Chapter 5

Electrons in Atoms
Lesson 1
Models of the Atom
Rutherford Model
Explained only a few, simple properties of atoms
Could not explain:
o why metals or compounds of metals give off
characteristic colors when heated in a flame
o why objects (when heated to higher and higher
temps) first glow red then yellow then white
o chemical properties of elements

Bohr Model
Niels Bohr (1885-1962):
Danish physicist
Student of Rutherford
1913: Established Bohr Model of
the Atom (also called Planetary
Model)
o Included newer discoveries
about how atoms change energy
when they absorb/emit light


Bohr Model
Electrons are arranged in
concentric circles (orbits)
around nucleus
o Only found in specific
orbits

Bohr Model
What keeps e-s from falling into nucleus?
Bohr Model
Quantized energy:
The amount of energy required to move an e- from one
energy level to another energy level
o Energy levels are not equally spaced
o Higher levels are closer together
Easier to excite e-s in higher energy levels
o Electrons cannot exist between orbitals
Bohr Model
Gave results in agreement with experiment for the
hydrogen atom
Still failed to explain energies absorbed/emitted by
atoms with more than one electron
Quantum Mechanical Model
Erwin Schrodinger (1887-1961):
Austrian physicist
1926: Used quantum theory to write and
solve a mathematical equation describing
the location and energy of an e- in a
hydrogen atom

Quantum Mechanical Model
Like Rutherford and Bohr Models, restricts energy of
e- to certain values
Previous models were physical models
Mathematical quantum mechanical model has few
analogies in the visible world
Exact paths of e-s are NOT defined
Determines likelihood of finding
an electron in a certain position

Schrodingers Cat
Origin of Quantum Mechanics
Atomic Orbitals
Solving Schrodinger equation gives energies an e- can
have
o These are its energy levels
o For each energy level, equations leads to a
mathematical expression called an atomic orbital
Atomic Orbitals
Atomic orbital:
Thought of as a region of space in which there is a high
probability of finding an e-
Atomic Orbitals
Principal Energy Level:
Quantum number, n
Electron energy increases as n increases
Each energy level consists of 1 or more sublevels with
different shapes and energy levels
o Each sublevel has 1 or more orbitals
Atomic Orbitals
n=1: 1s sublevel with 1 spherical shaped s-orbital

n=2: 2s sublevel with 2s orbital (larger than 1s with higher energy e-s)
2p sublevel with 3 dumb-bell shaped p-orbitals (x-axis, y-axis, z-axis)

n=3: 3s, 3p, 3d sublevels
3d sublevel with 5 complex equal-energy d-orbitals

n=4: 4s, 4p, 4d, 4f sublevels
4f sublevel with 7 f-orbitals
Atomic Orbitals
The number of sublevels is always equal to the principal
quantum number, n
The number of orbitals is always an odd number
As energy level increases, electron energy increases
and electrons are located further from the nucleus
Atomic Orbitals
Maximum Number of Electrons Per Sublevel

Sublevel Orbitals
Electrons
s 1
2
p 3
6
d 5
10
f 7
14


Lesson 2
Electron Arrangement in Atoms
Electron Configuration
Atomic number tells us number of e-s in neutral atom
To understand periodic table, we must understand how
e-s are arranged!
Elements in a similar group (column) have similar
properties because they have similar electron
configurations
Electron Configuration
Valence electrons:
Outermost electrons in the electron cloud
Largely responsible for chemical behavior
Electron Configuration
Electron configurations:
Electrons and the nucleus interact to make the most
stable arrangement possible
The ways in which e-s are arranged into various orbitals
around the nuclei of an atom
3 rules!
Electron Configuration: Rules
Aufbau Principle:
The Building Up Principle
Electrons are added one at a time
to the lowest energy orbitals
available until all electrons of the
atom have been accounted for
Electron Configuration: Rules
Pauli Exclusion Principle:
An orbital can hold a maximum
of 2 e-s
To occupy the same orbital, e-
s must have opposite spin
(spin up or spin down)
Electron Configuration: Rules
Hunds Rule:
Electrons occupy equal energy orbitals so that a
maximum amount of unpaired e-s results
Pop Quiz
Explain why this meme is not entirely correct.

Electron Configuration Tree
Used to determine overlap of orbitals

1s
2s 2p
3s 3p 3d
4s 4p 4d 4f
5s 5p 5d 5f
6s 6p 6d 6f
7s 7p 7d 7f

= 1s 2s 2p 3s 3p 4s 3d 4p 5s...

