Atomic Theory

2.1 The Atom (SL/HL)

 Sub-atomic particles

Relative mass Relative charge Position

Protons 1 +1 nucleus
Neutrons 1 0 nucleus
Electrons 5x 10-4 -1 energy levels

 Nucleons = sub-atomic particles in the nucleus (protons and

neutrons)

TOK: We have no way of directly seeing these particles. Which ways of

knowing do we use to interpret the indirect evidence gain from
technology? (Consider: perception, language, reason , emotion).
Do we believe that an electron exists or do we know it exists – discuss
with your partner.

 Mass number (A) = protons + neutrons

 Atomic number (Z) = Number of protons in nucleus. Defines

which element atom belongs to.

 Charge (n) = Atoms have no charge, but may gain or lose

electrons to become charged. They are called ions.

Z
A Xn E.g. 7
3
Li, 39
19
K, 23
11
Na+, 3517Cl-

Deduce the name of the following elements 2040X, 27

13
Y
  Isotopes = Two or more atoms of the same element which have the
same numbers of protons but have different numbers of neutrons.
This results in them having the same atomic numbers, but different
mass numbers. E.g. 612C and 614C.

 Relative Atomic Mass = The average mass of all the isotopes of

an element.

E.g. Neon is made of 90% 20Ne and 10% 22Ne.

Relative atomic mass of Ne = [(90 / 100) x 20] + [(10 /100) x 22]

= 20.2

Radio isotopes:
A radio isotope or radionuclide is an atom with an unstable nucleus
which is a nucleus characterized by excess energy which is available to
be imparted either to a newly-created radiation particle within the
nucleus, or else to an atomic electron. The radionuclide, in this process,
undergoes radioactive decay, and emits a gamma ray(s) and/or subatomic
particles. These particles constitute ionizing radiation. N. B.
Radionuclides may occur naturally, but can also be artificially produced.
Radionuclides are used in two major ways: for their chemical properties
and as sources of radiationn. Radionuclides of familiar elements such as
carbon can serve as tracerss because they are chemically very similar to
the non-radioactive nuclides, so most chemical, biological, and ecological
processes treat them in a near identical way. One can then examine the
result with a radiation detector, such as a geiger counter, to determine
where the provided atoms ended up. For example, one might culture
plants in an environment in which the carbon dioxide contained
radioactive carbon; then the parts of the plant that had laid down
atmospheric carbon would be radioactive.
Radiocarbon dating is a method that uses the naturally occurring
isotope carbon-14 (14C) to determine the age of carbonaceous materials
up to about 60,000 years. Raw, i.e. uncalibrated, radiocarbon ages are
usually reported in radiocarbon years "Before Present" (BP), "Present"
being defined as AD1950. Such raw ages can be calibrated to give
calendar dates.
Carbon has two stable, nonradioactive isotopes: carbon-12 (12C), and
carbon-13 (13C). Carbon-14 has a half-life of 5730 years and would have
long ago vanished from Earth were it not for the unremitting cosmic ray
impacts on nitrogen in the atmosphere, which forms more of the isotope.
Plants take up atmospheric carbon dioxide by photosynthesis, and are
eaten by animals, so every living thing is constantly exchanging carbon-
14 with its environment as long as it lives. Once it dies, however, this
exchange stops, and the amount of carbon-14 gradually decreases through
radioactive beta decay.

By emitting an electron and an anti-neutrino, carbon-14 is changed into

stable (non-radioactive) nitrogen-14. This decay can be used to get a
measure of how long ago a piece of once-living material died.
The current maximum radiocarbon age limit lies in the range between
58,000 and 62,000 years (approximately 10 half-lives). This limit is
encountered when the radioactivity of the residual 14C in a sample is too
low to be distinguished from the background radiation.

Radiation therapy (or radiotherapy) is the medical use of ionizing

radiation as part of cancer treatment to control malignant cells. Cobalt 60
is widely used as it is a source of gamma rays.
Radiotherapy is in itself painless. Many low-dose treatments (for
example, radiotherapy to bony metastases) cause minimal or no side
effects. Treatment to higher doses causes varying side effects during
treatment (acute side effects), in the months or years following treatment
(long-term side effects), or after re-treatment (cumulative side effects).
In medicine, radioisotopes are used for diagnosis, treatment, and research.
Radioactive chemical tracers emitting gamma rays can provide diagnostic
information about a person's internal anatomy and the functioning of
specific organs.

