CHAPTER 6:

QUANTUM
MECHANICS
SCIENTIST DEVELOPED A REVOLUTIONARY STUDY OF
SCIENCE THAT DEALS WITH MATTER ON ATOMIC AND SUBATOMIC
SCALES. QUANTUM MECHANICS EXPLAIN THE STRUCTURE OF
THE ATOM AND THE NUCEUS. WITHOUT KNOWING THE
STRUCTURE OF AN ATOM, MOST PHYSICS AND CHEMISTRY THAT
WE KNOW WOULD NOT EXIST TODAY.
Learning Objectives: At the end of the
lesson, the students will be able to:
 Trace the historical development of quantum
mechanics;
 Identify the scientists who contributed to the
development of quantum mechanics;
 Describe the quantum mechanical model of the
atom; and
 Describe the electronic structure of atoms in
terms of main energy levels, sublevels, and
orbitals , and relate this to energy.
 QUANTUM
MECHANICS
IS A SCIENCE THAT DEALS WITH THE PROCESSES THAT
AFFECT THE BAHVIOR OF MATTER AND LIGHT IN ATOMIC
AND SUBATOMIC SCALES.
Historical Development of
Quantum Mechanics
 The ELECTRON was discovered by English physicist
J.J. THOMSON in 1897. He received a Nobel Prize in
1906 for his discovery which contributed to a further
understanding of the properties of atoms.
 In 1911, New Zealand physicist ERNEST RUTHERFORD
conducted the GOLD-FOIL EXPERIMENT, together with Hans
Geiger and Ernest Marsden, to investigate the structure of an
atom and to test the veracity of the atomic model proposed by
J.J. Thomson.
 With the discoveries of the electron and the nucleus,
Rutherford consequently proposed the PLANETRAY MODEL of
the atom.
 However, a more detailed model of the atom replaced the
popular planetary model. This is known as the BOHR MODEL,
proposed by Danish Physicist NIELS BOHR in 1913.
 Some of the points that Niels Bohr
suggested with his model of the atom.

1. Electrons orbit the nucleus in quantum levels or shells.

2. Electrons first occupy the lowest energy levels before
moving up to the higher energy levels.
3. Electrons orbit stably, without emitting radiation, in
certain orbits at certain discrete sets of distances from
the nucleus.
4. Electrons can only gain or lose energy by jumping from
one energy level to another. This energy is given by the
formula:
ΔE = E2 – E1
 In 1918, the German theoretical physicist PLANCK
won the Nobel Prize for his discovery that light and
electromagnetic waves are emitted in discrete
packets of energy, which he called quanta.
 In 1922, German-born theoretical physicist
EINSTEIN was awarded the Nobel Prize for his work
on PHOTOELECTRIC EFFECT wherein he proved that
light can eject electrons in a metal since it can also
behave as a particle.
 In 1926, Austrian Physicist ERWIN SCHRODINGER,
gaining knowledge and interest from previous discoveries,
started applying his improved ideas of WAVE MECHANICS
to explain the properties of an atom. He decided to
approach the problem by given emphasis to the electron’s
wave-like characteristics. Schrodinger suggested the
existence of orbitals instead of Bohr’s orbits. He also
suggested that electrons do not follow a predetermined
path, they move around an area, instead. However, he
was not very sure that his idea would work. To test
whether his mathematical measurements will correctly fit
the experimental data, he proposed a new wave function
called psi, ψ. His specific wave function is called an
orbital (subshell or energy sublevel) to differentiate it
from Bohr’s orbit.
 Quantum mechanics suggests that one
cannot precisely know the position and
velocity of an electron at the sane time. This
means that electrons are not single particles
orbiting inside an atom. With this, in 1927,
German Physicist WERNER HEISENBERG
proposed the HEISENBERG UNCERTAINTY
PRINCIPLE which states that it is not possible
to predict the position and momentum of a
particle at a given time. With all these, an
entirely new picture of the nature of the atom
has been developed which led to the rise of
QUANTUM MECHANICS.
 Quantum Mechanical Model
Erwin Schrodinger theorized that the behaviour of
electrons could be explained by treating them as
waves. The model associated to this is known as the
QUANTUM MECHANICAL or WAVE MECHANICAL MODEL.
This became the basis of the modern theories about
the atom.
The quantum mechanical model was developed
when Albert Einstein and Max Planck discovered the
wave-particle duality concept of matter. This model
uses ELECTRON CLOUD, an area of space in which an
electron is likely to be found.
 This model describes how electrons spin around the nucleus
by introducing the four QUANTUM NUMBERS.
 An ELECTRON SHELL or ENERGY LEVEL
is an orbit taken by electrons around the
nucleus. The closest shell to the nucleus
is the first shell (n=1), followed by the
second shell (n=2), and so on. The shells
correspond to the principal quantum
numbers (n=1,2,3 …)
The n=1 state is known as the GROUND
STATE. On the other hand, the higher n
states are known as the EXCITED STATES.
 To conserve energy, a photon
with an energy equal the energy
difference between the states
will be emitted by the atom. This
energy is equal to:

E= 13.6eV (1/nf2 – 1/ni2)

