Atomic Structure, Isotopes and the Mole

Prior knowledge:
The particles from which atoms are made are protons, neutrons and electrons.
Properties:

Particle
electron
proton
neutron

Mass
1/2000th unit
1 unit
1 unit

Charge
-1
+1
0

The nucleus (protons & neutrons) has an overall positive charge, and the electrons orbiting
around it are negatively charged, so an atom has charge distribution positive in the
middle and negative surrounding this region.
Most of an atom is empty space protons, neutrons and electrons are very small
compared to atoms, but because protons and neutrons weigh much more than electrons,
virtually all the mass in an atom is in the nucleus.
Numbers of protons, neutrons and electrons
Protons
The number of protons in an atom is the atomic number. The periodic table is in order of
increasing atomic number each different type of atom is identified by its unique number of
protons.
Neutrons
The total number of protons and neutrons (nucleons) in an atom is the MASS NUMBER.
Therefore number of neutrons = mass number atomic number
Electrons
Because an atom has no overall charge, there must be exactly the same number of
electrons as protons in an atom.
While atoms do not lose or gain protons or neutrons, they can lose or gain electrons to
become ions which have an overall charge. An ion with a positive charge has lost
electrons (there are now more protons than electrons). The magnitude of the charge
indicates the number of electrons that have been lost. An ion with a negative charge has
gained electrons again the magnitude of the charge indicates how many electrons have
been gained.
Isotopes
Definition:
Isotopes of an element have the same number of protons (same atomic number) but
different numbers of neutrons. Because they have the same electronic structure, isotopes
of an element have the same chemical properties, but they have different physical
properties most notably different masses.

Page 1

Application
The number of protons, neutrons and electrons in an atom of scandium-45 is:
Protons = atomic number = 21
Neutrons = 45-21 = 24
Electrons = protons = 21
Scandium-45 forms Sc3+ ions.
Protons = 21
Neutrons = 45-21=24
Electrons = 21-3 = 18
A particle with 53 protons, 74 neutrons and 54 electrons would be:
Protons = 53 which is the atomic number of iodine
Protons + neutrons = 53 + 74 = 127 so iodine-127
One more electron than protons so an ion with a 1- charge:

127I-

Check your understanding

1. Write down the numbers of protons, neutrons and electrons in:
i) a 39K+ ion,
ii) hydrogen (H+) ion,
iii) hydride (H-) ion
2. Write the mass number, atomic number and symbol for the atom/ion with:
i) 20 neutrons, 17 protons and 18 electrons
ii) a magnesium ion with 10 electrons and 12 neutrons
Relative Masses
We need a scale to be able to compare masses of atoms, so we need a STANDARD a
fixed value to compare to. The standard is chosen to be an atom of the isotope carbon-12.
We define this as having a mass of exactly 12, then compare the masses of other atoms
relative to this so we call the masses we work out RELATIVE masses.
The mass of any individual atom is given by its relative isotopic mass:
Definition: The relative isotopic mass is the mass of an atom of an isotope of an element
compared with 1/12 the mass of an atom of carbon-12.
Most elements we encounter are a mixture of all the naturally-occurring isotopes. The
relative abundance of each isotope tells us what percentage of each isotope is present.
When dealing with such a mixture of isotopes, we need to know the average mass of an
atom in the mixture. The is the relative atomic mass:
Symbol:
Definition:

Ar
The weighted mean mass of an atom of an element, compared with 1/12
the mass of an atom of carbon-12

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The weighted mean mass means the average mass of an atom, taking into account all the
isotopes present and the proportions of each isotope.
Application
1 in 4 of all chlorine atoms have a relative isotopic mass of 37, and the rest have a relative
isotopic mass of 35. Thats because some contain 20 and some 18 neutrons respectively.
This means that the average mass of a chlorine atom is (25% x 37) + (75% x 35) = 35.5,
which is chlorine's relative atomic mass.

