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The History of The Atom Notes - Condensed

Democritus first proposed that matter is made of indivisible particles called atoms. John Dalton adapted this idea into the first modern atomic model, proposing that atoms are indivisible building blocks that make up all matter. J.J. Thomson's discovery of the electron led him to propose the plum pudding model of the atom with negatively-charged electrons suspended in a positively-charged fluid. Ernest Rutherford's gold foil experiment revealed the atom's small, dense nucleus and resulted in his planetary model of electrons orbiting the nucleus. Niels Bohr incorporated quantum theory into the planetary model by proposing that electrons can only orbit in fixed, quantized energy levels.

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364 views5 pages

The History of The Atom Notes - Condensed

Democritus first proposed that matter is made of indivisible particles called atoms. John Dalton adapted this idea into the first modern atomic model, proposing that atoms are indivisible building blocks that make up all matter. J.J. Thomson's discovery of the electron led him to propose the plum pudding model of the atom with negatively-charged electrons suspended in a positively-charged fluid. Ernest Rutherford's gold foil experiment revealed the atom's small, dense nucleus and resulted in his planetary model of electrons orbiting the nucleus. Niels Bohr incorporated quantum theory into the planetary model by proposing that electrons can only orbit in fixed, quantized energy levels.

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Marites Aguilar
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GROUP 3

DELOPMENT OF
AT0MIC STRUCTURE
He thought that if you take a piece of
matter and divide it and continue to
divide it you will
eventually come to a point where you
could not divide it anymore.
Timeline: 400 BC
Scientist: Democritus
- Democritus developed his atomic philosophy as a middle ground between
two opposing Greek theories about reality and the illusion of change. He
argued that matter was subdivided into indivisible and immutable particles
that created the appearance of change when they joined and separated
from others.

- Democritus, theorized that atoms were specific to the material which


they composed. In addition, Democritus believed that the atoms differed in
size and shape, were in constant motion in a void, collided with each other;
and during these collisions, could rebound or stick together.

Timeline: 1800’s
Scientist: John Dalton JOHN DALTON’S ATOMIC MODEL:

John Dalton was the first to adapt Democritus’ theory into the
first modern atomic model.

- Dalton's atomic theory pro-posed that all matter


was composed of atoms, indivisible and
Industructible building blocks. While all atoms of
an element were identical, different elements had
atoms of differing size and mass.
-Dalton’s atomic theory also stated that all compounds
were composed of combinations of these atoms in defined
ratios.
-Dalton also postulated that chemical reactions resulted in
the rearrangement of the reacting atoms. 1
Timeline: 1890’s
Scientist: J.J Thomson
J.J Thomson was a physicist who is credited for discovering the
electron. He used his research on cathode ray tube technology in this
discovery.

CATHODE RAY TUBE

+
How does this Tube Work?

Modern Day Tube

In 1904, Thomson proposed a model


of the atom as a sphere of positive
matter with electrons positioned
based on electrostatic forces. So, he
not only discovered the electron but
determined it was a fundamental part
of an atom.

J.J. Thomson's experiments with


cathode ray tubes showed that all
atoms contain tiny negatively charged
subatomic particles or electrons.
Thomson proposed the plum pudding
model of the atom, which had
negatively-charged electrons
embedded within a positively-charged
"soup."
2
J.J Thomson was an excellent physicist and thus did not stop when he had found this negative
charge. Through a series of clever experiments he was able to predict the mass of this charge.

SCIENTIFIC INTERPRETATION AT ITS BEST

He then found out that this charge was 1000 times lighter that a hydrogen atom. He made a bold
statement saying that this negative charge must be inside an atom. This negative charge (he called
corpuscles) later became known as the electron.

THOMSON’S ATOMIC MODEL

Using what he had discovered, Thomson predicted what an atom should look
like. These are the key points to Thomson’s Atomic Model:

1. Because of its design this model is known as the plum


pudding model
2. Each atom is a sphere filled with positively charged
‘fluid’. This resembles the sticky jam part of a pudding.
3. Corpuscles (later called electrons), are the negatively charged particles
suspended in this ‘fluid’. This resembles the plums in the pudding.
4. He did not predict the movement of these electrons

Timeline: 1910’s
Scientist: Ernest Rutherford
Ernest Rutherford was not convinced about the model of the atom
proposed by Thomson. He thus set up his now famous Gold Foil
Experiment.

1. He fired alpha particles (positively charged) at a gold


foil.
2. He measured the deflection as the particles came out
the other side.
3. Most of the particles did not deflect at all.
Every now and then a particle would deflect
all the way back.
4. He said that there must be a positive centre of
the foil. He called this centre the nucleus.
3
RUTHERFORD’S ATOMIC MODEL (AKA THE PLANETARY MODEL)

1. The nucleus of the atom is a dense mass of positively


charged particles.
2. The electrons orbit the nucleus
3. A problem raised was: Why are the negatively
charged particles not attracted by the positively charged
nucleus
4. Rutherford stated that the atom was like a mini solar system and that the
electrons orbited the nucleus in a wide orbit. That is why it is known as
the planetary model.

Timeline: 1910’s
Scientist: Niels Bohr
Niels Bohr agreed with the planetary model of
the atom, but also knew that it had a few
flaws. Using his knowledge of energy and
quantum physics he was able to perfect
Rutherford’s model. He was able to answer
why the electrons did not collapse into the
nucleus.

BOHR’S ATOMIC MODEL (AKA THE RUTHERFORD-BOHR MODEL)

1. Electrons orbit the nucleus in orbits that have a set


size and energy.
2. The lower the energy of the electron, the lower the
orbit.
3. This means that as electrons fill up the orbitals, they
will fill the lower energy level first.
4. If that energy level is fill (or at capacity), a new
energy level will begin.
5. Radiation is when an electron moves from one level to another.

Problems with this theory:

Electrons do not travel on a specific orbit or path.

4
Timeline: 1920’s
Scientist: Erwin Schrödinger
Erwin Schrödinger was a revolutionary physicist who used Heisenberg’s
uncertainty principle to come up with the atomic model that we still use today.

SCHRÖDINGER’S ATOMIC MODEL (AKA THE CLOUD MODEL)

1. An electron does not travel in an exact orbit


2. We can predict where it will probably be
3. We cannot say for certain where it is, but only where it ought to be.
4. The type of probability orbit is dependent on the energy level described by Bohr

SUMMARY OF ATOM

The smallest part of an element is called an atom


Each atom (of an element) is different in structure from
other atoms (of other elements)
An atom can be divided in smaller subatomic particles:
Protons, Electrons and Neutrons
The nucleus is the centre of an atom. It contains protons and neutrons.
Electrons orbit the nucleus Energy Levels
As we go up the periodic table, an electron and
proton is added.
Electrons occupy a certain energy level (of a
certain size)
Once the energy level is full, a new level begins
Within each of these levels are specials types
of orbitals. These depend on the energy level
Each orbital can contain two electrons Within these energy shells
are different shapes of
orbitals 5

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