Chapter 4 Structure Of The Atom Notes -

Essentially, the structure of an atom comprises protons,

neutrons and electrons. These basic components provide the
mass and charge of the atoms. The nucleus comprises proton
and neutron, with the electron orbiting around that.
Atoms
Atoms are the building blocks of matter. It is the smallest unit
of matter that is composed of three sub-atomic particles: the
proton, the neutron and the electron.
Cathode ray experiment
• J. J. Thomson discovered the existence of electrons.
• He did this using a cathode ray tube, which is a vacuum-
sealed tube with a cathode and anode on one end that created a
beam of electrons travelling towards the other end of the tube.
• The air inside the chamber is subjected to high voltage and
electricity flows through the air from the negative electrode to
the positive electrode.
• The characteristics of cathode rays (electrons) do not
depend upon the material of electrodes and the nature of the gas
present in the cathode ray tube.
• The experiment showed that the atom was not a simple,
indivisible particle and contained at least one subatomic
particle – the electron.
Electrons
• Electrons are the negatively charged sub-atomic particles
of an atom.
• The mass of an electron is considered to be negligible, and
its charge is -1.
• The symbol for an electron is e–
• Electrons are extremely small
• They are found outside the nucleus.
Facts about Electrons
→ Charge on electron = −1.6 × 10-19 C (C = Coulomb)
(As calculated by Robert E. Millikan)
→ Mass of electron = 9.1 × 10-31 kg

E. Goldstein by his famous anode rays/canal rays experiment

was able to detect presence of positively charged particles
called protons in the atom.
Facts about Protons
→ Charge on proton = + 1.6 × 10-19 C
→ Mass of proton = 1.673 × 10-27 kg
i.e., Mass of proton ≅ 1840 × Mass of electron

Discovery of Neutrons (By J. Chadwick)

→ J. Chadwick bombarded lighter elements (like lithium,
boron etc.) with α-particles and observed emission of new
particles having zero charge but having mass equal to that of
proton.
→ These particles were called ‘Neutron’ i.e., neutral particle of
the atom.
→ Neutron are absent in Protium isotope of hydrogen
atom.( 11𝐻 )
→ Since, mass of electrons are negligible as compared to that
of proton and neutrons hence, sum of masses of protons and
neutrons in an atom will compose its atomic mass.
Atomic Models
→ From the knowledge of existence of subatomic particles like
electron, proton and neutron in an atom, various atomic models
were proposed by different scientists.
• Some of the atomic models:
(i) Thomson’s Model of Atom
(ii) Rutherford’s Model of Atom
(iii) Bohr’s Model of Atom

** The most trusted and scientifically established model of

atom which is adopted these days is ‘Quantum Mechanical
Model of Atom’. It will be dealt in higher classes.
Thomson’s Atomic Model
→ This model is often called the ‘Water Melon Model’.
→ In this model, Thomson predicted the presence of electrons
inside positive sphere (made up of protons), just same as seeds
of watermelon are embedded in red edible part of watermelon.

→ Although this model explained neutrality of atom but

couldn’t able to explain other scientific experiments conducted
on atom. Hence it was discarded.
Rutherford’s Atomic Model
→ In his famous ‘α-ray Scattering Experiment’, Rutherford
bombarded α-ray (Helium nucleus 42𝐻𝑒) upon thin gold foil.
• Observations made by Rutherford in his experiment:
(i) Most of α-particles passed through gold foil without any
deflection.
(ii) Some of the α-particles deflected by foil by small angles.
(iii) One out of every 12000 particles appeared to rebound.
• Conclusions made by Rutherford:
(i) Atom consists of predominantly empty space as most of α-
particles passed through gold foil without any deflection.
(ii) Atom contains centrally placed positively charged nucleus
(carrying positively charged particles), because few α-particles
suffered deflection and very few i.e., one in 12000 bounced back.
(iii) Since a minute fraction of α-particles suffered deflections
and very few bounced back, this lead to conclusion that most of
the space an atom is empty and the space occupied by nucleus is
negligible compared to this empty space.
→ Size of nucleus was about 10-5 times that of size of atom.
(iv) Whole of the atomic mass concentrated in the nucleus.
• Features of Rutherford proposed model of atom:
(i) There is positively placed nucleus in an atom. Nearly all the
mass resides in nucleus (Proton + Neutron).
(ii) Electrons revolves round the nucleus in well defined orbits.
(iii) Size of nucleus is very small compared to the size of atom.
• Drawbacks of Rutherford’s Model (Unstability of Atom)
→ According to Rutherford, electrons revolve round the nucleus
in well-defined orbits, but electrons being charged particles will
lose their energy and finally will fall into the nucleus.
→ This will make atom highly unstable.
→ This was the major drawback of Rutherford which was
unexplained by him.

