Atoms and Their Components

Atom The smallest particle that can exist and still be an element. An atom is composed of three types
of subatomic particles: electrons, protons and neutrons. An atom has an equal number of electrons and
protons and so is electrically neutral (i.e., has no electrical charge).

NucleusThe heavy, dense central core of an atom that houses the protons and neutrons. The nucleus
contains the vast majority of the mass of the atom.

Proton A positively charged subatomic particle that is housed within the nucleus.

Neutron A chargeless subatomic particle that has approximately the same mass as a proton and
that is housed within the nucleus.

Electron A negatively charged subatomic particle that has negligible mass and moves around in a
cloud around the nucleus.

Ion An atom or molecule that has an electrical charge due to it having either extra electrons
(negative ion or anion) or having missing electrons (positive ion or cation).

Isotope A variety of an element that has a specific number of neutrons. All isotopes of an element
contain the same number of protons (i.e., have the same atomic number) but have different numbers of
neutrons (i.e., have different atomic mass).

Atomic Number The number of protons in an atom's nucleus. Every element has a unique atomic
number.

Atomic Weight The weight of an atom which is the sum of the weights of the atom's protons and
neutrons. An element can have numerous isotopes, so an element's atomic mass is expressed as the
average of the atomic weights of all of an element's isotopes. Note that the average is weighted for the
abundance of each isotope.

Materials Composed of Atoms

Element A substance that cannot be broken down into simpler substances by ordinary chemical
or physical means. Examples of elements are gold, iron, silicon and carbon.

Compound A substance formed by the chemical combination of two or more elements in specific
proportions. Examples of simple compounds include water (hydrogen and oxygen), carbon dioxide
(carbon and oxygen) and table salt or halite (sodium and chlorine).

Molecule The smallest possible particle of an element or compound. A molecule can consist of
only one element (e.g., oxygen = O2) or more than one element (e.g., carbon dioxide = CO2).
Atomic Bonds

Covalent Bond A chemical bond between atoms that is produced by the sharing of electrons. Covalent
bonds tend to be strong.

Ionic Bond A chemical bond that is produced by the mutual attraction of two ions of opposite
charge.

van der Waals Bond A very weak chemical bond between electrically neutral materials due to
instantaneous and fleeting imbalances in electrical charge as
electrons move around their nuclei.

Metallic Bond A chemical bond characteristic of metals, in

which electrons move freely from atom to atom. This free
movement of electrons results in the high electrical conductivity
and malleable nature of metals

Groups

A group, or family, is a vertical column in the periodic table. Elements in the same group show patterns in
atomic radius, ionization energy, and electronegativity. From top to bottom in a group, the atomic radii of
the elements increase: since there are more filled energy levels, valence electrons are found farther from
the nucleus. From top to bottom, each successive element has a lower ionization energy because it is
easier to remove an electron since the atoms are less tightly bound. Similarly, from top to bottom,
elements decrease in electronegativity due to an increasing distance between valence electrons and the
nucleus. There are exceptions to these trends however – in Group 11, for example, the electronegativity
increases down the group.

Periods

Elements in the same period show trends in atomic radius, ionization energy, electron affinity, and
electronegativity. Moving left to right across a period, from the alkali metals to the noble gases, atomic
radius usually decreases. This is because each successive element has an additional proton and electron,
which causes the electrons to be drawn closer to the nucleus. The additional proton increases the
effective nuclear charge to a greater extent than the addition of an extra electron to an already partially-
filled shell. The decrease in atomic radius also causes ionization energy to increase from left to right
across a period: the more tightly bound an element is, the more energy is required to remove an
electron. Electronegativity increases in the same manner as ionization energy because of the pull exerted
on the electrons by the nucleus. Electron affinity also shows a slight trend across a period: metals (the
left side of a period) generally have a lower electron affinity than nonmetals (the right side of a period),
with the exception of the noble gases which have an electron affinity of zero.

Atomic radius

The atomic radius is the distance from the atomic nucleus to the outermost stable electron orbital in an
atom that is at equilibrium. The atomic radius tend to decrease across a period from left to right. The
atomic radius usually increases while going down a group due to the addition of a new energy level
(shell). However, atomic radii tend to increase diagonally, since the number of electrons has a larger
effect than the sizeable nucleus. For example, lithium (145 picometer) has a smaller atomic radius than
magnesium (150 picometer).

Ionization emergy

Atomic Radius

Period - atomic radius decreases as you

go from left to right across a period.
Why? Stronger attractive forces in atoms (as you go from left to right) between the opposite charges in
the nucleus and electron cloud cause the atom to be 'sucked' together a little tighter.

Group - atomic radius increases as you go down a group.

Why? There is a significant jump in the size of the nucleus (protons + neutrons) each time you move
from period to period down a group. Additionally, new energy levels of elections clouds are added to the
atom as you move from period to period down a group, making the each atom significantly more
massive, both is mass and volume.

Ionization Energy

Ionization energy is the amount of energy required to remove the outmost electron. It is closely related
to electronegativity

Period - ionization energy increases as you go from left to right across a period.

Why? Elements on the right of the chart want to take others atom's electron (not given them up)
because they are close to achieving the octet. The means it will require more energy to remove the
outer most electron. Elements on the left of the chart would prefer to give up their electrons so it is easy
to remove them, requiring less energy (low ionization energy).

Group - ionization energy decreases as you go down a group.

Why? The shielding affect makes it easier to remove the outer most electrons from those atoms that
have many electrons (those near the bottom of the chart).
Electronegativity

Electronegativity is an atom's 'desire' to grab another atom's electrons Period- electronegativity

increases as you go from left to right across a period.

Why? Elements on the left of the period table have 1 -2 valence electrons and would rather give those
few valence electrons away (to achieve the octet in a lower energy level) than grab another atom's
electrons. As a result, they have low electronegativity. Elements on the right side of the period table only
need a few electrons to complete the octet, so they have strong desire to grab another atom's electrons.

Group - electronegativity decreases as you go down a group.

Why? Elements near the top of the period table have few electrons to begin with; every electron is a big
deal. They have a stronger desire to acquire more electrons. Elements near the bottom of the chart have
so many electrons that losing or acquiring an electron is not as big a deal. This is due to the shielding
affect where electrons in lower energy levels shield the positive charge of the nucleus from outer
electrons resulting in those outer electrons not being as tightly bound to the atom.

Electron Affinity

Definition: The energy given off when a neutral atom in the gas phase gains an extra electron to form a
negatively charged ion.

1) As you move down a group, electron affinity decreases.

2) As you move across a period, electron affinity increases.

Exceptions

Among nonmetals, however, the elements in the first period have lower electron affinities than the
elements below them in their respective groups.

Elements with electron configurations of Xs2, Xp3, and Xp6 have electron affinities less than zero
because they are unusually stable. In other words instead of energy being given off, these elements
actually require an input of energy in order to gain electrons. e.g. Be, N, Ne
WHY? - Electron affinities are all much smaller than ionization energies.

Xs2 < 0: Stable, diamagnetic atom with no unpaired electrons.

Xp3 < 0: Stable atom with 3 unpaired p-orbital electrons each occupying its own subshell.

Xp6 < 0: Stable atom with filled valence (outermost) shell.