131
I decays with a half-life of 8 days with beta and gamma emissions.
Diagnostic tests exploit the mechanism of absorption of iodine by the
normal cells of the thyroid gland. As an example iodine-131 is one of the
radioactive isotopes of iodine that can be used to test how well the
thyroid gland is functioning.
Iodine-125 is a radioisotope of iodine with a half-life of 60 days that is
used as a tracer in thyroid studies.
Patients receiving radioiodine treatment are warned not to have sexual
intercourse for one month (or shorter, depending on dose given), and
women are told not to become pregnant for six months afterwards. These
guidelines vary from hospital to hospital and will depend also on the dose
of radiation given

Acute side effects of radaition treatment include swelling, infertility,

generalized fatigue, fibrosis, hair loss

2.2 Mass Spectrometer (needs to be understood but not

assessed anymore)

 This is an instrument used to determine the relative atomic mass of

an element.

 The various stages involved are;

1. The sample is injected into the machine and vaporised by

heating.
2. The vaporised sample is ionised. This is done by
bombarding the atoms with fast moving electrons.

X + e- X+ + e- + e-

3. The resulting positive ions are accelerated by an electric

field.

4. The ions are then deflected by a magnetic field. Those with

the smallest mass and the largest positive charge are
deflected the easiest. The magnetic field can be increased to
deflect ions with greater mass and smaller charge.
 5. The ions are recorded by a detector. This will show the
mass compared to the charge of the various ions present in
the sample. It will also show the relative abundance of each
of these ions.

 A mass spectrum can be used to determine the abundance of

isotopes in an element, and from this to work out the relative
atomic mass of the element.

Use your text book/internet to:

Find a diagram of a mass spectrum and try and label each of the 5 stages.

Find examples of some mass spectra and see if you can use the lines to
work out
a) the number of isotopes
b) the relative atomic mass from the relative abundance of each isotope
using the 12C scale

2.3 Electron arrangement

 The electromagnetic spectrum is the distribution of electromagnetic

radiation according to their energies. See the following websites
for a detailed decription, and ensure that you are able to identify
UV, IR, and the vsisblke regions. Also, be able to to describe the
variation in wavelength, freqency and energy going across the
spectrum (e.g. from gamma rays to radio waves).

http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr162/lect/light/spectrum.html
http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/science/know_l1/emspectrum.html
http://www.lbl.gov/MicroWorlds/ALSTool/EMSpec/EMSpec2.html

 White light is made up of all the colours of the spectrum. When

passed through a prism, white light will be split into a continuous
spectrum of all colours with a range of possible wavelengths.

 When energy is supplied to a particular element it will emit a

spectrum containing only certain lines at particular wavelengths.
Each element has its own characteristic spectrum of discreet
(separate) lines called a line spectrum.

 When electrons in an atom are excited, they move from their

lowest energy level (called the ground state n = 1) to a higher
energy level.

 When the electron drops back into a lower shell, they emit energy
of a particular wavelength and this causes a line on the spectrum.

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Line spectrum Violet region (converge)
Lower energy Higher energy transitions.

 The largest drops in energy are back into the lowest energy level
(n = 1). This causes a line spectrum in the ultra violet region.

 When an electron drops back into the n = 2 level this causes a line
in the visible region of the line spectrum.

 Electrons dropping into the n = 3, 4, 5 etc energy levels cause a

lines in the infra red region of the line spectrum.

 Convergence: Notice how as the energy levels get higher, they get
closer together. This causes the lines in the spectrum to converge.

 The lines will be more separated in the red side of the spectrum and
then will get closer (converge) towards the higher energy violet
region.

 Each element will have slightly different energy levels and so will
be produce a slightly different line spectrum.

: http://javalab.uoregon.edu/dcaley/elements/Elements.html gives examples of the line

spectrum of different elements.
www.avogadro.co.uk/light/bohr/spectra.htm has good diagrams and explanations.

Electron Arrangement

 Electrons are arranged in energy levels of increasing energy and

increasing distance form the nucleus.

 The first main energy level closest to the nucleus and of lowest
energy can contain a maximum of 2 electrons.

 The next can contain a maximum of 8 electrons.

 The third main energy level can also contain 8 electrons.

 The electrons in the outer most energy level are called the valence
electrons. These also define the group number of the element.
 Ensure that you can deduce the electron arrangement for atoms and
ions up to Z = 20. Deduce the electron arrangements for Ar, K+
and Cl-