or energy
degenerate (same energy)
levels of an atom.
orbitals within a subshell (e.g.,
the three 2p orbitals or the five
3d orbitals). It states that
1. Electrons will occupy empty
orbitals of the same energy
(degenerate) before they start
pairing up.
2. When electrons fill degenerate
2
orbitals, they will have parallel
spins, which means their
magnetic quantum numbers (s)
are the same (either +1/2 or -1/2).
This rule explains why, when
filling the 2p orbitals, for
example, electrons enter them
one at a time with the same
spin (e.g., 2p↑, 2p↓, 2p↓) before
they start pairing (2p↑↓).

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 NOTES Aufbau Principle

The Aufbau Principle is a

fundamental concept that
describes the order in which
electrons fill energy levels
(shells) and subshells (orbitals)
in an atom. It can be
summarized as follows:
1. Electrons fill the lowest energy
level (n = 1) before moving to
higher energy levels.
2. Within a given energy level,
electrons fill subshells (s, p, d, f)
in order of increasing energy.
3. The energy of subshells is
generally s < p < d < f.
In practical terms, this principle
2 outlines the sequence in which
orbitals are filled during the
electron configuration of an
atom. For example, the 1s orbital
is filled before the 2s and 2p
orbitals, and so on.

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 NOTES Pauli Exclusion Principle

The Pauli Exclusion Principle is

a fundamental quantum
mechanical principle that deals
with the unique properties of
electrons. It states:
1. No two electrons in an atom
can have the same set of four
quantum numbers (n, l, m, and
s)
2. Electrons in the same orbital
must have opposite spins, with
one having a spin of +1/2 and
the other having a spin of -1/2.
This principle ensures that
electrons within an atom are
distinct and don't occupy the
2 same quantum state. It's one of
the reasons why electrons are
shown in electron
configurations with up and
down arrows to represent their
spin.
Examples:
i. Sodium (Na): 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s¹
ii. Magnesium (Mg): 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s²
iii. Aluminum (Al): 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p¹

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