Structure of the Atom.

Charged particles in matter. By 1900, scientists understood that the atom

was not indivisible, as it contained sub-atomic
particles. J.J. Thomson identified the electron,
a negatively charged particle, while E.
Goldstein discovered positively charged canal
rays in 1886, leading to the identification of the
proton. The proton has a charge equal in
magnitude but opposite in sign to that of the
electron and a mass about 2000 times greater.
Protons (p⁺) have a mass of one unit and a
charge of +1, whereas electrons (e⁻) have a
negligible mass and a charge of -1.

It was believed that atoms were composed of

protons and electrons, balancing each other's
charges. Protons were thought to be at the
atom's center, as electrons could be easily
removed but not protons. This led to the
question of how these particles were arranged
within the atom, a topic further explored in the
following sections.

The structure of an atom:

Dalton’s atomic theory proposed that atoms
were indivisible and indestructible. However,
the discovery of electrons and protons within
atoms disproved this idea, revealing that atoms
had internal structure. This led scientists to
investigate how electrons and protons are
arranged in atoms. J.J. Thomson was the first
to propose a model to explain atomic structure,
marking the beginning of various models
developed to understand the atom's
composition.

Thomson's model of an atom J.J. Thomson’s atomic model depicted the

atom as a sphere of positive charge with
negatively charged electrons embedded within
it, much like a Christmas pudding or a
watermelon. In this analogy, the positive
charge is spread evenly throughout the sphere,
similar to the red, edible part of a watermelon.
The electrons are scattered within this
positively charged sphere, resembling currants
 in a pudding or seeds in a watermelon. This
model suggested that the positive and negative
charges in an atom are interspersed to balance
each other, creating a stable structure.
Thomson proposed that:
(i) An atom consists of a positively charged
sphere and the electrons are embedded in it. (ii)
The negative and positive charges are equal in
magnitude. So, the atom is electrically neutral.
Although Thomson’s model explained that
atoms are electrically neutral, the results of
experiments carried out by other scientists
could not be explained by this model.

Rutherford's model of an atom. Ernest Rutherford sought to understand the

arrangement of electrons within the atom, so
he devised an experiment to investigate this. In
his setup, he directed fast-moving alpha (α)
particles at a thin sheet of gold foil.

- Rutherford chose gold because it could be

hammered into an extremely thin layer, about
1000 atoms thick.
- Alpha particles are helium ions with a double
positive charge. Given their mass of 4 atomic
units (u), these fast-moving particles carry
significant energy.
- Rutherford anticipated that the α-particles
would experience slight deflections when
encountering the sub-atomic particles in the
gold atoms. However, because the α-particles
are much heavier than protons, he did not
expect any significant deflections.
However, Rutherford’s α-particle scattering
experiment produced completely unexpected
results:

1. Most of the fast-moving α-particles passed

directly through the gold foil without any
deflection.
2. Some α-particles were deflected by small
angles as they passed through.
3. Astonishingly, about one in every 12,000 α-
particles rebounded almost directly back.
 Rutherford famously compared this surprising
outcome to firing a 15-inch shell at a piece of
tissue paper and having it bounce back. This
result suggested that the atom had a
concentrated, dense center that could repel the
high-energy α-particles.
From the α-particle scattering experiment,
Rutherford concluded the following:

1. The majority of the atom’s space is empty,

as most α-particles passed through the gold foil
without deflection.
2. Only a small number of α-particles were
deflected, suggesting that the atom’s positive
charge occupies a minimal area.
3. A tiny fraction of α-particles were deflected
back at 180°, indicating that nearly all the
positive charge and mass of the gold atom are
concentrated in a very small central region
within the atom.

Based on his calculations, Rutherford

determined that the radius of the nucleus is
about 100,000 times smaller than the atom's
radius.

Rutherford proposed the nuclear model of the

atom with these main points:

1. The atom has a central, positively charged

nucleus where nearly all its mass is
concentrated.
2. Electrons orbit around the nucleus in
circular paths.
3. The nucleus is extremely small compared to
the overall size of the atom.

Drawbacks of Rutherford's model of an atom The stability of an electron revolving in a

circular orbit is questionable. A particle
moving in a circular path experiences
acceleration, and an accelerating charged
particle is expected to emit energy.
Consequently, an electron would gradually
lose energy and eventually spiral into the
nucleus. If this were true, atoms would be
highly unstable, and matter as we know it
 would not exist in its current stable form.
However, we observe that atoms are indeed
stable.
Bohr's model of atom In order to overcome the objections raised
against Rutherford’s model of the atom, Neils
Bohr put forward the following postulates
about the model of an atom: (i) Only certain
special orbits known as discrete orbits of
electrons, are allowed inside the atom. (ii)
While revolving in discrete orbits the electrons
do not radiate energy. These orbits or shells are
called energy levels. These orbits or shells are
represented by the letters K, L,M, N,… or the
numbers, n=1,2,3,4.

Neutrons - Neutrons are neutral subatomic In 1932, J. Chadwick discovered a subatomic

particles in the nucleus of an atom that particle that is electrically neutral and has a
contribute to its mass and help stabilize the mass nearly equal to that of a proton. This
nucleus. particle was named the neutron. Neutrons are
found in the nucleus of nearly all atoms, except
for hydrogen. Neutrons are typically
represented by the symbol 'n.' Consequently,
the mass of an atom is determined by the total
mass of the protons and neutrons present in its
nucleus.

