Year 11 DP

Chemistry

Topic 2 Atomic Structure

2.1 The nuclear atom
Standard Level
The Atom
Atomic theory is one of the most important aspects of Chemistry.
Everything is made of atoms, which all have the same basic structure.
The atom consists of a dense nucleus containing protons and neutrons,
while electrons orbit the nucleus.

Use the data booklet (page 4) to fill in the table.

Mass (kg) Charge Charge (C) Position

Proton Positive Nucleus
Neutro
Neutral Nucleus
n
Electro Orbit the
Negative
n nucleus

The mass of the electron is generally considered negligible because it is

considerably smaller than that of the proton or the neutron.

Question:
Answer A (only 1 and 2).
A proton is positive and would be deflected towards a negative plate
because opposites attract and like charges repel.

The size of the atom:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQP4UJhNn0I

Outline of the atom:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSyAehMdpyI&list=PL9-
sJnBxK7cYR52zKlYHBV_xoZRfFjPq1&index=1

The history of the atom, and the experiments that were done to determine
the subatomic particles and their charges are incredible. It demonstrates
that Scientific knowledge changes over time with evidence, and that
Science is a collaborative undertaking to build a body of knowledge.

Go to:
Connect Science Year 11 DP Chemistry Resources Atomic
Structure
Use the information in the History of the Atom document to
outline the contribution that each of the following Scientists
made.

Dalton
Crookes
J.J. Thompson
Millikan
Rutherford
Chadwick

The history of the atom:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IO9WS_HNmyg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSAgLvKOPLQ
The number of protons in an atom is called the atomic number and given
the symbol Z. This is what makes each element unique the number of
protons determines what element it is.

The number of electrons in an ATOM is the same as the number of

protons.

The number of protons and neutrons is called the mass number, or the
nucleon number, and has the symbol A. To find the number of neutrons,
subtract the atomic number from the mass number.

This information about an element is often written as:

Ions:
If an atom gains or loses electrons it is called
an ion. A CATION has a positive charge, and
is when an atom loses electrons. This is
generally metals.
If an atom gains electrons it becomes a
negatively charged ion called an ANION. Non-
metals will form anions.

The number of electrons gained or lost can be

seen by the charge on the ion.

The sodium ion as lost one electron, to have a charge of +1.

The boron ion has gained three electrons, giving it 8 in total.

Questions:

1. Give the number of protons, neutrons and electrons in the following

atoms:
238
U 75 81
92 33 As 35 Br

2. Give the number of protons, neutrons and electrons in the following

ions:

C 140 3 +
58 e

C 40
20 a 2 + 37
17 C l

3. The following table shows the number of protons, electrons and

neutrons in a series of atoms and ions.

Electron
Symbol Protons Neutrons
s
D 27 30 25
X 43 54 42
Q 35 44 35
L 27 32 26
M 35 46 36
Z 54 78 54

Which symbols represent:

- Atoms
- Cations
- Anions
And what is the mass number for each symbol?
Isotopes:
Isotopes are atoms that have the same atomic number, but different mass
number. They are the same element because they have the same
number of protons, but a different number of neutrons.

The RELATIVE ATOMIC MASS (Ar) of an element the average of the

masses of the isotopes in a naturally occurring sample of the
element -- relative to the mass of 1/12 of an atom of Carbon 12.

This is why the masses given on the Periodic table are not whole numbers!

e.g.
Chlorine has two natural isotopes; Cl-35 and Cl-37. Cl-35 accounts for
75% of all chlorine and the remainder is Cl-37. To find the relative atomic
mass:
Ar (Cl) = 35 x 0.75 + 37 x 0.25
Ar (Cl) = 35.5

This is a weighted average of the isotopes and indicates that there is more
Cl-35 in the environment.
Questions:
1.

2.
3.
Answers
1.
Total number of atoms = 4 + 1 = 5

Isotope at 11 is 80% and isotope at 10 is 20%

Ar = 11 x 0.8 + 10 x 0.2 = 10.8

Another method of doing these questions:

Ar = (10 x 1 + 11 x 4) / 5 = 10.8

2. B 91.3

3.
We can use a Mass Spectrometer (MS) to determine the relative amounts
and masses of isotopes for an element.
Note:
You do not need to know how a MS works, this is background information.

An MS works by deflecting ions in a magnetic field. The sample must be

vapourised before it is ionized.
Stage 1 Ionisation
The atom is ionised by knocking one or more electrons off to give a
positive ion.
Stage 2 Acceleration
The ions are accelerated so that they all have the same kinetic energy.
Stage 3 Deflection
The ions are then deflected by a magnetic field according to their masses.
The lighter they are, the more they are deflected.
Stage 4 Detection
The beam of ions passing through the machine is detected electrically.
How does a mass spectrometer work?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOGM2gOHKPc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-wao0O0_qM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzvQzImBuq8
Question:

Answer:
Textbook:

Read and summarise page 37 49