Measurement of relative atomic masses and relative abundances

We measure the mass of atoms accurately using a mass spectrometer. The output from a
mass spectrometer tells us the relative isotopic mass of each isotope present, and the
abundance of that isotope.
Principle: The gaseous sample is smashed
into individual atoms by a high energy
electron beam which also removes an
electron from each. These positively
charged ions are accelerated in an electric
field, then deflected by a magnetic field at
right-angles to their flight path. The lighter
they are, the more they are deflected, so
the mass spectrometer separates the ions
on the basis of their mass. The strength of
the detector signal for each different angle
of deflection is a measure of the abundance
of ions of that specific isotopic mass.
Units:
The x-axis is labelled m/z, (or m/e) which means mass/charge. The ions all have +1
charge, so this is effectively a mass axis. The mass spectrometer is calibrated so that the
carbon-12 isotope is given an m/z of exactly 12, so the mass spectrometer measures the
relative isotopic mass of the ions directly.
The y-axis is abundance, showing the proportion of ions from the sample which have each
different mass. These might be expressed as percentages (relative abundance) or as
fractions (fractional abundance) in either case the relative abundances of all the isotopes
must add up to 100%, or the fractional abundances to 1.
The results are used to calculate the Ar:
Ar = (fractional abundance for each isotope x relative isotopic mass)
N.B fractional abundance = relative abundance / 100
The method for working out the Ar value is:
1. multiply each fractional abundance by the mass of that isotope
2. add the results of these multiplications to get the relative atomic mass
Page 3

Application
Mass spectrometry shows that a sample of Br has two isotopes; 79Br and 81Br. Their
abundances are 50.52% and 49.48% respectively. Show that the RAM of bromine in this
sample is 79.99 to 4 significant figures.
Isotope
79Br
81Br

rel ab.
50.52
49.48

frac. ab.
0.5052
0.4948

rel iso mass x frac abundance

79 x 0.5052 = 39.9108
81 x 0.4948 = 40.0788
Ar
= 79.9896
= 79.99 to 4sf

Check your understanding

3. The table below shows the isotopes of magnesium and their natural abundances. Show
that the relative atomic mass of magnesium is 24.3, as indicated in the periodic table.
Isotope:
Relative isotopic
mass
% abundance

24Mg

25Mg

26Mg

24.0

25.0

26.0

78.6

10.1

11.3

4. Determine the relative atomic mass of neon to 1 decimal place, given the following
mass spectrometry results:
20Ne
22Ne

= 90%
= 10%

5. The Ar of lithium is 6.92. The most common isotope is 7Li with an abundance of 92%.
Determine the mass number of the other isotope.
Relative Formula Mass
Now we know the masses of atoms, we can use them to calculate masses of molecules,
(relative molecular mass, Mr) by adding the masses of the atoms given in the molecular
formula.
Not everything is formed of simple molecules (e.g. giant structures) but these have an
empirical formula, so more generally the relative formula mass is the sum of the relative
atomic masses in the formula unit. e.g. one formula unit of Ca(OH)2 is one Ca2+ and two
OH- ions.
Units:
In all these cases, there are NO UNITS were comparing to a unitless scale.
Page 4

Application
sodium chloride
sodium hydroxide
nickel II sulphate
aluminium hydroxide

