ATOMIC STRUCTURE

ORGANIC CHEMISTRY
DALTON’S ATOMIC THEORY

•All matter is made up

of very tiny,
indivisible particles,
which Dalton called
DALTON’S ATOMIC THEORY

• All atoms of a given

element have the same
chemical properties.
Conversely, atoms of
different elements have
DALTON’S ATOMIC THEORY

• In ordinary chemical
reactions, no atom of any
element disappears or is
changed into an atom of
another element.
DALTON’S ATOMIC THEORY

• Compounds are formed

by the chemical
combination of two or
more different kinds of
atoms.
DALTON’S ATOMIC THEORY

• In a given compound, the

relative numbers of atoms of
each kind of element are
constant and are most
commonly expressed as
integers.
DALTON’S ATOMIC THEORY

•A molecule is a tightly
bound combination of
two or more atoms
that acts as a single
ATOMIC ELEMENTS

•Monoatomic
•Diatomic
•Polyatomic
SUB-ATOMIC PARTICLES

• Proton A subatomic
particle with a charge of
+1 and a mass of
approximately 1 amu; it
is found in a nucleus
SUB-ATOMIC PARTICLES

• Electron A subatomic
particle with a charge of -1
and a mass of
approximately 0.0005 amu.
It is found in the space
ISOTOPES

• Atoms with the same

number of protons but
different numbers of
neutron
ATOMIC STRUCTURE

• Elements are the fundamental building blocks

of matter
• Atoms are the smallest, indivisible unit of an
element that retains all chemical and physical
properties of the element
• Atoms are composed of three subatomic
particles: protons, neutrons, and electrons
ATOMIC STRUCTURE

• The protons and neutrons are located at the

center of the atom in a region termed the
nucleus
• The mass number represents the mass of the
nucleus or the total mass of protons and
neutrons
• The electrons are located in three-dimensional
ATOMIC STRUCTURE

• A large portion of any atom is empty space

• The nucleus is surrounded by electrons in
regions (orbitals) that are separated by great
distances on a relative scale
ATOMIC STRUCTURE

• Electrons located furthest from the nucleus,

the outermost electrons , are called valence
electrons and determine the chemical and
physical properties of each element
PROTONS

• Protons (p + ) are positively charged

subatomic particles located in the nucleus
• The total number of protons in the nucleus is
given on the periodic table by the atomic
number and positively identifies the element
PROTONS

• A change in the number of protons changes

the identity of the element; therefore, different
elements must have different atomic numbers
NEUTRONS

• Neutrons (n) are neutral subatomic particles

also located in the nucleus
• They carry no charge and therefore do not
affect nuclear charge or the number of
electrons in a neutral atom
NEUTRONS

• Neutrons do contribute significantly to the

mass of the atom (nuclear mass) because their
mass is about the same as a proton
• A change in the number of neutrons will
change the mass number, but not the identity
of the element
NEUTRONS

• Isotopes - atoms that contain the same

number of protons but have different mass
numbers
• The number of neutrons contained in any
nucleus is determined by subtracting the
atomic number from the mass number
ELECTRONS

• Electrons (e − ) are negatively charged

subatomic particles located around the nucleus
in predictable regions called orbitals
• In a neutral atom, the number of electrons
(negatives) is equal to the number of protons
(positives)
ELECTRONS

• A change in the number of electrons in a

neutral atom creates an ion, an electrically
charged atom
• Ions may carry a positive or negative charge
depending on the number of electrons relative
to the number of protons
ELECTRONS

• The mass of an electron is approximately 2,000

times smaller than that of a proton or a
neutron. As a result, electrons do not
contribute significantly to the overall mass of
the atom.
ATOMIC STRUCTURE

• An atom is composed of two distinct regions –

the nucleus and the region immediately
surrounding the nucleus
• The nucleus contains only protons and
neutrons and is therefore positively charged
• The region immediately surrounding the
nucleus contains only electrons and is
ATOMIC STRUCTURE

• Protons and electrons are the only subatomic

particles that are electrically charged
• The charges are of equal magnitude despite
the extreme disparity in mass, that is, an
electron’s charge will cancel a proton’s charge
ATOMIC STRUCTURE
• The overall charge on an atom is determined by
comparing the number of protons to the number of
electrons
• If the number of electrons is greater than the
number of protons (atomic number), the atom
carries a negative charge; if the number of electrons
is less , the atom carries a positive charge; if they
are equal , the atom is neutral .
ATOMIC STRUCTURE

• The net charge on an atom in its standard

state (natural conditions) is always zero
ORBITALS

• It is not possible to know exactly where the

electrons are; however, we can define regions
where there is a high probability of finding
them
• Electrons are not randomly distributed around
the nucleus; they are confined to specific
energy levels called orbitals
ORBITALS

• we use energy to define distances

• The electrons fill outward from the nucleus
with the lowest energy, most stable electrons
occupying regions close to the nucleus
• in comparing two electrons of different energy,
it would be stated that electrons of higher
energy are located further from the nucleus
ORBITALS

• electrons can have only specific, allowable

energy values
• This energy determines the location of the
electron around the nucleus (remember,
energy equates to distance; therefore, specific
energy values translate to specific distances)
ORBITALS

• The first levels of electron arrangement are

“energy shells” called principal energy levels
• They are given by the period numbers from the
periodic table; for example, H and He
represent period 1 and have electrons in
principal energy level 1 , Li, Be, B, C, N, O, F,
and Ne represent period 2 and have electrons
in principal energy level 2
ORBITALS

• These regions (shells) increase in both size and

energy as their distance from the nucleus
increases
• Principal energy level 1 is the lowest energy
level (and smallest); therefore, electrons
occupying this region are closest to the
nucleus
ORBITALS

• Electrons occupying successively higher levels

possess greater energy and are further from
the nucleus
• The principal energy levels are further divided
into sublevels , or orbitals , designated s , p ,
d , and f
ORBITALS

• The orbitals are regions around the nucleus

where there is a high probability of finding an
electron of specific energy
• Electrons occupy orbitals within principal
energy levels and the energy of the electron
determines which orbital it resides in and
therefore its location around the nucleus
ELECTRON CONFIGURATIONS

• Electron configurations illustrate the

arrangement of electrons around the nucleus
of an atom