→ To overcome drawbacks of Rutherford’s Model, Neil Bohr in

1912 proposed modified model of structure of atom.
Assumption made by Neil Bohr
→ Only certain special orbits known as discrete orbits of
electrons are allowed inside the atom.
→ While revolving in discrete orbits, the electrons do not radiate
energy.
→ Energy is emitted or absorbed by an atom only when an
electron moves from one orbit to another.
Orbits
Orbits are energy shells surrounding the nucleus in which
electrons revolve.
Electron distribution in different orbits
The distribution was suggested by Bohr and Bury;
• The maximum number of electrons present in a shell is
given by the formula 2n2, where ‘n’ is the orbit number or energy
level index, 1,2,3,….
• The maximum number of electrons in different shells are as
follows: the first orbit will have 2x12=2, the second orbit will
have 2x22=8, the third orbit will have 2x32=18, fourth orbit
2x42=32 and so on.
•The shells are always filled in a step-wise manner from the
lower to higher energy levels. Electrons are not filled in the next
shell unless previous shells are filled.
Valency
•The electrons present in the outermost shell of an atom are
known as the valence electrons.
•The combining capacity of the atoms or their tendency to react
and form molecules with atoms of the same or different elements
is known as valency of the atom.
•Atoms of elements, having a completely filled outermost shell
show little or no chemical activity.
•Their combining capacity or valency is zero.
•For example, we know that the number of electrons in the
outermost shell of hydrogen is 1, and in magnesium, it is 2.
•Therefore, the valency of hydrogen is 1 as it can easily lose 1
electron and become stable.
•On the other hand, that of magnesium is 2 as it can lose 2
electrons easily and also attain stability.
Atomic Number
The number of protons found in the nucleus of an atom is termed
as the atomic number. It is denoted by the letter ‘Z’.
Mass number and representation of an atom
Protons and neutrons are present in the nucleus, so the mass
number is the total of these protons and neutrons.
Mass No. is also represented by A and atomic number by Z
Z = P+ = e-
A = P+ + n0
n0 = A – Z
For example, in a sodium atom, there are 11 electrons and 11
protons. Thus the atomic number of Na atom = number of
electrons = number of protons = 11.
Atomic Number Orbital Energy Levels
The most common way of showing the arrangement of electrons
in an atom is to draw diagrams like those shown in the diagram.
Isotopes and Isobars
Isotopes are defined as the atoms of the same element, having
the same atomic number ( number of protons ) but different
mass numbers ( number of protons+neutrons ).
For example: In the case of Hydrogen we have:

Atoms of different elements with different atomic numbers,

which have the same mass number, are known as isobars.
For example, Calcium and Argon: both have the same mass
number – 40
20Ca40 and 18Ar40
Calculation of mass number for isotopic elements
When an element has an isotope, the mass number can be
calculated by the different proportions it exists in.
For example take 98% Carbon-12u and 2% Carbon-13u
=

Uses of Isotopes- Ref. to the textbook and write the uses of

isotopes in the notebook.
Solve the questions in between the chapter(pg.39,41,42,44
&45) and text exercise.