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ATOMS: Development of The Atomic Theory Democritus

The document traces the development of atomic theory from ancient Greek philosophers to modern physics. It describes the key contributions of several scientists throughout history: Democritus proposed the earliest concept of atoms; Dalton established that elements combine in whole number ratios; Thomson discovered the electron and proposed a "plum pudding" atomic model; Rutherford discovered the nucleus; Bohr incorporated energy levels; Schrodinger developed the electron cloud model; and Chadwick discovered the neutron. Modern atomic theory holds that atoms are composed of protons, neutrons, and electrons, with the nucleus at the center containing protons and neutrons.

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406 views3 pages

ATOMS: Development of The Atomic Theory Democritus

The document traces the development of atomic theory from ancient Greek philosophers to modern physics. It describes the key contributions of several scientists throughout history: Democritus proposed the earliest concept of atoms; Dalton established that elements combine in whole number ratios; Thomson discovered the electron and proposed a "plum pudding" atomic model; Rutherford discovered the nucleus; Bohr incorporated energy levels; Schrodinger developed the electron cloud model; and Chadwick discovered the neutron. Modern atomic theory holds that atoms are composed of protons, neutrons, and electrons, with the nucleus at the center containing protons and neutrons.

Uploaded by

Eros Eros
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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ATOMS: Development of the Atomic Theory

Democritus

 460 BC - Greek philosopher proposes the existence of the atom


 He pounded materials until he made them into smaller and smaller parts
 He called them atoma which is Greek for “indivisible”.

John Dalton

 1803 - British chemist; elements combine in specific


proportions to form compounds.
 Proposed Solid Sphere Model or Bowling Ball Model

His Theory0

 All substances are made of atoms that cannot be created, divided, or


destroyed.
 Atoms join with other atoms to make new substances.
 Atoms of the same element are exactly alike, and atoms of different
elements are different in mass and size.

JJ Thomson

1897 - English chemist and physicist; discovered 1st


subatomic particles Plum Pudding Model or Raisin Bun
Model Proposed by J.J. Thomson

His Theory:

 Atoms contain negatively charged particles called electrons and positively


charged matter.
 Created a model to describe the atom as a sphere filled with positive matter
with negative particles mixed in
 Referred to it as the plum pudding model

Ernest Rutherford

1912 - New Zealand physicist discovered the nucleus Nuclear


Model Proposed by Ernest Rutherford

His Theory:

 Small, dense, positively charged particle present in nucleus called a proton


 Electrons travel around the nucleus, but their exact places cannot be
described.
Niels Bohr

 1913 - Danish physicist; discovered energy levels


 Bohr Model or Planetary Model

His Theory:

 Electrons travel around the nucleus in definite paths


and fixed distances.
 Electrons can jump from one level to a path in another level.

Erwin Shrodinger

 1924 - Austrian physicist; developed the


electron cloud model
 Electron Cloud Model Proposed by Erwin
Schrodinger

His Theory:

 The exact path of electrons cannot be


predicted.
 The region referred to as the electron cloud, is an area where electrons
can likely be found.

James Chadwick

 1932 - English physicist; discovered neutrons

His Theory:

 Neutrons have no electrical charge.


 Neutrons have a mass nearly equal to the mass of a proton.
 Unit of measurement for subatomic particles is the atomic mass unit (amu).

Modern Theory of the Atom

 Atoms are composed of three main subatomic particles: the electron, proton,
and neutron.
 Most of the mass of the atom is concentrated in the nucleus of the atom.
 The protons and neutrons are located within the nucleus, while the electrons
exist outside of the nucleus.
 In stable atoms, the number of protons is equal to the number of electrons.
 The type of atom is determined by the number of protons it has.
 The number of protons in an atom is equal to the atomic number.
 The sum of the number of protons and neutrons in a particular atom is called
the atomic mass.
 Valence electrons are the outermost electrons.

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