Example 1
Draw an orbital diagram for Carbon then
write the longhand e- configuration.
Example 2
Draw an orbital diagram for Manganese then
write the longhand e- configuration.

Example 2 (cont.)
Write the longhand e- configuration for
Osmium.

Abbreviated Configuration
Osmium is kind of a pain to write in longhand.

Abbreviated Electron Configuration:
An atoms inner e-s can be represented by the symbol
of the nearest noble gas with a lower atomic number
o These e-s are called the noble gas inner core of
the atom
Abbreviated Configuration
So how do we know where to start after using the noble
gas notation?
Identify what row the given element occupies on the
periodic table
This number tells us which s-orbital to begin filling after
the nobel gas inner core
Example 3
Write the abbreviated e- configuration for
Lithium.
Example 3 (cont.)
Write the abbreviated e- configuration for
Calcium.
Example 3 (cont.)
Write the abbreviated e- configuration for
Manganese.
Example 3 (cont.)
Write the abbreviated e- configuration for
Osmium.
Exceptional Electron Configurations
You can obtain correct e- configurations for the
elements up to vanadium
When you begin to fill chromium using Aufbau Principle,
you get a half-filled d-sublevel
Half-filled sublevels are not as stable as filled sublevels,
but they are more stable than other configurations
Exceptional Electron Configurations
Exceptions to Aufbau Principle are due to subtle
electronic-electron interactions in orbitals with very
similar energies
At higher principal quantum numbers, energy
differences between some sublevels are very small
Lesson 3
Physics and the Quantum
Mechanical Model
Flame Test
Light
Quantum mechanical model
developed by study of light
Isaac Newton (1642-1727)
believed light consisted of
particles
1900s: scientists believed
light was a wave
Light
Amplitude:
Height of wave from origin to crest
Wavelength:
Distance between crests
Frequency:
For traveling waves, number of wave cycles to pass a given point
per unit of time, given in hertz (Hz) or inverse seconds (s
-1
)
Frequency and wavelength are inversely related with constant of
proportionality, c
Spectrum:
Separation of colors that results from passing through a prism


Light
Light consists of electromagnetic (EM) waves that travel
in vacuum at c = 3.0 x 10
8
m/s

EM radiation: radio waves, microwaves, visible light,
infrared, ultraviolet, x-rays, gamma-rays


Light: The EM Spectrum
Light: Equations
c = v
c is the speed of light
(lamda) is wavelength in meters
v (nu) is frequency in s
-1
or Hz
Example
What frequency is radiation whose wavelength is 5.00 x 10
-
6
cm? In what region of the EM spectrum does this
radiation exist?
Example
A hydrogen lamp emits several lines in the visible region of
the EM spectrum. One of these lines has a wavelength of
6.56 x 10
-5
cm. What is the color and frequency of this
radiation?
Atomic Spectra
Atoms absorb energy that raises e-s into higher energy
levels, and then lose the energy by emitting light when
e-s return to lower energy levels

Atomic Spectra
Atomic emission spectrum:
Light emitted by an element passing through a prism
Not continuous like the spectrum for white light
Corresponds to exact frequency and energy
Unique to each element
Explanation of Atomic Spectra
Existence known before Bohrs model of H-atom
o Bohrs model explained why hydrogens emission
spectrum consists of specific frequencies of light and
predicted specific values of frequencies that agreed
with experiment
Explanation of Atomic Spectra
Ground state:
Lowest possible energy of an e- (n=1)
Excitation by absorbing energy raised e- from ground
state to excited state (n=2, 3, 4, 5, 6, etc.)
Quantum of energy is emitted when e- de-excites
Emission occurs in a single step: electronic transition
Explanation of Atomic Spectra
Classical physics cannot explain atomic spectra









...but Max Planck can!