relative formula mass

NaCl
58.5
NaOH
40
NiSO4
154.8
Al(OH)3
78

Check your understanding

6. Calculate relative molecular/formula masses for:
i)
propanol (C3H7OH)
iv)
ii)
sulphur dioxide
v)
iii)
nitrogen gas

trichloromethane (CHCl3)
ammonium nitrate

Moles
Atoms combine in fixed proportions when they react. For example, 24.3g of magnesium will
react with exactly 16g of oxygen to form magnesium oxide. This is because there the same
number of magnesium atoms in 24.3g of magnesium as there are oxygen atoms in 16g of
oxygen, and they are combining in a 1:1 ratio since the empirical formula of magnesium
oxide is MgO.
We call this number of atoms one mole (symbol mol). The mole is the unit of
measurement of amount of substance. When we write balanced equations, the numbers in
front (properly called the stoichiometry), are numbers of moles.
To obtain one mole of a substance, we weigh out the Mr in grams.
The Avogadro constant, having a value of 6.02 x 1023 mol-1 and symbol NA, is the actual
number of atoms, ions or molecules in a mole of atoms, ions or molecules.
Application
39.9g of argon contains 6.02 x 1023 Ar atoms
18g of water contains 6.02 x 1023 H2O molecules
2g of hydrogen contains 6.02 x 1023 H2 molecules (12.04 x 1023 H atoms)
Definition:

The mole is the mass of an element or compound that contains exactly the
same number of particles as there are atoms in 12g of carbon-12
(i.e. 6.02 x 1023 particles)

Molar Mass:
We sometimes refer to the molar mass of a substance. The units are grams per mole (g
mol-1)
e.g.

a mole of magnesium weighs 24.3g

the molar mass of magnesium is 24.3 g mol-1

both of these mean

the same thing

Page 5

Converting between mass and moles

Our key equation here is
Or if we want to go the other way

MOLES = MASS / Mr
MASS = MOLES x Mr

Finally we might want to work out Mr or molar mass

Mr = MASS / MOLES
Application
How many moles of water is 2.7g of water? (Mr of H2O = 18.0)
Use Moles = Mass /Mr
Moles = 2.7 / 18 = 0.15 moles
What is the mass of 2.5 moles of sulphur atoms?
Here we use Ar not Mr it is atoms were being asked about.. Ar of S = 32.1
Mass = Moles x Ar = 2.5 x 32.1 = 80.25g
0.3 moles of a gas A has a mass of 8.4g. Calculate the molar mass of the gas, and
suggest its identity.
Use Mr = mass / moles = 8.4 / 0.3 = 28 So the molar mass is 28 g mol-1. This means the
relative molecular mass of the gas is 28, suggesting N2 or CO as possible identities.
Check your understanding:
7. Work out the molar masses (to 1 decimal place) of the following substances:
i)
HNO3
iii)
(NH4)2SO4.Fe2(SO4)3.24H2O
ii)
Na2CO3.10H2O
8. Work out the mass (to 2 sig figs) of:
i)
0.10 mole of zinc
ii)
1.0 mole of potassium hydrogencarbonate
iii)
0.050 moles of aluminium oxide
9. How many moles are there (to 2 sig figs) in:
i)
79.7g of bromine molecules
ii)
8.5g silver nitrate

iii)

2.0kg of sodium hydroxide

Using Avogadros number

We use Avogadros number to work out actual numbers of atoms, ions or molecules
(particles) in a given mass of substance, or the mass of a given number of particles. In
addition to the converting between mass and moles, we now need to use the equation:
Number of particles = moles of particles x NA
Or

Moles of particles = Number of particles

NA

Page 6

Application
How many atoms are there in 0.0005g of He ?
convert mass to moles
moles = mass / Ar

convert moles to atoms

atoms = moles x NA

What does a water molecule actually weigh?

convert number to moles moles = number / NA

convert moles to mass

mass = moles x Mr

= 0.0005 / 4
= 0.000125
= 0.000125 x 6.02x1023
= 7.525x1019
= 1 / 6.02x1023
= 1.66x10-24
= 1.66x10-24 x 18
= 2.99x10-23 g

