Atomic Structure and the

Periodic Table -1
Presented By S. Parker-Grant
CAPE UNIT 1
Module 1

Objectives
Discuss

the process of theoretical change

with respect to Daltons atomic theory
Describe the structure of the atom
Define the following terms: mass number,
isotopes, relative atomic and isotopic
masses based on the carbon-12 scale
Explain the phenomenon of radioactivity
Cite the use of radioisotopes
Calculate the relative atomic mass of an
element given isotopic masses and
abundances

Objectives
Explain

how data from emission

spectra provide evidence for
discrete energy levels within the
atom
Describe the atomic orbitals
Describe the shapes of the s and
p orbitals
Determine the electronic
configurations of atoms and ions
in terms of s, p and d orbitals

Criteria for accepting

theories
The concept of the
atom has undergone many
changes
Existing models are confirmed, modified and
abandoned as experimental evidence becomes
available
Early ideas proposed by Greeks suggested
indivisibility of the atom
Modern quantum mechanical model suggest that
the atom behaves both as a particle and as a
wave
The once thought to be hallow atom has now
been shown ,through experiments, to contain p, n
and e (comprised of other sub-atomic particles)

Criteria for accepting

theories
Criteria
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

for accepting theories

Fit between evidence and
theoretical constructs
Reliability and accuracy of data
Replicability of experiments
Consensus within the scientific
community
Societal factors

Daltons Atomic Theory

John Dalton (1766-1844)

Daltons Atomic Theory

Elements

are made up of tiny indivisible

particles called atoms
Atoms of the same element have the same mass
and size while atoms of different elements have
different masses
Atoms of the same element are chemically alike
and atoms of different elements are chemically
different.
Elements combine chemically in whole number
ratios to form different substances
Atoms may separate or rearranged during
chemical reactions, but never changed, created
or destroyed

Daltons Theory
Matter

consists of tiny ,
indivisible particles that cannot
be created or destroyed
Atoms of one element cannot
be converted into atoms of
another element. In chemical
rxns, reacting molecules
separate into atoms that
recombine to form different
molecules
Atoms of given element are
identical on mass etc and are
different from those of another
Atoms of different elements
combine in simple specific
whole # ratios to give
combined atoms(molecules).
Law of multiple proportions

What is now known

Atoms

are not indivisible

and are composed of
sub-atomic particles
During a chemical rxn
this idea is true. BUT in
nuclear rxns, atoms of
one element can change
into atoms of another
Atoms of an element can
have slight differences in
their masses and
properties(Isotopes).
True for most compds but
a few vary slightly in
their atomic ratios.

Limitations of Daltons Theory

Thomsons Experiment (1897)

If

the tube is not fully evacuated

and still contains small amounts
of air or other gases, the current
flow is visible as a glow called a
cathode ray

This

beam is produced at the

negative electrode and is
deflected towards the positive
electrode

The
This

is a glass tube from which

the air has been removed and
with two pieces of metals called
electrodes attached
An electric current flows through
the tube when a sufficient
voltage is applied
The current flow is from the
cathode (negatively charged) to
the anode (positively charged)

beam can also be deflected

by a magnet or an electrically
charged plate

Thomson

proposed that the

cathode ray must consist of tiny
negatively charged particle
called electrons.

Being

emitted from different

kinds of metal, all elements must
therefore contain electrons

Thomsons Experiment
Discovered

electrons (he called it a

corpostle)
Atoms are electrically neutral
Thomson concluded the in order for an
atom to remain electrically neutral,
electrons are embedded in an
positively charged sphere. Plum
pudding model

Testing Thomsons Model of the Atom

If

Thomsons model is correct, then a

metal foil, e.g. gold, can be
considered to be a film of positive
charge with electrons embedded in it.

If

a beam of positively charged alpha

particles is fired at the foil, then all
the particles should be deflected
instead of passing through the atom,
i.e. the metal foil.

