Chemistry 4541

Chapter 2 The Structure of Atom

Chapter 2 The Structure of Atom

2.1 Matter
(1) Atom - An ATOM is the smallest particle of a substance which can have its own characteristic properties.

BUT remember atoms are built up of even more fundamental sub-atomic particles - the electron, proton and neutron. (2) Molecule - A MOLECULE is a larger particle formed by the chemical combination of two or more atoms.

The molecule may be an element e.g. hydrogen H2 or a compound e.g. carbon dioxide CO2 and the atoms are held together by covalent bonds. (3) Element - An ELEMENT is a pure substance made up of only one type of atom.

Note that each element has symbol which is a single capital letter like H or a capital letter + small letter e.g. cobalt Co, calcium Ca or sodium Na. (4) Compound - A COMPOUND is a substance formed by chemically combining at least two different elements. Ion An ION is a charged particle.

(5)

Cations are ions that positively charged. Anions are ions that negatively charged.

Kinetic Theory of Matter

(6) All matter is made up of molecules, and that these molecules are in continual random motion and possessing kinetic energies.

Brownian Motion
(7) When smoke particles are viewed under a microscope they appear to 'dance around' when illuminated with a light beam at 90o to the viewing direction. This is because the smoke particles show up by reflected light and 'dance' due to the millions of random hits from the fast moving air molecules.

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Chemistry 4541

Chapter 2 The Structure of Atom

Figure 1.1 Brownian Motion DIFFUSION

(8) The natural rapid and random movement of the particles in all directions.

The Changes in States of Matter

SOLID

LIQUID

GAS

Figure 1.2 The Changes in States of Matter

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Chemistry 4541

Chapter 2 The Structure of Atom

Melting and Boiling of Naphthalene

Figure 1.3 Heating Curve

Note: Stirring the naphthalene continuously to ensure even heating. During melting process, there is no change in temperature. This is because heat is absorbed to overcome the forces of attraction between naphthalene molecules.

2.2 The Atomic Structure

The historical development of the atomic model
Year Scientist Main Contributions

John Dalton

J.J.Thomson

Ernest Rutherford

Neils Bohr

James Chadwick

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Chemistry 4541

Chapter 2 The Structure of Atom

Proton number and neutron A Portrait of an Atom an image of what you cant see!
(9) The diagram below gives some idea on the structure of an atom, it also includes some important definitions and notation used to describe atomic structure.

Figure 1.4 Portrait of an Atom

(10) Protons and neutrons are the ' nucleons' present in the minute positive nucleus and the negative electrons are held by the positive protons in 'orbits' called shells. The proton number (Z) is the number of protons in the nucleus. It is the proton number that determines the specific identity of a particular element and its electron structure The nucleon number (A) is the number of particles in the nucleus of a particular isotope. Therefore,

(11) (12) (13)

The neutron number (N) =

(14) In a neutral atom,

that is the number of positive charges is equal to the number of negative charges. If not, the atom has an overall charge and is then called an ion e.g. Na+ (11p, 10e) or Cl- (17p, 18e).

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Chemistry 4541

Chapter 2 The Structure of Atom

Symbols of Elements
(15) Each element is represented by a symbol.

2.3 Isotopes and Their Importance

(16) Isotopes are atoms of the same element with different numbers of neutrons. This gives each isotope of the element a different nucleon number but being the same element they have the same proton number.

Examples of isotopes: (i)

1, 2 and 3, with 0, 1 and 2 neutrons respectively, but all have 1 proton. Hydrogen-1 is the most common, there is a trace of hydrogen-2 naturally but hydrogen-3 is very unstable and is used in atomic fusion weapons.

1 1

H , 2 H and 3 H are the three isotopes of hydrogen with nucleon numbers of 1 1

(ii)

12 6

C , 13 C and 14 C 6 6

are the three isotopes of carbon. In Archaeology,

14 6

is used to determine the age of archeological artifacts.

2.4 The electronic structure of atoms

(17) (18) The electrons are arranged in shells around the nucleus and with increasing distance from the nucleus.

Each electron in an atom is in a particular shell and the electrons must occupy the lowest available shell) nearest the nucleus. When the level is full, the next electron goes into the next shell available. (19) There are rules about the maximum number of electrons allowed in each shell and you have to be able to work out the arrangements for the first 20 elements. The 1st shell has a maximum of 2 electrons The 2nd shell has a maximum of 8 electrons The 3rd shell has a maximum of 8 electrons (only up to atomic number 20, 18 after that, but that's for advanced level work!) The 19th and 20th electrons go into the 4th shell (limit of SPM knowledge) (20) If you know the proton number, you know it equals the number of electrons in a neutral atom, you then apply the rules to work out the electron arrangement (configuration).

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Chemistry 4541

Chapter 2 The Structure of Atom

2.4 The electronic structure of atoms Examples: symbol or name of element (Proton Number = number of electrons in a
neutral atom), as well as the electron arrangement are shown in figure 1.5.

On Period 1

to

(2 elements only)

On Period 2

to

to

(3 of the 8 elements)

On Period 3

to

to

(3 of the 18 elements)

On Period 4

(2 of the 18 elements)

Figure 1.5 Electron Arrangement of Elements Valence Electrons

(21) (22) (23) (24) The shell which is furthest from the nucleus is called as valence shell. The electrons in the valence shell are called as valence electrons. Only electrons involved in chemical reaction. Therefore, the number of valence electrons determines the chemical properties of an element. Therefore, elements with the same number of valence electrons have similar chemical properties.

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Chemistry 4541

Chapter 2 The Structure of Atom

So Which Electron Arrangement are Stable and which are not?

(25) When an atom has its valence level full to the maximum number of electrons allowed, the atom is particularly stable electronically and very unreactive. (a) This is the situation with the Noble Gases: Helium is [2], Neon is [2,8] and Argon is [2,8,8] etc. (b) There atoms are the most reluctant to release, share or receive electrons in any sort of chemical interaction because they are so electronically stable - most of chemistry is about what valence electrons do or don't! (c) [2] , [2,8] and [2,8,8] etc. are known as the 'stable Noble Gas arrangements', and the atoms of other elements try to attain this sort of electron structure when reacting to become more stable. (26) The most reactive metals have just one valence electron. (a) These are the Group 1 Alkali Metals, lithium [2,1], sodium [2,8,1], and potassium [2,8,8,1] (b) With one valence shell electron, they have one more electron than a stable Noble Gas electron structure. (c) So, they readily release the valence electron when they chemically react to try to form (if possible) one of the stable Noble Gas electron arrangements - which is why atoms react in the first place! (27) The most reactive non-metals are just one electron short of a full valence shell. (a) These are the Group 7 Halogens, fluorine [2,7], chlorine [2,8,7] etc. (b) These atoms are one electron short of a stable full valence shell and seek an 8th valence electron to become electronically stable - yet again, this is why atoms react! (c) They readily receive a valence electron, when they chemically react, to form one of the stable Noble Gas electron arrangements either by sharing electrons (in a covalent bond) or by electron transfer forming a singly charged negative ion (ionic bonding).

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