Check your understanding

10.
i)
How many molecules are there in 79.9g of Br2 ?
ii)
How many Br atoms are there in 159.8g of Br2 ?
iii)
How many oxygen atoms in 8.5g AgNO3 ?
iv)
Polyethene consists of long chains of CH2- groups. In a polyethene bag the
average chain length was found to be 100,000 carbon atoms. Calculate the
average mass of a chain, and hence the average number of chains in a
plastic bag weighing 2g. Give your answer to an appropriate number of
significant figures.
Moles of gases
It is more practical to work with volumes of gases rather than masses. For this reason it is
useful to know the molar gas volume (units: dm3 mol-1), which is the volume occupied by
one mole of the gas. This will vary with temperature and pressure, but surprisingly does not
vary from gas to gas.
At room temperature and pressure (r.t.p: defined as 298K temperature and 100kPa
pressure), one mole of any gas occupies a volume of 24 dm 3 (which is 24,000 cm3)
Therefore

moles of gas

and

volume of gas =

volume of gas
molar gas volume
moles of gas x molar gas volume

Remember to keep the volume of the gas and the molar gas volume in the same
units either dm3 or cm3!
The other useful property of gases is the density. This allows us to convert between mass
and volume. Densities are typically measured in grams per cm3.
Density

mass
volume

and

mass = volume x density

Page 7

Application
What is the volume of 0.10 moles of carbon dioxide at room temperature and pressure?
Volume = moles x molar gas volume

= 0.10 x 24
= 2.4dm3

(or 2,400cm3)

A gas is collected at room temperature and pressure, and found to have a density of
0.001333 gcm-3. Suggest the identity of the gas.
Mass of 1cm3 of gas = 0.001333g
Mass of 24,000cm3 of gas = 0.001333 x 24,000 = 31.99g
mass of 1 mole of gas (molar mass) = 31.99 g mol-1
Mr of gas = 31.99 so gas is likely to be O2.
Practice
11.
i)
ii)
iii)

What is the volume (in dm3) of 300g of hydrogen at r.t.p.?

How many moles of nitrogen at r.t.p. are there in 100cm3 of the gas?
Calculate the density of carbon dioxide at r.t.p.

Historical Context
Our understanding of the structure of the atom has been refined as more sophisticated
models have been proposed, and as experimental evidence has supported these models or
caused them to be rejected.
Daltons model (early 1800s) was one of the first, proposing that atoms where solid
spheres, and that each different element was made up of different types of sphere.
Thomsons experimental observations (1897) led to the conclusion that atoms could not be
solid and indivisible. His results indicated that atoms contained much smaller negatively
charged particles, which we now know to be electrons. The model of the atom was refined:
a positively-charged sphere with negatively charged electrons embedded within it. This is
sometimes referred to as the plum pudding model.
Rutherford, with Geiger and Marsden (1909) experimented with firing positively charged
alpha particles at an extremely thin gold sheet. They expected most of the alpha particles
to be deflected slightly by repulsion from the positively charged puddings in the foil. What
they observed was that most alpha particles passed straight through, while a very small
number were deflected backwards. A revised model was needed to explain these
observations: the nuclear model, with a tiny positively charged nucleus at the centre of the
atom, surrounded by a cloud of negatively charged electrons, and with most of the atom
being empty space.
Moselys work on the charge of the nucleus of different atoms showed that nuclei of
different atoms have different amounts of positive charge, the charge increasing from one
element to another by units of one. Rutherford investigated further, discovering that the
nucleus of an atom contains a number of positively-charged particles called protons, but
Rutherford also realised that the nuclei of atoms were heavier than they should be if they
Page 8