Explanation of Atomic Spectra
Max Planck:
German physicist
1900: The Quantum Concepts
Tried to explain why iron changes colors as it is heated
Assumed energy of a body changes only in small,
discrete amounts
Showed mathematically that energy is equal to the
product of frequency and Plancks constant, h=6.626 x
10
-34
Js

Explanation of Atomic Spectra
The light emitted by an electronic transition from a
higher to a lower energy level has a frequency directly
proportional to the energy change of the electron

Explanation of Atomic Spectra
E = hv
E is radiant energy in Joules (J = kgm
2
/s
2
)
h is Plancks Constant, 6.626 x 10
-34
Js
v is frequency in s
-1
or Hz
Example
What is the energy of a photon of microwave
radiation whose frequency is
3.20 x 10
11
s
-1
?
Exploration of Atomic Spectra
Each transition produces a line of specific frequency in
the spectrum
3 groups of lines observed in hydrogens emission
spectrum
o Lyman series (UV)
Emission due to transitions from higher energy levels to n=1
o Balmer series (Visible)
Transitions from higher levels to n=2
o Paschen series (IR)
Transitions from higher levels to n=3

Explanation of Atomic Spectra
Explanation of Atomic Spectra
Explanation of Atomic Spectra
Spectral lines in each group become more closely
spaced at increasing values of n because energy levels
are closer together
Upper limit to frequency of emitted light for each set of
lines
o Exists because an e- with enough energy completely
escapes the atom
Explanation of Atomic Spectra
Bohrs model explained emission spectrum of hydrogen,
but not atoms with more than one e-
No help in understanding how atoms bond to form
molecules
Quantum Mechanical model displaced Bohr model
o Based on description of the motion of material
objects as waves
Quantum Mechanics
Albert Einstein:
1905: Photoelectric
effect
Proposed light could be
described as quanta of
energy that behave as
particles
Photons: light quanta

Photoelectric Effect
e-s, called photoelectrons, are ejected by metals when
light shines on them
Einstein used particle theory to explain
Threshold value of energy below which the effect does
not occur
Classical physics believed that the event would
eventually occur under light of any wavelength

Photoelectric Effect
All photons in a beam
of light of only one
frequency have the
same energy
(monochromatic
light)

Photoelectric Effect
If frequency (and therefore energy) of light is too low, no
photoelectron will be ejected
Frequency must be above threshold frequency for
electron to be emitted
Excess energy from a photon:
o e- travels faster
Increased light intensity:
o Increased number of ejected e-s
Photoelectric Effect
Wave-particle behavior was
difficult for classical physicists to
accept
Difficult to dispute because it
provided an explanation for
mysterious photoelectric effect
Quantum Mechanics
Louis de Broglie (1892-1987):
French graduate student
1924: If light is both a particle
and a wave, can particles of
matter behave as waves?
o Matter waves
o deBroglie Wavelength
de Broglie Wavelength
Wavelength of a moving particle is inversely
proportional to mass and velocity, with constant of
proportionality, h
= h/mv
o h is Plancks Constant
o m is mass in kg
o v is velocity in m/s



deBroglie Wavelength
Predicts that all matter exhibits wavelike motions
Wavelengths of objects visible to the naked eye are too
small to measure
deBroglie Wavelength
Confirmed experimentally 3 years later by Clinton
Davisson and Lester Germer at Bell Labs in New Jersey
o Studied bombardment of metals with beams of e-s
o Noticed e-s reflected from the metal surface
produced strange patterns
Similar to patterns obtained when x-rays reflect
from metal surfaces
o e-s were being reflected as waves!
Example
The mass of an electron is 9.11x10
-28
g. If it travels at the
speed of light, what is its wavelength?
Example
Using the conversion 1 lb = 0.454 kg and an average
walking speed of 1.33 m/s, calculate your wavelength.
Quantum vs. Classical Mechanics
Classical mechanics:
Describes motions of bodies MUCH larger than the
atoms of which they are made
These bodies gain/lose energy in any amount

Quantum mechanics:
Describes motions of subatomic particles and atoms as
waves
Particles gain/lose energy in packets called quanta
Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle
Werner Heisenberg:
German physicist
It is impossible to know
exactly both position and
velocity of a particle
More obvious with
electrons than basketballs

Quantum Mechanics
Discovery of matter waves paved the way for
Schrodingers quantum mechanical description of e-s in
atoms
o Lead to concept of e- orbitals and configurations
o Includes wavelike motion of matter and uncertainty
principle
Lesson 4
Bonus Lesson
Dyes & The Visible Spectrum
Substances that absorb light in
certain parts of the visible
spectrum but not others
Example: Green dye absorbs
all colors except green
o What about black dye?
White dye?
Dyes & The Visible Spectrum
Why is the sky blue?
Why is the sky blue?
Rayleigh scattering:
As light moves through the atmosphere, longer
wavelengths pass through (red, orange, yellow)
Shorter wavelengths are absorbed by gas molecules,
then radiated in different directions
Sunset is red because light must travel further through
atmosphere to reach you

Raleigh Scattering Video
Why is the night sky dark?