Quantum Theory of the Atom Newtons laws of motion DO NOT apply to particles of very small mass (like e s) very

y small particles obey a new set of laws. Quantum Mechanics studies these laws. Bohrs Theory Bohrs model only described the energy level of electrons in the atom. Correct: Electrons may only exist at allowed E-Levels Incorrect: An es position and motion can be specified exactly at a given time Electrons move in an orbit at a fixed radius, changing only when the e jumps E-levels Problem: Agrees with experimental evidence only with the case of H atoms or any other 1 e atom (He+) Erwin Schrodinger (1924) - described an atomic model with electrons in three dimensions. This model required three coordinates (three quantum numbers) to describe where electrons could be found. Developed wave mechanics (a type of math) to describe motion that has both particle and wave properties Wave mechanics involves the use of wave functions. These are mathematical expressions describing a 3-D space around a nucleus where there is a high probability of finding an e these regions are called orbitals e may be found here 95% of the time

Quantum theory provides 4 quantum numbers which describe electrons in atoms: 1. 2. Principle Quantum Number (n) Identifies the energy level upon which an electron exists. Secondary Quantum Number (l) Identifies the type (shape) of the orbital in which the electron exists. Magnetic Quantum Number (ml)

3.

Identifies the orientation of the orbital in which the electron exists. 4. Spin Quantum Number (ms) Identifies the direction the electron is spinning on its own axis.

In keeping with Bohrs theory that electrons can exist only on specific energy levels, quantum theory takes this theory and expands each energy level (described by Bohr) into several energy sub-levels. NOTE: Energy levels may also be referred to as shells, and sublevels as sub-shells. Energy Level Diagram for a Many-e Atom

Filling Orbitals with Electrons 3 RULES: Aufbau Principle When assigning e s to orbitals, the es must be placed in the lowest E-level for which there is space available. Pauli Exclusion Principle An orbital may have 0, 1 or 2 e s occupying it Hunds Rule Electrons at the same E-level will not pair-up in an orbital until all the orbitals at that sub-level are at least half full the distribution of es among the various orbitals of an atom is called its electron configuration E-level

Aluminum:
13

Al : 1s22s22p63s23p1 type of orbital

# of es occupying the subshell

Sulfur:
16

S:

1s22s22p63s23p4

Magnesium: 1s22s22p63s2 12Mg Note: Noble Gases

10

Ne

1s22s22p6

Short cut: Use the noble gas to represent the core electron configuration S : 1s22s22p63s23p4 2 2 6 10Ne : 1s 2s 2p
16

S becomes..

16

S:

[Ne] 3s23p4

NOTE: The 4s orbital is lower energy than the 3d orbitals and there for is filled first. There is strong evidence for this in the similarities in the chemistry of elements like sodium (1s22s22p63s1) and potassium (1s22s22p63s23p64s1) The outer electron governs their properties and that electron is in the same sort of orbital in both of the elements. That wouldn't be true if the outer electron in potassium was 3d1. EXCEPTIONS Cr (4s13d5) and Cu (4s13d10) Some configurations appear to break the rules elements in the same group as chromium and elements in the same group as copper. Cu has 29 electrons. Following the rules would lead to a configuration of : 1s22s22p63s23p63d94s2 ....the actual configuration is 1s22s22p63s23p63d104s1 what happened ? The unusual configurations of chromium and copper may be explained by considering energetic stability. The 4s and 3d subshells are very similar in energy and therefore it is easy to promote electrons from the 4s into the 3d orbitals. In chromium the 4s13d5 structure is adopted because the repulsion between two paired electrons in the 4s orbital is more than the energy difference between the 4s and 3d subshells. It is thus more stable to have unpaired electrons in the higher energy 3d orbital than paired electrons in the lower energy 4s orbital.

In copper, the full 3d subshell is actually lower in energy than the 4s subshell. The 3d orbitals are thus filled before the 4s orbital. Thus copper adopts a 4s13d10 configuration. Greater stability is conferred to an atom with either a full sublevel or half full sublevel, than to an atom that has empty orbital(s) in its valence subshell. In all ions of d-block elements, the 4s electrons are always removed first. 3d electrons are only removed after all 4s electrons have been removed. Exceptions Cr and Cu

Orbitals, Electrons, And The Quantum Numbers The Principle Quantum Number (n) identifies the energy level possessed by an e ** For every value of n, there are n types of orbitals and n2 actual orbitals **

Possible Types of Orbitals these types are described by the secondary quantum number s orbitals spherical shape

p orbitals peanut shaped There are 3 different kinds of p-orbitals; different only because they are oriented along different axes

d orbitals complicated shapes

l Type

0 s

1 p

2 d

3 f

n=1 For the first E-Level, n=1 there is one type of orbital Type of orbital = s Number of s orbitals = n2 = 12 = 1 this type of orbital is called the 1s orbital, because it is a spherical orbital existing at E-Level 1 (1 = energy level, s = kind of orbital) n=2 Second E-Level there are 2 types of orbital Type of orbital = s and p Number of orbitals = n2 = 22 = 4 (see diagram above to find them) called 2s, 2px, 2py, and 2pz o Where 2 is energy level and s, p, etc are the type of orbital n= 3 Third E-Level, there are 3 types of orbitals s, p, d Number of orbitals = 32 = 9

called 3s, 3px, 3py, and 3pz, and 5 x 3d orbitals

This is the order in which we fill the orbitals.

Practice Draw Energy Level diagrams and electron configurations for the following: a) aluminum b) sulphur c) chromium d) copper