How are electrons distributed in different The distribution of electrons into different
orbits? orbits of an atom was suggested by Bohr and
Bury. The following rules are followed for
writing the number of electrons in different
energy levels or shells: (i) The maximum
number of electrons present in a shell is given
by the formula 2n2, where ‘n’ is the orbit
number or energy level index, 1,2, 3,. Hence
the maximum number of electrons in different
shells are as follows: first orbit or K-shell will
be = 2 × 12 = 2, second orbit or L-shell will be
= 2 × 22 = 8, third orbit or M-shell will be = 2
× 32 = 18, fourth orbit or N-shell will be = 2 ×
42 = 32, and so on. (ii) The maximum number
of electrons that can be accommodated in the
outermost orbit is 8. (iii) Electrons are not
accommodated in each shell, unless the inner
shells are filled. That is, the shells are filled in
a stepwise manner.
Valency - Valency is the combining capacity We have learned about the arrangement of
of an atom, indicating how many electrons it electrons in an atom across different shells or
can gain, lose, or share to form bonds. orbits. The electrons located in the outermost
shell are known as valence electrons.
According to the Bohr-Bury scheme, the
outermost shell can hold a maximum of 8
electrons. It has been observed that atoms with
a filled outermost shell exhibit minimal
chemical reactivity, meaning their combining
capacity, or valency, is zero. Among these
inert elements, the helium atom has two
electrons in its outermost shell, while all other
elements have atoms with eight electrons.

The tendency of other elements' atoms to react

and form molecules with either similar or
different atoms can be explained as a desire to
achieve a fully filled outermost shell. An
outermost shell containing eight electrons is
referred to as possessing an octet. Therefore,
atoms tend to react to attain an octet in their
outermost shell, which can be achieved by
sharing, gaining, or losing electrons. The
number of electrons gained, lost, or shared to
achieve the octet directly indicates the
combining capacity of the element, or its
valency, as discussed in the previous chapter.

For instance, hydrogen, lithium, and sodium

each have one electron in their outermost shell
and can each lose one electron, giving them a
valency of one. In the case of magnesium and
aluminum, their valencies are two and three,
respectively, since magnesium has two
electrons in its outermost shell, while
aluminum has three.

When the number of electrons in an atom's

outermost shell is close to its maximum
capacity, the valency can be determined
differently. For example, fluorine has seven
electrons in its outermost shell, which means
its valency could be considered as seven.

Atomic numbers and their mass. Atomic number:

 Protons are in the nucleus of an atom, and the
number of protons determines the atomic
number, denoted by 'Z.' All atoms of a given
element have the same atomic number, which
defines the element itself. For example,
hydrogen has an atomic number of Z = 1
because it contains one proton in its nucleus,
while carbon has an atomic number of Z = 6,
indicating it has six protons. Therefore, the
atomic number is defined as the total number
of protons present in an atom's nucleus.

Isotopes - Isotopes are atoms of the same In nature, several atoms of certain elements
element with the same atomic number but have been identified with the same atomic
different mass numbers due to different number but different mass numbers. For
numbers of neutrons. instance, hydrogen has three isotopes: protium
(¹H), deuterium (²H or D), and tritium (³H or
T). Each of these has an atomic number of 1,
but their mass numbers are 1, 2, and 3,
respectively. Other examples include carbon
(¹²C and ¹⁴C) and chlorine (³⁵Cl and ³⁷Cl).

Isotopes are defined as atoms of the same

element that have the same atomic number but
different mass numbers. Thus, hydrogen has
three isotopes: protium, deuterium, and tritium.
Many elements exist as a mixture of isotopes,
and while the chemical properties of isotopes
are similar, their physical properties differ.

Chlorine naturally occurs in two isotopes with

masses of ³⁵u and ³⁷u in a ratio of 3:1. This
raises the question of what mass should be
assigned to a chlorine atom. The mass of an
atom for any natural element is calculated as
the average mass of all naturally occurring
atoms of that element. If an element has no
isotopes, the atomic mass will equal the sum of
its protons and neutrons. However, for
elements with isotopes, the average mass is
determined by considering the percentage of
each isotope.

Based on the data provided, the average atomic

mass of chlorine can be calculated as follows:
 This average does not imply that any single
chlorine atom has a fractional mass of 35.5 u;
rather, it indicates that a sample of chlorine
contains a mixture of both isotopes, resulting
in an average mass of 35.5 u.

Applications Since the chemical properties of all the

isotopes of an element are the same, normally
we are not concerned about taking a mixture.
But some isotopes have special properties
which find them useful in various fields. Some
of them are: (i) An isotope of uranium is used
as a fuel in nuclear reactors. (ii) An isotope of
cobalt is used in the treatment of cancer. (iii)
An isotope of iodine is used in the treatment of
goitre.

Isobars - Isobars are atoms of different Let's examine two elements: calcium, which
elements that have the same mass number but has an atomic number of 20, and argon, with
different atomic numbers, meaning they an atomic number of 18. Although these
contain the same total number of nucleons elements have different numbers of electrons,
(protons and neutrons) but differ in the they both share the same mass number of 40,
number of protons. meaning the total number of nucleons (protons
and neutrons) is the same in both atoms. Atoms
of different elements that have different atomic
numbers, but the same mass number are
referred to as isobars.