Activity: Atomic Theory Scientists
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the contributions of
different scientists in the development of the
modern atomic theory.
PROCEDURE: 1. Research on :
a. J.J. Thomson
b. Ernest Rutherford
c. Niels Bohr
d. Max Planck
e. Albert Einstein
f. Erwin Schrodinger
g. Werner Heisenberg
2. Each group will research on the following
information.
a. How the scientist came about his atomic idea or
theory;
b. What the scientist thought the atom looked like
(make a model or graphic representation.
c. The century or year the model or idea was
conceptualized; and
d. How the model eventually helped in the
conceptualization of the modern atomic theory.
3. As a class activity, use the information from the
presentations to make a timeline of the development
of modern atomic theory.
 Briefly discuss how the works of
Thomson, Rutherford, and Bohr
contributed to our understanding
of the atomic structure.
Learning Objectives: at the end of the
lesson, the students will be able to:

Use quantum numbers to describe

an electron in an atom and
Perform exercises on quantum
numbers.
QUANTUM
NUMBERS
SINCE THE DEVELOPMENT OF QUANTUM
MECHANICS, THE ATOM AND ITS STRUCTURE
HAS BEEN VIEWED DIFFERENTY.
 QUANTUM NUMBERS describe
values of conserved quantities of
a quantum system. An important
aspect of quantum mechanics is
the quantization of observable
quantities, which is possible
through quantum numbers since
they are discrete sets of integers
and half-integers.
 Particles have quantum numbers
that can represent their
properties. This is because the set
of quantum numbers is unique for
every electron. PAULI’S
EXCLUSION PRINCIPLE states that
no two identical electrons may
occupy the same quantum state in
an atom simultaneously.
1. Principal Quantum Number (n)
This describes the energy level of an
electron. The value of n ranges from 1 to the
electron shell or energy level containing the
outermost electron of the atom. The larger
the value of n, the father the distance of the
electron in the orbital from the nucleus. Also,
as the distance from the nucleus increases,
the energy of each orbital increases. This
means that higher n values have higher
energies.
Example 1: Fluorine (9F)

fluorine has an electron configuration

of 1s22s22p5. Through its electron
configuration, we can tell that its
outermost electrons or valence
electrons are in the second energy level.
Therefore, an electron in fluorine can
have an n value of 1 to 2.
Example 2: Calcium (20Ca)

Calcium has an electron

configuration of
1s22s22p63s23p64s2. What are
the possible n values of Ca?
 2. Angular Quantum Number (l)
Also called AZIMUTHAL QUANTUM NUMBER. This describes
the shape of the orbital and the magnitude of the orbital
angular momentum. l has values ranging from 0 to (n-1). Thus,
the value of l depends on the value of n. the values of l can
also be determined by the designated orbital of its valence
electrons.

VALUE OF l DESIGNATED ORBITAL

0 s- sharp
1 P- principal
2 d- diffuse
3 f- fundamental
Example 3: Fluorine (9F)

Since fluorine has an n value of 2,

its possible l values are only 0 and
1. from its electron configuration
1s22s22p5, it has its valence
electrons in the p-orbital.
Therefore, its angular number is 1.
Example 4: (20Ca)

Since calcium has an n value of

4, its possible l values are 0,1,2
and 3. from its electron
configuration, what is the
angular quantum number of Ca?
 3. Magnetic Quantum Number (ml)
This describes the orientation of the electron cloud.
The value of ml depends on the value of l. Given the value
of l, the range of ml values is from –l to l. Therefore, it
can be a negative integer, zero, or a positive integer.
The s subshell (l= 0) contains only one orbital.
Therefore, the ml of an electron , or the orientation of
the electron cloud in an s orbital will always be 0. the p
subshell (l= 1) contains three orbitals, so the ml of an
electron in a p orbital will be -1, 0, and 1. The d subshell
(l= 2) contains 5 orbitals , so the possible ml values are -2,
-1, 0, 1, and 2. In the f-subshell (l= 3), it contains 7
orbitals so the possible ml values are -3, -2, -1, 0, 1, 2 and
3.
Example 5: Fluorine (9F)
Fluorine has an l value of 1.
therefore its possible ml values are -
1, 0 or 1. using the Hund’s rule, we
can draw its 5 valence electrons.
HUND’S RULE states that every
orbital in a subshell must be singly
occupied before it can be doubly
occupied.
Example 6: Calcium (20Ca)

Calcium has an l value of 0. if the

magnitude of its angular momentum
is zero, therefore, its magnetic
quantum number is also zero.
4. Electron Spin Quantum Number (ms)
This describes the spin of the electron. Its
values can be + ½ represented by an upward
arrow, or – ½ represented by a downward
arrow. Electrons occupy each orbital singly
first before pairing up and filling the other
orbitals, as stated by the Hund’s rule. The
last inserted spin will be the quantum spin of
the atom. An orbital can only accommodate
two electrons with opposite spins in each
orbital.
Summary of the quantum numbers.
QUANTUM SYMBOL MEANING
NUMBER
Principal quantum n Energy level or
number shell
Angular quantum l Subshell
number
Magnetic quantum ml Orientation of the
number subshell
Electron spin ms Spin of the
quantum number electron
 Aside from moving around the
nucleus, the electron also spins on its
own axis. This spin causes the
electron to behave like a small bar
magnet, producing a permanent
magnetic effect. This effect is
cancelled by the presence of another
electron in the immediate vicinity
spinning in the opposite direction.
Sample Problem 1:

Determine the quantum

numbers of electrons in
the 4d orbitals
Sample Problem 2:

What is the total number

of orbitals if the principal
quantum number is equal
to 4?