structure of atom

What you have learnt

• Credit for the discovery of electron and proton goes to J.J. Thomson and E.Goldstein,
respectively.

• J.J. Thomson proposed that electrons are embedded in a positive sphere. 2024-25 46
SCIENCE

• Rutherford’s alpha-particle scattering experiment led to the discovery of the atomic

nucleus.

• Rutherford’s model of the atom proposed that a very tiny nucleus is present inside the atom
and electrons revolve around this nucleus. The stability of the atom could not be explained
by this model.

• Neils Bohr’s model of the atom was more successful. He proposed that electrons are
distributed in different shells with discrete energy around the nucleus. If the atomic shells are
complete, then the atom will be stable and less reactive.

• J. Chadwick discovered presence of neutrons in the nucleus of an atom. So, the three sub-
atomic particles of an atom are: (i) electrons, (ii) protons and (iii) neutrons. Electrons are
negatively charged, protons are positively charged and neutrons have no charges. The mass
of an electron is about 1 2000 times the mass of an hydrogen atom. The mass of a proton and
a neutron is taken as one unit each.

• Shells of an atom are designated as K,L,M,N,….

• Valency is the combining capacity of an atom.

• The atomic number of an element is the same as the number of protons in the nucleus of its
atom.

• The mass number of an atom is equal to the number of nucleons in its nucleus.

• Isotopes are atoms of the same element, which have different mass numbers.

• Isobars are atoms having the same mass number but different atomic numbers.

• Elements are defined by the number of protons they possess.

1. Compare the properties of electrons, protons, and neutrons:

Electrons:
Charge: Negative (-1)
Mass: 1/1836th of a proton
 Location: Orbits the nucleus
Protons:
Charge: Positive (+1)
Mass: 1 unit (same as neutrons)
Location: In the nucleus
Neutrons:
Charge: Neutral (0)
Mass: 1 unit (same as protons)
Location: In the nucleus

2. What are the limitations of J.J. Thomson’s model of the atom?

It could not explain the atom’s stability.

It failed to account for the results of Rutherford's gold foil experiment, which showed
that atoms have a dense nucleus.
It did not explain the discrete nature of atomic spectra (specific wavelengths of light
emitted).

3. What are the limitations of Rutherford’s model of the atom?

It could not explain why electrons, moving in orbits, didn’t lose energy and spiral into the
nucleus.
It failed to explain the atomic spectrum of elements (only a few discrete lines should be
visible, but many more were observed).

4. Describe Bohr’s model of the atom.

Electrons orbit the nucleus in fixed orbits or shells without radiating energy.
Electrons can absorb or emit energy when moving from one orbit to another.
This model explained the stability of the atom and the line spectrum of hydrogen.

5. Compare all the proposed models of an atom given in this chapter.

Thomson’s Model: "Plum pudding" model; atoms are made of a positive “pudding” with
negative electrons embedded in it.
Rutherford’s Model: Atoms have a small, dense, positively charged nucleus with
electrons orbiting around it.
Bohr’s Model: Electrons orbit the nucleus in fixed orbits, and can gain or lose energy
when they jump between orbits.

6. Summarize the rules for writing the distribution of electrons in various shells
for the first eighteen elements.

1st shell: 2 electrons

2nd shell: 8 electrons
3rd shell: 8 electrons
4th shell: 2 electrons (for the first 18 elements)
The order is: K (2), L (8), M (8), N (2).
7. Define valency by taking examples of silicon and oxygen.

Valency: The combining capacity of an element. It depends on the number of electrons in

the outer shell.
Silicon (Si): 4 valence electrons, valency = 4.
Oxygen (O): 6 valence electrons, valency = 2.

8. Explain with examples (i) Atomic number, (ii) Mass number, (iii) Isotopes and
(iv) Isobars. Give any two uses of isotopes.

Atomic number: Number of protons in the nucleus of an atom.

Mass number: Total number of protons and neutrons.
Isotopes: Atoms of the same element with different numbers of neutrons (e.g., Carbon-12
and Carbon-14).
Isobars: Atoms of different elements with the same mass number (e.g., Carbon-14 and
Nitrogen-14).
Uses of isotopes: Medical imaging (e.g., C-14 dating) and nuclear energy.

9. Na+ has completely filled K and L shells. Explain.

Na (Sodium) has an atomic number of 11. Na+ ion has lost 1 electron, leaving it with 10
electrons, which fill the K (2 electrons) and L (8 electrons) shells completely.
12. If Z = 3, what would be the valency of the element? Also, name the element.

Z = 3 corresponds to Lithium (Li).

Lithium has 1 electron in its outer shell, so its valency = 1.

13. Composition of the nuclei of two atomic species X and Y are given as under:

X: Protons = 6, Neutrons = 6, Mass number = 12

Y: Protons = 6, Neutrons = 8, Mass number = 14
These are isotopes of Carbon, with the same atomic number but different mass numbers.

14. For the following statements, write T for True and F for False.

(a) False: J.J. Thomson did not propose that the nucleus of an atom contains only
nucleons.
(b) False: A neutron is not formed by an electron and a proton combining together.
(c) True: The mass of an electron is about 1/1836 times that of a proton.
(d) True: An isotope of iodine is used for making tincture iodine, which is used as a
medicine.

15. Rutherford’s alpha-particle scattering experiment was responsible for the

discovery of:

Answer: (a) Atomic Nucleus

16. Isotopes of an element have:

Answer: (c) Different number of neutrons

17. Number of valence electrons in Cl⁻ ion are:

Answer: (d) 18

18. Which one of the following is a correct electronic configuration of sodium?

(d) 2,8,1

Atoms and molecules

What you have learnt

• During a chemical reaction, the sum of the masses of the reactants and products remains
unchanged. This is known as the Law of Conservation of Mass.

• In a pure chemical compound, elements are always present in a definite proportion by mass.
This is known as the Law of Definite Proportions.

• An atom is the smallest particle of the element that cannot usually exist independently and
retain all its chemical properties.

• A molecule is the smallest particle of an element or a compound capable of independent

existence under ordinary conditions. It shows all the properties of the substance.

• A chemical formula of a compound shows its constituent elements and the number of
atoms of each combining element.

• Clusters of atoms that act as an ion are called polyatomic ions. They carry a fixed charge on
them.

• The chemical formula of a molecular compound is determined by the valency of each

element.

• In ionic compounds, the charge on each ion is used to determine the chemical formula of
the compound.