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Atomic Structure

What is an atom?
An atom is the smallest particle of an element that can exist alone. The atom itself is made up of
sub atomic particles called:
• protons(positively charged)
• neutrons(uncharged)
• electrons(negatively charged).

Protons and neutrons are found in the centre of an atom in an area known as the nucleus.
Secondly, the much larger region of the atom is a “cloud” of electrons or energy shells. When
chemical reactions occur, the electrons are involved in the reaction. The attraction between
positively charged protons and negatively charged electrons are what holds the atoms together.
Most atoms contain each of the subatomic particles, the only exception being Hydrogen(H).

Diagram showing the structure of an atom

Sub atomic particle Relative charge Relative mass Location

Proton +1 1 In the nucleus

Neutron 0 1 In the nucleus

Electron -1 0(1/1840) Energy shells around

the nucleus
Actual mass of a proton = 1.67 x 10-27kg
Actual mass of an electron = 9.11 x 10-31kg

Electrons are very small, when compared to protons and neutrons. Therefore most of the mass in
due to the protons and neutrons in the nucleus.
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Atomic number
Atomic number (or proton number) is the number of protons in the nucleus of one atom of an
element.
Each atomic number is unique to a particular element; since the number of electrons in an atom
is always equal to the number of protons, the number of electrons in a neutral atom is always
equal to the atomic number.

Mass number
Mass number (or nucleon number) is the total number of protons and neutrons in the nucleus of
one atom of an element. The number of neutrons in an atom can be calculated by subtracting the
atomic number from the mass number therefore the mass number is not unique to its element.

Mass number = number of protons + number of neutrons

From the above equation:
Number of neutrons = mass number – number of protons

Representing Atoms
An atom or ion can be represented using nuclear notation.

𝐴 𝐴 +
𝑍𝑋 𝑍𝑋
Atom Ion

Where:
X = atomic symbol
A = mass number
Z = atomic number
Ions show their charge on the top right corner of the atomic symbol.
This allows us to calculate the number of each subatomic particle:
• The number of protons is equal to Z
• The number of neutrons is equal to A – Z
For a neutral atom the number of electrons is equal to the number of protons.
For a positive ion the number of electrons is equal to the number of protons – charge of ion.
For a negative ion the number of electrons is equal to the number of protons + charge of ion.

23
11 Na
This means that Sodium has a mass number of 23 and atomic number of 11.
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Electronic Configuration.
Electron shells (also call energy levels) are fixed distances from the nucleus of an atom where
electrons may be found. Each electron shell can hold a maximum number of electrons and inner
shells are filled first. The electrons on the outermost shell are known as valence electrons and the
outermost electron shell of an atom is known as the valence shell. The number of valence
electrons on the shell determines the chemical properties of an element.

For the first 20 elements:

The 1st electron shell can hold a maximum of 2 electrons
The 2nd electron shell can hold a maximum of 8 electrons
The 3rd electron shells can hold a maximum of 8 electrons
(The 3rd shell and above can hold more than 8 electrons for the elements after the first 20
elements. We do not need to know this at this level.)

E.g. From the sodium notation on the previous page:

Sodium atom contains 11 protons and 11 electrons.

(For a neutral atom, number of protons = number of neutrons)

Electronic Configuration of Na – 2,8,1. This means the 1st shell contains 2 electrons, the 2nd shell
contains 8 electrons and the 3rd shell contains 1 electron.

Diagram of sodium atom

The number of shells(period number) can be obtained from the number of digits seen in the
electronic configuration.
The group number or number of valence electrons can be determined by the last number of the
electronic configuration.

Eg. Si – 2,8,4. This is in period 3, group 4.

K – 2,8,8,1. This is in period 4, group 1.
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Relative Atomic Mass

The relative atomic mass (R.A.M.) of an atom is defined as the ratio of the average mass of one
atom of an element to one twelfth(1/12) of the mass of an atom of carbon-12.
Element R.A.M. Mass Number
Carbon 12.0115 12
Hydrogen 1.00797 1

The slight difference in the values of R.A.M. and mass number for an element is due to many
elements consisting of several types of atoms called isotopes. When calculating R.A.M. for an
element all naturally occurring isotopes are taken into account.

Isotopes
Isotopes are atoms of the same element that contains the same number of protons but different
number of neutrons. Isotopes possess the same chemical properties.
The R.A.M. of an element is the average mass of all the isotopes in a naturally occurring sample.
The mass number refers to a single isotope. This is why the mass number is a whole number,
while the R.A.M. is not a whole number.
Calculating R.A.M.
A naturally occurring sample of chlorine contains two isotopes: 75% Cl-35 and 25% Cl-37

R.A.M. of chlorine = (75% of 35) + (25% of 37)

= 26.25 + 9.25
= 35.5
Radioisotopes
Some elements contain isotopes that are radioactive. The nuclei of these atoms spontaneously
break up emitting radiation as they disintegrate. These are called radioisotopes.
The three types of radiation are:
Alpha particles – helium nuclei (2 protons, 2 neutrons)
Beta particles – high speed electrons
Gamma waves – electromagnetic radiation of very short wavelengths
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Uses of Radioisotopes:
Medicine
Cobalt-60 is used to kill cancer cells.
Plutonium-238 is used as an energy source in pacemakers.

Research
Carbon-13 is used to monitor reactions in photosynthesis.
Radioactive phosphorus is used to monitor plant growth.

Carbon dating
Carbon-14 in once-living materials can be used to determine the age of the material. This is due
to all living things maintaining a certain level of C-14 in their tissue until death. When the
organism dies, the level of C-14 begins to decrease at a fixed rate. Measuring the present level of
C-14 and using an appropriate equation gives the age.