UNIT 1: CHEMICAL PRINCIPLES AND

APPLICATIONS 1

MODULE 1: FUNDAMENTALS IN CHEMISTRY

ATOMIC STRUCTURE AND THE
PERIODIC TABLE
STUDENTS SHOULD BE ABLE TO
 Discuss the process of theoretical change with respect
to Dalton’s atomic theory
 Describe the structure of the atom
 Define the following terms
 Mass number
 Isotopes

 Relative atomic and isotopic masses based on Carbon-12

isotope
 Explain the phenomenon of radioactivity

 Cite the use of radioisotopes

 Calculate the RAM of an element given isotopic masses and

abundances
Discuss the process of theoretical
change with respect to Dalton’s
atomic theory
ALL MATTER IS MADE OF ATOMS
 Hydrogenis the most
common atom of our
universe

 Types of atoms in Earth’s

Crust www.earthshope.org
 Iron 5%, Aluminum 8%,
Silicon 28%, Oxygen 47%,
Other 12%

 Types
of atoms in
Humans
 Nitrogen 3%, Hydrogen 10%,
Oxygen 61%, Other 26 %
bubblingbrain.wordpress.com
 Early Greek Philosophers
determined that atoms are the
building blocks of matter.
JOHN DALTON (1766–1844)

 John Dalton’s theory of the atom started

out as a solid sphere with no charges
 He used the Greek word ‘atomos’ which
means ‘cannot be cut’ to describe the
particles that make up elements
 The idea that all matter was made of
tiny, indivisible particles had been
proposed in 450BC, by an ancient Greek,
Democritus
 Proposed the atomic theory by
investigating atomic weights of atoms
DALTON’S ATOMIC THEORY
 Matter consists of small particles called
atoms
 Atoms are indivisible and indestructible

 Atoms of the same elements are identical in

mass and properties
 Atoms combine chemically in simple whole
number ratios to form compounds
 Atoms can combine in more than one simple
whole number ratio
HOW DOES A THEORY BECOME ACCEPTED
 In science, by contrast, a theory is an
explanation for the way reality works
that has considerable supporting
evidence.
 For a theory to be accepted, it must
first pass the test of experiment and
observation not just once but many
times.
DISPROVING A THEORY

 Truth in science is never final but is always subject to

modification and revision. Sometimes a theory may
come to be widely accepted, but then a new experiment
or observation may provide evidence inconsistent with
the theory and force scientists to discard it in favor of a
new explanation.
 It just takes one experimental result inconsistent with
a theory to show the theory is wrong, but a thousand
experiments can't prove the theory is right.
 The more experiments that are consistent with a
theory, however, and the more evidence that
accumulates to suggest the theory is true, the more
confident scientists can be about its validity and
usefulness.
DALTON’S ATOMIC THEORY
 Modern atomic theory is, of course, a little
more involved than Dalton's theory but the
essence of Dalton's theory remains valid.
 Today we know that atoms can be destroyed
via nuclear reactions but not by chemical
reactions.
 Also, there are different kinds of atoms
(differing by their masses) within an element
that are known as "isotopes", but isotopes of an
element have the same chemical properties.
 However Dalton’s atomic theory provided the
foundation on which other scientist have built
 J.J. Thomson determines that an atom
is made up of negative electrons
embedded in a sea of positive charges .

+ +
- -+
- -
+
www.ucl.ac.uk
J.J. THOMSON EXPERIMENTS
 The first is the experiment of Joseph John Thomson,
who first demonstrated that atoms are actually
composed of aggregates of charged particles.
 If a gas sample is introduced into the region between
two charged plates, a current flow can be observed,
suggesting that the atoms have been broken down
into charged constituents.
 The source of these charged particles is a heated
cathode that, in fact, causes the atoms of the sample
to ionize. These were known as cathode rays.
 In 1897, Thomson set out to prove that the cathode
rays produced from the cathode were actually a
stream of negatively charged particles called
electrons
J.J. THOMSON EXPERIMENTS