Rutherfords
Experiment(1909)

Rutherfords Findings
Most

of the alpha particles passed through the sheet

A few were slightly deflected
Very few were greatly deflected (1 in 8000)
It was assumed that the alpha particles bounced back
as they approached a tiny positively charged
centre, the nucleus
The nucleus must be larger than the mass of the alpha
particles, since they were deflected so strongly. Alpha
particles that were slightly deflected passed close to the
nucleus.
Most

particles passed straight through the gold foil,

which implied that the atom consists of a lot of space.
This led to the planetary model with electrons
surrounding the nucleus

The Rutherford Atom

Electrons

Present in the space

around the nucleus.
Electrons occupy this
space by repelling
electrons of neighbouring
atoms.

Nucleus

Consists of massive
particle, Rutherford
identified as protons.
Chadwick later

The Bohr Model of the

atom

This

model aimed to explain the

observation that EMR emitted by an
excited atom has specific energies.
Electrons are in circular orbits of fixed
or quantised energy.
They will not absorb or emit energy as long
as they stay within this orbit.
Therefore

the energy of the electron in

an atom must also be quantised..i.e..an
electron can only have certain discrete
energy levels.

The Bohr Model of the

atom

The Bohr Model of the

atom
Each

energy level (orbit) may be occupied by an electron

of that particular energy.

When

an atom absorbs energy, an electron can jump to a

higher energy level, farther away from the nucleus.

The

excited atom can then emit EMR as the electron falls

back down to a lower energy level.

When

an electron moves from one energy level to

another; this is called an electronic transition.

The

emitted energy is seen as a line in the spectrum

(Bohrs model will be discussed in further details later)

1926 onwards
Schrodinger,

Born, and
Heisenberg described the
position of an electron in
terms of the probability of
finding it at any point. This
led to the idea of atomic
orbitals (a region of space
where there is a high
probability of finding an
electron).

Sub-atomic Particles

Sub-atomic particles and electric

fields
Charged

particles move towards the

plates with opposite charge and away
from plate with the same charge.
If same voltage is used to deflect eand p+, the e- are deflected to a
greater extent as their mass is very
small compared to p+

Sub-atomic particles and

magnetic fields
Application

of a low voltage supply

results in the production of a beam of
electrons(cathode rays) in an
evacuated tube
The beam moves downwards when a
magnets north pole is brought near

Sub-atomic particles and magnetic fields

The

direction of movement can be

predicted from Flemings left hand rule
The direction of motion is at right angles to
the direction of the magnetic field and the
conventional current
Electron flow is opposite to that of
conventional current

Sub-atomic particles and magnetic fields

Beams

of protons will be deflected in the opposite direction

to the electrons
Beams of neutrons will not be deflected since the have no
charge

Summary
The

atomic theory has developed to fit the

experimental evidence
Most of the mass of the atom is in the
nucleus which contain neutrons and
protons. Electrons are outside the nucleus
in shells
e- , n and p+ have characteristic relative
masses and charges
Beams of p+ and e- are deflected in
opposite directions by electric and
magnetic fields. Neutrons are not
deflected.

Isotopes and Radioactivity

nucleus =
atom

X = element symbol
Z = atomic number =
# of protons in
# of e- in neutral
(determines the
position in the

elements
periodic table)
A = mass number = # of
protons + neutrons (nucleons)
atomic #)

# of neutrons is A-Z(mass # -

Isotopes
Isotopes

are atoms of an
element which have the same
atomic number(# of p+) but
different mass number(due to
different # of neutrons)

Relative atomic and relative

isotopic mass
The

mass of a single atom is too small to

measure, so we use the carbon-12 atom as
the standard, which has a mass of exactly
12 units.
The (RAM)relative atomic mass(A r) of an
element is the mass of one atom of the
element relative to 1/12 the mass of an
atom of the carbon-12 isotope.
Relative isotopic mass is the mass of an
atom of a specific isotope of the element
relative to the mass of the standard
carbon-12 isotope.

Calculating accurate relative

atomic mass
Based

on the mass
spectrum results,
chlorine has 2
isotopes of atomic
masses 35 amu and
37 amu.