contained only protons, and proposed that there must also be other particles with mass but
no charge in the nucleus. These particles, neutrons, were eventually discovered by
Chadwick supporting Rutherfords model of the nucleus.
Bohr (1913) proposed a more sophisticated model of the cloud of electrons, with the
electrons arranged in fixed orbits (shells) each with a fixed energy. He suggested that
electrons could move between the shells by absorbing or emitting an amount of energy
equal to the difference between the energy levels of the shells. This would mean that the
electrons in atoms would absorb or emit electromagnetic radiation (energy) with fixed
frequencies. The fixed frequencies of radiation emitted and absorbed by atoms were
already known from experiments Bohrs model allowed these observations to be
explained.
Bohrs model also stated that the shells could only hold fixed numbers of electrons, and
that an elements reactivity was related to the arrangement of these electrons. His model
explained the observation that the noble gases (with their outer shell filled) were found to
be stable and therefore unreactive (inert), while the alkali metals with one electron in their
outer shell were found to be unstable and therefore reactive.
Bohrs model is still used as it explains many phenomena such types of bonding between
atoms, although even more sophisticated models based on quantum mechanics are
available and are needed to explain observations such as the small variations in ionisation
energies for atoms of successive elements across a period we choose to use whichever
model is most relevant to the observations we are trying to explain.
It is important to remember, though, that all models are simplifications, made to help us try
to understand the complexity of the real world and to explain the experimental observations
that we make, so that we can then make predictions and test them.

Page 9

Answers to 'Check your understanding' questions

1.
i) a K+ ion,
iii) hydrogen (H+) ion,
iv) hydride (H-) ion.

K+
H+
H-

protons
19
1
1

neutrons
20
0
0

electrons
18
0
2

2.
i) 37Cl- subscript atomic number of 17 may also be given
ii) 24Mg2+ subscript atomic number of 12 may also be given

3. relative atomic mass =

(78.6 x 24) + (10.1 x 25) + (11.3 x 26) = 24.3

100
100
100

4. Ar values is:
Isotope
% abundance
20Ne
90.0
22Ne
10.0

relative abundance mass x relative abundance

0.9
20 x 0.90 = 18.0
0.1
22 x 0.10 = 2.2
Ar =
20.2

5.

100-92 8 so 8% of the other isotope, with mass number of m.

((8xm) + (92x7))/100 = 6.92 so 8m = 48 so m=6 6Li

6.

i)
ii)
iii)
iv)
v)

propanol
sulphur dioxide
nitrogen gas
trichloromethane
ammonium nitrate

7.

i)
ii)
iii)
i)

HNO3
63.0 g mol-1
Na2CO3.10H2O
286.0 g mol-1
(NH4)2SO4.Fe2(SO4)3.24H2O
964.0 g mol-1
0.1 mole of zinc, Zn
0.10 x 65.4

6.5g to 2sf

ii)

1 mole of potassium hydrogencarbonate

KHCO3
1 x 100.1g

1.0 x 102 to 2sf

0.05 moles of aluminium oxide

Al2O3
0.05 x 102

5.1g to 2sf

8.

iii)

9.

i)
ii)
iii)

79.9g of Br2
8.5g AgNO3
200kg of NaOH

60
64.1
28
119.5
80

79.9 / 79.9
8.5 / 169.9
200000 / 40

= 1.001
= 0.05003
= 5000

1.0 to 2sf
0.050 to 2sf
5.0 x 103 to 2sf

Page 10

10.

11.

i)
ii)
iii)

How many molecules are there in 79.9g of Br2 ?

How many Br atoms are there in 159.8g of Br2 ?
How many oxygen atoms in 8.5g AgNO3 ?

iv)

moles = 1 / 6.02x1023 = 1.66x10-24

av. mass of chain = 1.66x10-24 x 14 x 100,000
chains in 2g bag = 2 / 2.32x10-18
mass of bag only to 1 sig fig, so answer to 1 sig fig

i)
ii)
iii)

moles of H2 = 300/2 = 150 volume = 150 x 24

moles = 100 / 24,000
molar mass of CO2 = 44g mol-1
molar gas volume = 24,000 cm3
density = mass / volume = 44 / 24,000

3.01 x 1023
1.204 x 1024
= 3 x 0.05003 x NA
= 9.035 x 1022
= 2.32x10-18g
= 8.6x1017
= 9x1017 chains
= 3,600 dm3
= 0.00417 mol.
= 0.00183 gcm-3

Page 11