 From Maxwell's theory, he knew that charged

particles could be deflected in a magnetic field. A
schematic of the experimental setup is shown
below:
 Ernest Rutherford did some
experiments with thin metal foils and
found that the positive charge is
located within a central nucleus

www.scientific-web.com
RUTHERFORD’S SCATTERING EXPERIMENT
RUTHERFORD’S MODEL OF THE ATOM
PROPOSED AFTER THE SCATTERING
EXPERIMENT
A minute, central nucleus
containing all the positive
charge of the atom and almost
all of the mass, surrounded by
empty space in which electrons
orbited the nucleus, rather like
planets round the sun

Aka Planetary Model of the

Atom
 Neils Bohr worked under Rutherford but
found problems with his theory. He
ultimately determined that Electrons are in
circular orbits with increasing energy
levels.

_
_
nobelprize.org
The modern atomic model shows that
electrons occupy regions of space
whose shape is described by complex
mathematical equations. (James
Chadwick)

www.csmate.colostate.edu
 HISTORY OF ATOMIC THEORY
 John Dalton’s theory of the atom started out as a solid
sphere with no charges.

 Then J.J. Thomson figured out there were positive and

negative charges in an atom.

 Rutherford determined that the positive charges

(protons) were located in the center of the atom and
the negative charges (electrons) were scattered around
the nucleus

 Bohr’s theory said that the protons are in the middle

and the electrons travel in specific energy levels and
orbits around the nucleus

 Modern model- protons and neutrons in nucleus,

electrons on energy levels
Describe the structure of the atom
 REVIEW
 An atom is made up of protons (+),
neutrons (no charge), and electrons(-).

 The protons and neutrons are found

in the nucleus

 There has to be an equal number of

protons and electrons because atoms
have no net charge!

 Atomic mass is the number of protons

and neutrons www.csmate.colostate.edu

 Atomic number is the number of

protons (which is the same as the
number of electrons)
 VOCABULARY
Atom: the smallest particle of an element that has the
chemical properties of the element

Nucleus: found in the center of the atom and contains

the protons and neutrons

Proton: a positively charged particle found in the

nucleus of an atom

Neutrons: an uncharged particle found in the nucleus of

an atom

Electron: negatively charged particles that move

around outside the nucleus of the atom

Isotopes: atoms of the same element that have a

different number of neutrons. Chlorine atoms have 17
protons, but some atoms of chlorine have 18 or 20 neutrons these
atoms are the isotopes of chlorine
BEHAVIOUR OF PROTONS, NEUTRONS AND
ELECTRONS IN ELECTRIC AND MAGNETIC FIELDS

 Protons are positively charged and are therefore

attracted to the negative plate in an electric
field.

Electrons are negatively charged and are

therefore attracted to the positive plate in an
electric field.

Neutrons are unaffected in an electric field.

Protons and Electrons will follow circular paths

in magnetic fields. The force due to the magnetic
field is a centripetal force. Neutrons will be
unaffected because it has no charge.
Define the following terms:
Mass number
Isotopes
Relative atomic and isotopic
masses based on Carbon-12
isotope
ATOMIC NUMBER, MASS NUMBER, ISOTOPES

 Atoms are electrically neutral species so the

number of protons must be equal to the number
of electrons
 atomic number - The number of protons in the
nucleus of an atom. Atoms of the same element
have the same number of protons and hence the
atomic number is used to define the atom
 mass number - The sum of the number of protons
and the number of neutrons in an atom.
 Nucleon number – as the mass of the atom is
found inside the nucleus, the mass number is
also referred to as this
RELATIVE ABUNDANCE
 Relative abundance – The ratio or percentages in
which of each isotope in a given element.
 If the relative abundance is minute and is
insignificant it is not considered in calculating
the relative atomic mass for placement in the
periodic table
RELATIVE ATOMIC AND ISOTOPIC MASSES