The

relative
abundances of these
isotopes are 75% and
25% respectively.

Calculating accurate relative atomic mass

Elements

occur as a mixture of
isotopes. The RAM is a weighted
average of all the stable relative
isotopic masses, taking into
account their abundance.
Eg. Chlorine occurs as a mixture
of Cl-35 ( 75%) and Cl-37 (
25%). The weighted avg. of Cls
RAM is:

RAM ?
Naturally

occurring silver is
51.84% silver-107 and 48.16%
silver-109.
Calculate the relative atomic
mass of silver.

n/p ratio
The

strong nuclear force makes it

possible for protons which naturally repel
to be held together in the tiny space of
the nucleus.
This force operate between the p+ and n
transferring energy back and forth
Once the n/p ratio does not depart too
far from 1, the nucleus is likely to be
stable
The p/p ratio is close to 1:1 up to about
Z=20, then increases slowly up to about
1.6:1

n/p ratio

Stable

n/p ratio

nuclides lie in the dotted

area in the figure above
The nucleus is unstable (contains
too much inherent energy) and
changes towards a more stable
state by losing some
energy(decay).
We can think of a neutron as a
p+ plus an e-.

Radioactivity

Isotopes

of some elements have

nuclei which break down(decay)
spontaneously. These are
radioactive isotopes.
Rays/particles are given off as the
nuclei break down. These are
called emissions.

Alpha decay
This

occurs in nuclei with Z > 83

This occurs when a nucleus
spontaneously emits an alpha particle
i.e. two protons and two neutrons (an
helium nucleus).
When an atom emits an alpha particle
the atomic number decreases by two
and the mass number by four
Alpha particles are doubly charged
helium ions.
Alpha particles are not very penetrating
and are stopped by a sheet of paper.

Alpha Decay
-decay
The

isotope produced has a

mass # of 4 units lower and a
nuclear charge of 2 units lower
than the original atom.

Beta Decay

-decay occurs when an atomic nucleus is

unstable due to an excess of neutrons in the
nucleus. i.e. n/p ratio is too high
As a result one of these neutrons is
converted to a proton and an electron (beta
particle) to change this ratio.
The beta particle is ejected from the nucleus
A beta particle has the same mass and
charge as an electron.
A beta particle is 100 times more
penetrating than an alpha particle, and can
travel a few meters in air.

Beta Decay
During

beta decay, mass # remains

constant.
# of p and n stay constant. The atomic #
increases by 1.
A n in the nucleus is converted to a proton
+ plus an electron.
Occurs in elements with atomic # less than
83.
The proton remains in the nucleus but the eis ejected as a beta particle.
Therefore, the overall effect of beta decay is
an increase of 1 p in an isotope and a
corresponding decrease of 1 n.

Beta Decay
-

decay
The mass number stays the same
but the # of protons increases by
one. A neutron is changed into a
p+ and an e-.

Gamma Decay
-

decay
- rays can be emitted along with
- or particles or in a process
called electron capture. A proton
is converted to a neutron, so the
mass number stays the same but
the atomic number decreases by
one.

Gamma Decay
A

gamma particle is the most

penetrating and travel a few
kilometers in air.

Uses of radioisotopes
Radiotherapy
Generating

power- 235U used in many

nuclear reactors
Batteries used in heart pacemakers
and spacecrafts.(238Pu) has slow decay
rate [t1/2 =88 yrs] and particles
produced presents no health risks.
Smoke detectors- many use 241Am
Tracers
Carbon dating

Questions
Explain what is meant by the statement
Chlorine has two isotopes, chlorine -35
and chlorine-37.
2. Tritium is an isotope of hydrogen and it
has two neutrons in its nucleus. Write
the nuclear equation describing the
decay of tritium(3H) to Helium-3(3He).
3. A nucleus has Z = 86 and N = 132.
What is the n:p ratio?
What is the new n:p ratio after an
particle is emitted?
What were the two nuclides?
1.