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Ch4 - Structure of An Atom

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Ch4 - Structure of An Atom

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Nirek Maken
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© © All Rights Reserved
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Ch4: Structure of an Atom

Charged Particles in Matter:


● 1900 - JJ Thomson discovered the electron, a subatomic particle
● 1886 - E. Goldstein discovered the canal rays which ultimately led to the discovery of the
proton, another subatomic particle. The proton was equal to the electron in magnitude
but opposite in sign. It was said to have 2000 times the mass of the electron.
● The mass of the proton is taken as one unit and its charge is plus one
● Mass of an electron is negligible and its charge is taken as minus one

Thomson’s Model of the Atom:


● It was said to be like a watermelon - the positive charge was the red part, spread all
across the atom, and the negative part were the seeds, studded in the atom.
● Thomson proposed that since the electrons and protons were equal in magnitude the
atom should be neutral.

Rutherford’s Model of the Atom:


● Rutherford conducted an experiment in which he blasted a thin gold foil with alpha (a)
particles.
● He expected them to be deflected (weakly)
● However, most of the particles passed through the foil
● Some of them were deflected by the foil.
● Conclusion:
➔ Most of the space inside the atom is empty, as most of the particles passed
through the foil
➔ A very small part is positive, as only a few were deflected
➔ All the positive charge and the mass of the atom is concentrated in the center of
the atom
● Features:
➔ There is a positively charged area at the center of the atom called the nucleus. It
carries the mass of the atom
➔ Electrons revolve in circular paths around the nucleus
➔ The nucleus is much smaller than the atom
● Drawbacks:
➔ In accordance with Rutherford’s proposal, the orbiting electrons would radiata a
lot of energy, lose energy and eventually fall into the nucleus resulting in a very
unstable atom.
➔ If this was the case, matter would not exist as we know it now.

Bohr’s Model of the Atom:


● In Bohr’s model, there are special circular paths called Discrete orbits. Electrons revolve
in these, and they do not radiate energy in these.
● These orbits (shells) are represented by the letters K,L,M,N or the numbers 1,2,3,4
Neutrons:
● In 1932, J Chadwick discovered neutrons.
● They had no charge and a mass equal to the proton
● They were present in all nucleus’s except that of hydrogen
● It was denoted by ‘n’

Distribution of electrons:
● Electrons in a shell = 2n^2, where n = the no. of the shell
● For eg. K shell (1) = 2 x 1^2 = 2
L shell (2) = 2 x 2^2 = 8
M shell (3) = 2 x 3^2 = 18
N shell (4) = 2 x 4^2 = 32
● The maximum no. of electrons in the outermost shell of an atom is 8.
● The maximum no. of electrons in the innermost shell of an atom is 2.
● The shells are filled stepwise. If a shell is not completely full, the next shell does not
begin.

Valency:
● It is the combining capacity of an atom.
● The outermost shell has a maximum of 8 electrons. These are known as valence
electrons
● When a shell has all 8 electrons (octet), it is stable.
● Thus atoms react with other atoms to make its outermost shell stable.
● An atom can take electrons from other atoms to make its outer shell full, or it can give all
its electrons to other atoms, leaving 0. This destroys the old outer shell, and makes the
middle one the new outer shell. The middle one is full and thus stable
● If the outermost shell of an atom has 4 or less electrons, all electrons are given away
and the shell is destroyed. If it has more than 4 electrons, then more electrons are taken
and an octet is made.
● The amount of electrons an atom has to give/take is called valency

Atomic number:
● It is the number of protons in the nucleus of an atom
● It is denoted by Z

Mass number:
● It is the total sum of protons and neutrons in the nucleus of an atom
● Neutrons and protons together are called nucleons
● An atom can be written as:
Mass Number
Symbol
Atomic Number
● For eg. Nitrogen can be written as:
14
N
7

Isotopes:
● Elements which have the same atomic number but different mass numbers are called
isotopes.
● Hydrogen has three isotopes:
1
H,
1

2
H
1

3
H
1
● Isotopes of uranium, cobalt and iodine are used for nuclear reactors, treating cancer and
goiter, respectively

Isobars:
● They are elements which have the same mass number but different atomic numbers

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